PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Sunny Boy 2100 TL to replace Sunny Boy 2000

At the annual German PV industry meeting in Staffelstein, SMA Regelsysteme GmbH presented the Sunny Boy 2100 TL, a transformerless device with a hefty European efficiency of 95.2 percent and a nominal power of 1.9 kW. It is slated to replace the Sunny Boy 2000, which has a nominal power 100 W less – though that was not apparently the primary reason for its replacement.

	© SMA Regelsysteme GmbH
New version: The Sunny Boy 2100 TL inverter will replace the Sunny Boy 2000.

The Sunny Boy 2000 was introduced in 1999, shortly after the Sunny Boy 1500. Since then these two models were the only transformerless inverters available from SMA, Germany's market leader. Although transformerless technology was first developed some four years earlier, SMA had hesitated to seize the initiative. And this hesitation somehow continued, as in many ways the 1500 and 2000 were not optimized. Whereas the Sunny Boy 1500 was phased out in mid-2001, the 2000 model has now been revised and is hitting the market as the 2100 TL. The new inverter boasts a sleek new design, an improved filter, and an up-to-date generation of transistors. The new device is 3 kg lighter than its predecessor.

SMA increased the upper limit of the MPP range from 500 to 600 V; the optimum working voltage will remain 400 V. The maximum input voltage has also been increased from 500 to 600 V.

As the Sunny Boy 2100 TL's housing is consistent with IP 65 protection class guidelines, it is suited for external use and can withstand temperatures between -25 and +60 °C. It contains an integrated ENS, an electro-mechanical disconnection device based on impedance measurements.

Germany-based Rosendahl Industrievertretungen GmbH will handle distribution of the inverter, which is slated to hit the market in June and be sold on all European grid-connected markets. SMA wouldn't provide a recommended sales price, but according to a PHOTON random sample, the current model Sunny Boy 2000 is sold in Germany for €1,472.3 ($1,280) before taxes.