System and method for establishing communication with an array of inverters

An inverter to convert direct current (DC) power from an alternative energy source to alternating current (AC) power, the inverter comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory device communicatively coupled with the processor and having stored therein a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the processor, result in the processor:
• receiving a response request transmitted by a controller over an AC power line, the response request including a length of a response time window;
• determining a random response time for the inverter based on the length of the response time window;
• transmitting a response to the controller at the response time, the response including an identification of the inverter;
• and
• in response to receiving an acknowledgement from the controller in response to the transmitted response, updating the inverter's operation to ignore subsequent response requests from the controller.