Solar Inverter Technology with Evan Upshur, CPS America | EP284

Today on the Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague welcomes back Evan Upshur from CPS America for a discussion on the latest innovations in solar inverter technology. Evan shares why CPS America continues to be a leader in the solar industry with their reliable, versatile products and exceptional customer service.

Evan emphasizes the importance of versatility in their product line, particularly highlighting their 100kW 480V inverter and new 200kW model with a centralized wire box. These solutions are especially valuable for the rapidly growing community solar market, where seamless integration with utility-provided 480V transformers eliminates redundancy and simplifies installation. The conversation explores how CPS's research and development team focuses on refining proven technology while incorporating innovations that make solar systems more efficient and easier to build.

Beyond just hardware, Evan discusses how CPS America's commitment to customer service, readily available UL-listed products, and efficient supply chain have contributed to their success. With expanding capabilities including AC combiners, medium voltage transformers, and energy storage solutions, CPS now offers comprehensive DC to AC conversion for both energy storage and PV applications. 

Whether you're a solar developer, installer, or industry professional, this episode provides valuable insights into what makes CPS America a trusted partner for solar projects of all sizes. Tune in to learn how versatility in design and application is driving the next generation of solar technology.

Connect with Evan Upshur

Evan Upshur

CPS America

Transcript

Evan Upshur: 0:51

Yeah, I think it just comes down to versatility. You know, a product like this, and a lot of the other inverters in the that we offer, they're versatile. Like, for instance, the inverters can tie in for delta or y interconnections. A lot of them, the neutral is optional, so it's just expanding your versatility. So you could have 10 different projects, and our product line will work for all of them, just because the product is so versatile.

intro: 1:21

Are you speeding the energy transition here at the Clean Power Hour, our host, Tim Montague bring you the best in solar, batteries and clean technologies every week want to go deeper into decarbonization. We do too. We're here to help you understand and command the commercial, residential and utility, solar, wind and storage industries. So let's get to it together. We can speed the energy transition.

Tim Montague: 1:47

We're here at inner solar San Diego in the CPS booth, and I'm with Evan Upshur, who is out of the Detroit area, and he's repeat guests on the show. Welcome back. Evan, yeah, thank you for having me. Always good to see you. And so much action here in the CPS booth, you have a very popular booth. Evan, why is that?

Evan Upshur: 2:07

Man, I think it's because we got a great team, everyone on all ends, you know, from, you know, the upfront sales, obviously, to the service, to the marketing. I mean, we're firing on all cylinders. Yeah,

Tim Montague: 2:20

the team is amazing. Yeah, you're so friendly, you're very service oriented. The technology is great. You got to have good tech, right, yeah, and it's, but it's a both end, right?

Evan Upshur: 2:32

Yeah. I mean, all these systems that people are talking about all week and, you know, throughout the year, as they grow their businesses, you know, they're meant to produce power for 25 years. So, you know, it's great, if everything's good on the front end, you got a good price and all that. But really, that service end, on the back end. And, I mean, it's key, you know, there has to be that foundation there, from a customer service perspective, in order to, you know, grow the business. Yeah,

Tim Montague: 2:55

so we were just talking about your, you know, a customer you were talking to that you've worked with for several years. I'm curious, what do you think brings customers coming back?

Evan Upshur: 3:10

Yeah. I mean, I think it's a little bit of what I just mentioned about the customer service, but I gotta hand it to like, our research and development team and our application engineering team, because they're finding, you know, products that work, and they're refining them more. They're not trying to reinvent the wheel. They're refining the product, but also, you know, continuously analyzing the market, just to make sure that, you know, there's a good mix of what works well and what has worked well, and then kind of sprinkling in the new stuff that helps these systems become just more efficient and more easy to build. Yeah,

Tim Montague: 3:45

there's a constant evolution of the technology. Let's talk about the tech a little bit. We're standing here by the 100 KW 480 inverter with the quote, unquote, distributed wire box, and then the 200 with a centralized wire box. Why is this an important product? Yeah,

Evan Upshur: 4:01

it's an important product because the utility scale, or really community solar market is, you know, developing rapidly. I mean, it's been, it's worked very well. And essentially, you know, the utility, a lot of times in a community solar project, will provide the transformer, and the transformer is 480 volt. So you don't want to have redundancy and have multiple transformers. So to have an inverter that outputs 480 volts directly, it just makes for a really seamless tie in. So this particular inverter, the 100 KW 480 did really well in the community solar market, and this is our new inverter. So it's basically an evolution of the 100 kW inverter, double the size, though we're seeing energy density now that, you know, is hard to believe say five years ago. Yeah, yeah, it's true.

Tim Montague: 4:52

It is amazing that you can get twice as much power out of a box that's one and a half times the size. Yeah. So I'm curious, when you talk to customers here at inner solar, what are some of the things that are top of mind for them?

Evan Upshur: 5:11

I think it is just ease of use and just knowing that the product is actually there. You know, there are a lot of products out here, you know, maybe newer companies, maybe not as, you know, established yet that, you know, they have products that just aren't available yet. I mean, this stuff is actually real. It's, you it's got UL listing, it's, it's, it's available to ship. You know, if you have a project, we can get it to you in a matter of weeks, not, you know, months, or hopefully not years and stuff. This is, this is, you know, our bread and butter, you know, goes back to our team, you know, the supply chain. Huge part of of what folks are looking for someone they can depend on, because you can go out and sell a project. And develop a new cool solar project, but if you can't build it, or you have those roadblocks stopping you from getting that final interconnection, it just really becomes hard to make money and continue a sustainable business.

Tim Montague: 6:03

Tell us a little bit about your trajectory with the company. How long have you been with Chint?

Evan Upshur: 6:07

Yeah, I think it's just over three years now. So I think probably later this year, it'll mark the four years. So just really excited about our mission in terms of just making projects easier to build with our equipment. And we're diversifying quite a bit too. So you know, not only is it just the inverters, but we have the AC combiners now, medium voltage transformers and energy storage, so we can kind of cover the whole DC to AC conversion, whether it's energy storage or or PV. Now, it's pretty sweet.

Tim Montague: 6:40

What else should our listeners know about your technology or the company in general? Yeah, I

Evan Upshur: 6:46

think, um, it just comes down to versatility. You know, a product like this and a lot of the other inverters in them that we offer. They're versatile. Like, for instance, the inverters can tie in for delta or y interconnections. A lot of them, the neutral is optional, so it's just expanding your versatility. So you could have 10 different projects, and our product line will work for all of them, just because the product is So, you know, versatile.

Tim Montague: 7:14

I love it, yeah. Well, check out all of our content at cleanpowerhour.com Give us a rating and review on Apple or Spotify and follow us on YouTube. Evan, how can our listeners find you?

Evan Upshur: 7:27

I'm obviously on LinkedIn, always glad to connect and meet new people and any trade show hope to be at and see you there.

Tim Montague: 7:37

I'm Tim Montague, let's grow solar and storage. The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America's number one three phase string inverter with over eight gigawatts shipped in the US. The CPS product lineup includes string inverters ranging from 25 kW to 350 kW, their flagship inverter, the CPS 350 KW is designed to work with solar plants ranging from two megawatts to two gigawatts. CPS is the world's most bankable inverter brand and is America's number one choice for solar plants now offering solutions for commercial utility ESS and Balance of System Requirements, go to chintpowersystems.com or call 855-584-7168, to find out more, you.