For an undisclosed sum National Semiconductor has acquired Act Solar, a privately held solar energy company that provides power optimization solutions for commercial and utility-scale solar installations. With the acquisition National expands its portfolio of power optimization technologies along with the acquisition of new diagnostics and panel monitoring capabilities for solar arrays. National's own SolarMagic technology enhances the efficiency and output of solar arrays when the panels are affected by mismatch issues including shade, debris, different panel types, and panel aging.

Panel mismatch can disproportionately impact the output of a solar installation. For example, an entire solar array's energy output can be reduced by half if just 10 percent of one solar panel is shaded by a tree, chimney or rooftop vent. Recent internal testing showed that National's SolarMagic power optimizers recovered 57 percent of power lost due to shade, thereby enhancing the solar installation's output and efficiency. SolarMagic power optimizers begin shipping this spring. Act Solar now becomes part of the SolarMagic family. Its products improve array performance by 6 to 11 percent using patent-pending technology, complementing central inverters by dynamically re-circulating small amounts of energy as needed.

The balance of the array is maintained, assuring maximum power output. The technology utilizes a revolutionary technique for power tracking, which works by injecting energy into the string as opposed to traditional DC-DC voltage converting approaches. Early field tests and historical modeling have shown that this solution can cumulatively deliver 40 to 80 percent more power over the operating life of a solar panel installation.

Act Solar was founded in 2006 by a team of Silicon Valley professionals focused on making solar arrays.