Choice of inverter

[nwdiver]

No, if 1/6th is shaded 1/3 is lost. Here's a pretty good description of how they work. The graphic that shows how the voltages and power are proportioned is by REC, an Australian solar panel maker. As far as I understand it, these panels are always at least as good as a standard panel in shaded situations.

That's the same link where I learned they're parallel not series. I thought the cell groups were 6S. If current is halved then it would need to be 3S2P. If it's 3S2P and one cell group is shaded you 'lose' the other 2 it's in series with. If the nominal voltage is 30v and one cell group is in shade you'll have 3 cell groups at 30v in parallel with 2 cell groups at 20v. 20v can't push current onto 30v.

I have a similar situation at my house. I have an older SMA string inverter with 1 MPPT and 3 strings. In the summer one string loses 4 of 14 panels to shade around 4pm. The entire string stops producing once those 4 panels are shaded because 10 panels are only ~300v and the other 2 strings are operating at 420v. This is why multi-MPPT inverters are such a 'game-changer'. If my inverter had 3 MPPT channels I would only lose the 4 panels in shade instead of 14 panels.

 

[nwdiver]

No, if 1/6th is shaded 1/3 is lost.

Ah... I think I understand now. Each pair of cell groups is also connected. So if one cell is shaded you effectively have 2S2P instead of 3S2P losing 1/3rd of the output as you said. Makes sense now.

Yeah. In a non-optimized system if 3 cell groups are shaded and you effectively have 3S the panel output would be 0 since the other strings would be attempting to push ~8A through a panel that can only output 4A triggering the bypass diodes. In an optimized system you would still have half-power.

 

[ktraylor]

Tesla finishing up on 16.3 kw system but I'm having the same issue as some members getting answers to my questions on why Solar Edge was noted in my purchase docs and they installed Delta-which appears to be designed well with 3 ppv.
The issue I have a can not get any answers to Extended warranty on on the Delta ML-8TL-US-inverters, tech help line at Delta says only standard 10 yr is offered, which is 2 less than the solar edge and I could have got an extended to 20 ears on the Solar Edge.
Any input is appreciated.

 

[wjgjr]

Tesla finishing up on 16.3 kw system but I'm having the same issue as some members getting answers to my questions on why Solar Edge was noted in my purchase docs and they installed Delta-which appears to be designed well with 3 ppv.
The issue I have a can not get any answers to Extended warranty on on the Delta ML-8TL-US-inverters, tech help line at Delta says only standard 10 yr is offered, which is 2 less than the solar edge and I could have got an extended to 20 ears on the Solar Edge.
Any input is appreciated.

I do not have an answer for why they swapped, but I can confirm that when I was looking for extended warranty options on the Delta, I could not find them. However, I have a Delta Solivia (7.6 kW model) so it might be different for the Delta M. (I did find a website that claimed to sell extended warranties for smaller-sized Delta models, but not mine, and I did not explore it further as it was unclear whether they would even sell one if you did not buy the inverter from them, let alone whether they serviced the US, as a lot of sites seemed focused on Europe or elsewhere.) Tesla at the time did not have any information either.

 

[ScoGold]

How much is it to buy the extended warranty on the SolarEdge 10000-HD? Is it worth it since the technology would likely be more advanced a decade from now when it would be out of warranty? I guess it comes down to the cost.

 

[pdx_m3s]

How much is it to buy the extended warranty on the SolarEdge 10000-HD? Is it worth it since the technology would likely be more advanced a decade from now when it would be out of warranty? I guess it comes down to the cost.

I have the SE-10000 inverter and I paid $307 to extend the warranty to 25 years a few months ago.

 

[h2ofun]

I have the SE-10000 inverter and I paid $307 to extend the warranty to 25 years a few months ago.

Is this something I can do personally as the end user, or do I have to go through my installer to do?

 

[pdx_m3s]

Is this something I can do personally as the end user, or do I have to go through my installer to do?

You (personally) purchase it from SolarEdge. You’ll need your inverter serial number. Just google SolarEdge extended warranty and you’ll find it.

 

[h2ofun]

You (personally) purchase it from SolarEdge. You’ll need your inverter serial number. Just google SolarEdge extended warranty and you’ll find it.

whats another few hundred bucks

https://www.solaredge.com/sites/default/files/warranty-extension-pricelist-na.pdf

 

[ScoGold]

I have the SE-10000 inverter and I paid $307 to extend the warranty to 25 years a few months ago.

That’s totally worthy it. I thought it would be thousands.

 

[h2ofun]

That’s totally worthy it. I thought it would be thousands.

I just paid for the 25 year one. Why not

 

[pdx_m3s]

That’s totally worthy it. I thought it would be thousands.

Yep. Now the whole system is warranties for 25 years. Probably longer than we’ll be in this house.

 

[RaiderFanMan]

Chatted with my project advisor and is being pushed to accept Tesla invertor, claiming Tesla is ending contracts with SE/Delta soon and it's showing 180 days to wait for any SolarEdge inverters. Anyway, gonna end up delaying a month or two for another installation time slot due to this surprise today..

Hold out for the SE Inverter. I was supposed to get one in Jan and they installed a Delta with no Power Optimizers. Complained to Project Manager same day, Jan 15, and was able to get a SE10000 and Power Optimizers installed Feb 5. System is producing 20% more power during a quick check of the SE. NorCal install. Just passed inspection. Waiting on PGE approval now as last step

 

[nwdiver]

Hold out for the SE Inverter. I was supposed to get one in Jan and they installed a Delta with no Power Optimizers. Complained to Project Manager same day, Jan 15, and was able to get a SE10000 and Power Optimizers installed Feb 5. System is producing 20% more power during a quick check of the SE. NorCal install. Just passed inspection. Waiting on PGE approval now as last step

Not really an accurate comparison unless the weather was the same... most of the systems I've installed are non-optimized. I've installed one SE system. There's no noticeable performance difference.

2020 production Same year, Same panels, same city, roughly the same orientation, top two on a string inverter, bottom panels on a SE inverter with optimizers.

Non-Optimized

Optimized

 

[h2ofun]

Hold out for the SE Inverter. I was supposed to get one in Jan and they installed a Delta with no Power Optimizers. Complained to Project Manager same day, Jan 15, and was able to get a SE10000 and Power Optimizers installed Feb 5. System is producing 20% more power during a quick check of the SE. NorCal install. Just passed inspection. Waiting on PGE approval now as last step

What part of Auburn are you at? I am at Lake of the Pines