Cooling Shroud - Grid Tie Inverter

This is a cooling shroud that you slide over these inverters. I made two options one to take an 80mm and one to take a 120mm fan on the end. The idea behind it is that you buy a fan that is the same voltage as your input solar and wire the fan into the negative and positive terminals. this way any time the panels are generating power from the sun the fan will kick in and cool the inverter down for higher efficiency.

It channels directed airflow across the inverter's heatsink fins and internal power electronics, addressing the common thermal bottleneck in these budget units.

Wire the fan (DC brushless, rated for your PV array voltage — typically 12–24V depending on panel config) directly in parallel with the DC input terminals (+ to +, – to –). No additional power supply or controller needed.

The fan spins proportionally to solar irradiance: full speed at peak production (when heat generation is highest), zero draw at night or in low light. This elegant passive thermal strategy eliminates parasitic losses while maximizing uptime and efficiency.

Benefits observed in practice:

• Mitigates thermal derating/throttling (common above ~50–60°C case temp)
• Improves MPPT tracking and conversion efficiency

• Extends electrolytic capacitor and MOSFET lifespan

   

  Installation notes:

1. Slide shroud over inverter end (fits snugly over the finned aluminum housing, no screws/mods required).
2. Secure fan to shroud (use included fan screw holes, i used small zip ties although i designed it for M4 or #6 screws).
3. Connect fan leads to inverter DC input (use appropriate gauge wire, fuse if desired, observe polarity).
4. Test under load, fan should ramp with solar input.