Transformerless Residential Inverter Named One of the Best Green Building Products of 2014

ROCKLIN, Calif., Nov. 14, 2013—SMA's Sunny Boy TL-US series of transformerless residential inverters has been selected as a 2014 Top-10 Green Building Product by BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec product directory and the Environmental Building News newsletter. Now in its 12th year, the Top-10 awards go to the most innovative green building products handpicked by BuildingGreen editors from among the hundreds of products reviewed over the previous 12 months.

The Sunny Boy 3000TL-US/4000TL-US/5000TL-US represents an evolutionary leap forward in residential string inverter performance. Its groundbreaking Secure Power Supply feature makes it possible for the inverter to provide up to 1,500 W of daytime standby power in the event of a grid outage for charging laptops, cell phones and more, without the need of additional, costly batteries. Moreover, its superior power production is derived from leading CEC efficiency while dual maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms and SMA's OptiTrac™ Global Peak MPP tracking mitigate the effect of shade and allow for installation at challenging sites.

"We are honored to have BuildingGreen name the Sunny Boy TL-US line of inverters as one of the most innovative products of the year," said Henry Dziuba, president and general manager of SMA America and president of SMA Canada. "The Sunny Boy TL-US has been lauded by industry professionals since its launch this year and the Top-10 award reinforces the fact that this inverter is redefining the residential solar market."

The 2014 selections highlight how a focus on simplicity and quality enables today's green products to contribute to sustainable and resilient design goals. In addition to the Sunny Boy TL-US, this year's winners include a commercial composting system, dimension stone that utilizes quarry waste, and an engineered wood product that is partly sourced from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle.

"The products we're recognizing this year are remarkable in their diversity and innovation," said Alex Wilson, founder of BuildingGreen. "We are thrilled to call attention to these products, which are helping to create more sustainable, greener buildings throughout North America."

As the nation's leading directory of green products, GreenSpec allows users to find products organized by LEED credits as well as by building category and the MasterFormat structure. Over 2,600 products have been listed based on criteria developed over the past 21 years. Manufacturers do not pay to be listed in GreenSpec, and neither GreenSpec nor Environmental Building News carry advertising. "Our policy of not offering pay-for-listing services allows us to be objective in our review of products," said Wilson. The GreenSpec product database is available online as part of the subscription-based BuildingGreen Suite.

Other BuildingGreen resources include Environmental Building News, the oldest and most widely respected newsletter in the green building field, and LEEDuser.com, a resource for teams pursuing certification through the LEED Rating System.

About SMA
The SMA Group generated sales of €1.5 billion in 2012 and is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants and, as an energy management group, offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented internationally in 21 countries. The Group employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. SMA's broad product portfolio includes a compatible inverter for every type of module on the market and for all plant sizes. The product range includes both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems. SMA is therefore able to provide ideal technical inverter solutions for all plant sizes and types. Since 2008, the Group's parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for excellence as an employer and achieved first place in the nationwide "Great Place to Work®" competition in 2011 and 2012. www.SMA-America.com/www.SMA-Canada.ca