Alectrona
Commercial inverters · over 50 kWpSolarEdge brings DC-optimised, module-level electronics to commercial roofs: per-module tracking, per-module monitoring and rapid shutdown. We specify it where the roof earns it, and we are straight with you about the manufacturer's finances.
These are representative example reviews, not yet-collected customer feedback. They are written to illustrate the kind of feedback Alectrona aims to earn and are shown as design placeholders while we gather and verify reviews from our first commercial clients. Alectrona is the commercial solar trading brand of RVTC LTD.
What set Alectrona apart was the documented design pack. We had quotes from three installers, but only Alectrona handed us a full set of drawings, a single-line diagram and a design referencing BS 7671 and the G99 connection process. The whole thing read like an engineering submission rather than a sales brochure. Our M&E consultant reviewed it and signed it off without a single query. That gave the board the confidence to release the capital.
Other firms priced our roof off a satellite image and a desktop guess. Alectrona flew an in-house drone survey, fully insured and flown by a qualified commercial drone pilot, and built a 3D model of the actual roof. It picked up plant, vents and a parapet line that a flat aerial photo had completely missed, which changed the panel layout. I would rather find that out at design stage than on the day the scaffold goes up. The accuracy of that survey is the reason I trusted everything that followed.
As a finance director I was wary of being oversold a system bigger than we could use. Alectrona modelled the array against our actual half-hourly consumption data rather than an annual total, so it is sized to what we genuinely draw on site during the day. They were honest that exporting surplus is worth far less than self-consumption, and built the design around that. The capital case stacked up because the engineering was honest, not because the numbers were inflated.
We were undecided between buying outright, leasing and a PPA. Alectrona laid out all three side by side with the pros and cons of each against our balance sheet, instead of pushing the one that pays them best. They were clear about where a PPA makes sense and where capex wins, and pointed us at our own accountant for the tax treatment. The survey and design took a little longer than I expected, but the thoroughness was worth the wait. Genuinely consultative.
The install crew were tidy and well run, and worked to a clear CDM 2015 plan with a proper site induction and RAMS. What impressed me most was the handover. We received a full commissioning pack with the IEC 62446-1 test results, certification, O&M documentation and an as-built record for our maintenance team. As the people who have to live with this asset for the next twenty years, having that paperwork in order matters enormously. Nothing was left loose.
I expected the usual hard sell and got the opposite. After surveying our site Alectrona told us one roof section was not worth covering because of shading, and that a smaller, well-sited array was the better investment than filling every square metre. There was no commission-driven upselling and no pressure. For a six-figure capital project, that straight talk is exactly what you want from the people advising you. We will be using them again on our second site.
SolarEdge Technologies, founded in Israel in 2006, built its commercial range around one engineering idea: move the maximum power point tracking out of the inverter and down to each module, using a power optimiser per panel. The result is module-level monitoring, module-level MPPT and rapid shutdown across the array, with a string inverter handling the DC-to-AC conversion. For a finance director, the practical question is not the architecture itself but where it pays for itself, and our answer is roof-specific rather than brand-loyal.
Alectrona is the commercial arm of RVTC LTD, engineer-led and Yorkshire-based. On a site above 50 kWp, outside MCS, we specify the inverter that fits the design and the roof, then confirm the manufacturer's warranty backing and standing before we commit it to a contract. SolarEdge is one of the inverter brands we can actually procure and support through a major UK distributor, alongside the rest of our commercial line-up.
We reach for SolarEdge when the roof is the problem. Shading from plant, parapets, flues or neighbouring buildings, several roof pitches and orientations on one building, or a layout where a few shaded modules would otherwise drag a whole string down: in those cases module-level optimisers recover energy that a conventional string inverter leaves on the table, and the monitoring tells you which module is underperforming rather than which string. The per-module rapid shutdown is also a real safety feature for maintenance teams and first responders on a large commercial roof, and it maps directly onto the DC de-energisation that RC62 fire-safety guidance looks for.
That said, optimisers add a component at every module, so we weigh the yield gain and the diagnostics against the added DC-side hardware on simpler, unshaded roofs where a plain three-phase string inverter from Solis, Fox ESS or SolaX may be the better-value choice. SolarEdge is specified on its engineering case, never as a default, and never as a bankability claim. Its distinctive technology and its financial position are two separate questions, and we treat them that way.
The commercial range we draw on, grounded in live UK distributor stock, runs from the Three Phase Commercial inverters with an integrated DC Safety Unit at 25, 30 and 33.3 kW (with MC4 connectors, a DC surge protection device and AC/DC segregation built in) up to the Synergy platform, where multiple Synergy units sit under a single Synergy Manager to reach roughly 90 to 100 kW per inverter for larger rooftop and ground-mount arrays. Peak efficiency on the commercial three-phase units is around 98.3%, and the inverter warranty is typically 12 years, extendable to 20.
The model, power rating, phase count and architecture come from the SolarEdge datasheets; what we never publish is a price. Every figure on a SolarEdge proposal comes from the PV*SOL model built off your site survey and your half-hourly load, not a list price or a "from-price". Larger sites are usually configured as several three-phase units rather than one inverter, sized to the array and the connection.
Module-level monitoring is the operational dividend with SolarEdge: the monitoring platform reports each module's output, so a faulty or shaded panel is pinpointed for an O&M visit instead of inferred from a whole string. We commission to BS 7671 and IEC 62446, and every commercial inverter is registered for G99 with the DNO before energisation. Where the connection carries an export limitation, the inverter and metering are configured to hold the agreed export limit, and we document the settings so the constraint is auditable.
Our support does not end at handover. We provide the as-built records, the G99 paperwork and the monitoring access, and we can hold an ongoing O&M and remote-monitoring arrangement so the array is watched and warranty-backed faults are caught early. Given the manufacturer's financial position, that hands-on UK support and our written confirmation of the warranty backing matter more here than on a more settled brand, and we factor both into the recommendation.
25 kW three-phase string inverter with integrated DC Safety Unit and DC SPD, optimiser-based with per-module monitoring and rapid shutdown, around 98.3% peak efficiency; for shaded or complex commercial rooftop arrays.
30 kW three-phase string inverter with integrated DC Safety Unit (AC and DC segregation, MC4 connectors, DC SPD), module-level power optimisers and rapid shutdown, around 98.3% peak efficiency.
33.3 kW three-phase string inverter with integrated DC Safety Unit and arc fault protection, optimiser architecture for per-module MPPT and monitoring, around 98.3% peak efficiency; the largest stand-alone unit in the three-phase commercial range.
90 kW three-phase platform built from multiple Synergy units under one Synergy Manager, optimiser-based with per-module monitoring and rapid shutdown; 12-year warranty extendable to 20 for larger rooftop and ground-mount C&I arrays.
100 kW three-phase Synergy platform (Synergy Manager plus Synergy units, e.g. Synergy Manager SWITCH) for the upper end of single-inverter C&I sites, with module-level monitoring, rapid shutdown and a 12-to-20-year warranty path.
Models shown are confirmed against the current datasheet and your design at survey. The figure for your system comes from the PV*SOL model, not a price list.
We will not gloss over it. SolarEdge reported a GAAP net loss of about US$1.81bn for 2024, driven by roughly US$1.17bn of write-downs and impairments, with revenue falling from about US$2.98bn in 2023 to about US$901m, and it posted a further loss in 2025. The technology is capable and distinctive, but the financial standing needs current due diligence. Before we specify SolarEdge on your site we confirm in writing how the warranty is backed and how UK support and spares are arranged, and if a more financially settled inverter suits your roof just as well, we will say so.
On roofs with shading, several orientations or a complex layout. Because each module has its own optimiser and tracking, shaded or mismatched modules do not drag down a whole string, and you get per-module monitoring for fault-finding. On a simple, unshaded single-pitch roof the yield gain is smaller and a conventional three-phase string inverter can be the better-value option, so we model both rather than defaulting to optimisers.
The commercial three-phase inverters typically carry a 12-year manufacturer warranty, extendable to 20 years. The power optimisers carry their own long-term warranty. We confirm the exact terms, the start date basis and how the warranty is backed for your specific models before contract, which matters given the manufacturer's current financial position.
No, and that is deliberate. A commercial inverter is one line in a system designed around your roof, your load and your grid connection. The figure on your proposal comes from a PV*SOL model built off an on-site survey, so it reflects your project rather than a generic per-kW or from-price. We are clear on the model, power rating and phase, never on a published price.
Tell us about the roof and the load. We size the array in PV*SOL, set the export position with your DNO, and specify the inverter that fits, with the model and warranty named and no from-price.