Independent sourcing partner
GridLink Sourcing coordinates inverter factory quotes
The desk sits between a US business buyer and proposed manufacturers. It captures the requirement, asks for exact-item files, and lines up commercial columns. It does not claim authorized distributor status, and it is not the engineer of record.
What the desk will ask, and what it will leave open
Restate the equipment
String, central, microinverter or hybrid. Rated AC power in kW, DC input range, MPPT channels, phase and the communication protocol the site already uses.
Separate the module string from the inverter
Maximum power voltage, open-circuit voltage, maximum system voltage at 1000 V DC or 1500 V DC, and string current are recorded as inputs the inverter must accept. Module efficiency stays a module question.
Bind files to a model code
Datasheet, outline drawing, protocol note, enclosure rating and any NRTL listing the supplier cites. A brochure for the product family is logged as insufficient.
Mark deviations
If a plant offers a different MPPT count, a different enclosure, or a grid-following unit where the study asked about a grid-forming inverter, the change is written in the comparison, not smoothed over.
Still outside this desk
Interconnection approval, structural sign-off, code inspection and safe installation remain with qualified parties. Bidirectional inverter behavior, when storage is involved, needs the control narrative from those parties. Battery management system settings, thermal management of a cabinet, cycle life and depth of discharge are not inferred from an inverter SKU.
The service is intended for EPC procurement teams, solar installers, energy project sourcing managers and equipment distributors. Ask project engineers and compliance reviewers to supply the electrical and approval requirements. Purchasing coordinates the commercial questions; engineering decisions remain with the qualified reviewers.
Send an optional budget with currency and per-unit or whole-order scope, then choose high-end, mid-range, budget or undecided as a buying preference. Compare a lower unit price with a broader delivered scope before choosing: freight, connectors, monitoring licenses and warranty exclusions can change which offer fits the requirement.
Comparison basis the desk actually uses
- Specification
- Same electrical blanks on every returned quote, including unknowns.
- Quantity
- One unit of measure, spares visible, no blended package count.
- Delivered scope
- Freight, tax, accessories and warranty written in columns.
- Supplier documents
- Files named to the quoted model, or an explicit gap.
A lowest unit price can be the right commercial signal when those four columns match. A comparable delivered scope can show that the cheap line omitted connectors or a monitoring license. Both arguments stay on the page because the winner depends on the purchase, not on a slogan. No percentage saving is stated, because this desk has no measured order history to cite.
Read the project contexts or the procurement brief before you send drawings you are not ready to share.
| Topic | What stays a question |
|---|---|
| rated power | 33 kW, 62.5 kW or 125 kW only if your study says so |
| module efficiency | a module-side percent, never copied onto the inverter line |
| string current | 13 A or 20 A as a module input, then confirmed by the plant |
| enclosure rating | outdoor pad versus electrical room, stated by the site |
| thermal management | fan or liquid path only when the quoted cabinet describes it |
| cycle life | left blank unless cells are in scope |
| round-trip efficiency | a storage test basis, not an inverter slogan |
| SCADA | point count such as 40, 120 or 200 tags, supplied by the controls reviewer |
Start with the requirement, not a factory tour story
There is no published plant list and no claim that a supplier was audited by this desk. Send the application, the ratings you know, the quantity and the US destination.