Hawaii Energy Connection

Solar integrator uses Enphase Microinverters in “solar kit” that makes going green easy and cost-effective

Hawaii Energy Connection (HEC) LLC, a provider of commercial and residential sustainable energy solutions in the Hawaiian Islands, today announced it has completed its 300th solar electric installation using Enphase Microinverters. Founded in 2007, HEC grew quickly and is responsible for approximately 50 percent of all residential photovoltaic installations in Hawaii over the past 2 years, making it the state’s largest solar electric integrator by number of installations.
“We founded HEC to prove that solar could–and should–be simple, easy and cost-effective to implement,” said Steve Godmere, co-founder, HEC. “We quickly realized that a solar kit was the best way to achieve this goal.”
HEC’s primary solar electric product is the KumuKit™, a packaged solution containing all the necessary solar electric system components, as well as a variety of energy efficiency products. KumuKits allow for quick installation on homes and businesses, following a site inspection and quote for the project.
Every KumuKit uses Enphase Microinverters to convert the direct current (DC) electricity from solar modules into the alternating current (AC) electricity used in homes and businesses. Enphase Microinverters are the only technology that allows individual solar modules to feed directly into the home’s electrical panel. In addition, the Enphase Microinverter System provides real-time solar system monitoring through a user-friendly website. To date, HEC has installed more Enphase Microinverter Systems than any other integrator.
“We were lucky to have launched our company around the same time that Enphase released its microinverter technology,” said Chris DeBone, co-founder, HEC. “We immediately recognized that this technology would make it easier to design and install systems, while also boosting their performance.”
“HEC’s rapid growth is a great example of how Enphase Microinverters are fundamentally changing the solar industry,” said Raghu Belur, co-founder and vice president of marketing, Enphase Energy. “Enphase technology enables a whole new set of solar solutions that help system integrators expand their businesses.”

Saunders Hall on the UH Manoa campus served as the demonstration site today for a new renewable energy testbed featuring innovative “micro-inverter” technology. The “Kumu Kit” solar panel system was donated by Hawaii Energy Connection, LLC to UH Manoa for installation on the roof of Saunders Hall, home to the Sustainable Saunders Initiative—a collaborative effort among faculty and students to pursue workplace sustainability. Other donations and logistical assistance were made possible from Enphase Energy and the UH Manoa Sustainability Council. The small residential-sized system, which went live on August 14, will provide an opportunity for students to study the potential of solar energy and test different technologies for turning sunlight into electricity.

“This is a small demonstration and testing site that is vital to move UH to the forefront of research and education in these fields,” said Professor David Nixon, UH Manoa associate professor in the College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center, and director of the Sustainable Saunders Initiative. “Our vision is to make Saunders Hall the embodiment of sustainability on the Manoa campus, and renewable energy generation is an important component.”

The first project for the testbed will evaluate micro-inverter technology that improves the efficiency of solar power arrays. The micro-inverters communicate real-time power production data from each solar panel to a central web site that archives historical data.

“We’re particularly excited about the micro-inverters, a new approach to translating the DC power from solar panels into AC power that increases efficiency of the system by 10-15 percent,” said Jeremy Kowalczyk, physics graduate student and Energy Team leader for Sustainable Saunders.

Hawaii is blessed with abundant solar and wind resources that can be harvested to generate electricity. UH Manoa has set goals of generating 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and achieving energy independence by 2050.

Steve Godmere and Chris DeBone, owners of the Hawaii Energy Connection partnership, noted that this is a great opportunity to contribute to the University’s educational and research efforts in sustainability. “Micro-inverters are an important innovation in turning sun power into electricity-they’re less expensive, more convenient, and more efficient than traditional power inverters.”