I have been installing solar for 7 years now. And I have installed hundreds of both Solaredge and Enphase systems. I will say this from what I experienced, I have had more issues with Solaredge working properly. Microinverters are not only safer, the technology has alot more to grow. Its just the beginning of what Solaredge is just a glorified string inverter, its old technology that has reached its peak. Enphase hands down is better than Solaredge.
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nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Could you be less specific? What issues? I don't install Solaredge but I know a lot of other installers that absolutely love them and I haven't heard of any problems. From what I've seen String inverters work fine. Optimizers work fine and micros work fine. The biggest difference is cost. Strings cost ~$0.20/w. Optimizers cost ~$0.35/w and Micros cost ~$0.60/w. The marginal increase in output is rarely worth the big jump in cost.
For Example;
I'm working on a 19.4kW system that will use 2 7.7kW String Inverters that cost $3k ($1500ea). An 'upgrade' to Solar Edge or Micros would add >$3500. For $3500 it would be far more productive to add 5.8kW of solar...
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You may want to proof read your post next time, I'm having a hard time figuring out what exactly you are trying to say (specific issues you've had with SolarEdge). I'm looking at a 2nd solar project to add to or existing solaredge install and I'd be interested to know of another route to go. This would be for 20 panels @ 370 watts per panel.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
As long as the entire string is facing the same direction there's really not much benefit to going further than 1 MPPT per String. The biggest hitch is the new NEC requirement for rapid shutdown. That does give Solaredge a slight leg up since all rooftop PV systems will require module level isolation starting Jan 1 2019. Still not much benefit to micros unless you REALLY don't want to mount a central inverter...
One issue is that the environment these things live in (underneath the panels) can be quite hard on electronics. Where I live (Sydney, Australia) my installer was quite opposed to microinverters for that reason.
I'm not sure I'd want to try running solar during grid outages without a battery, since there would be fluctuations due to things like aircraft shadows and the occasional cloud.
I think that is more of a system design result rather than an attribute of Solaredge. I have a 5.7kW system with a 3.8kW Solaredge inverter and I see clipping in the winter and when my panels are dirty.
DB-Cooper
Member
I'm shopping solar now, I've gone back and forth with many vendors. A few vendors said Enphase in Texas has some issues due to the heat, SolarEdge doesn't have these. I'm about to pull the trigger on 28 LG Neon2 A5 panels and SolarEdge SE7600. I'm not sure if it's 7600A or 7600H, not entirely clear on HD-Wave whether it's included or not. Can anyone give me any insight. I think I'm going to go with SolarEdge given their support, the cost and that multiple contractors have said Enphase struggles with some of the Texas heat. I have no shade as my house is built on a 20ft slab above the tree line at the top of a canyon, and we have some fierce summers.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Is this DIY? If you're buying your own equipment and you have no shading issues I'd save yourself ~$2k and get a string inverter...
I tested the effect of module level optimization like SolarEdge has... one of these panels is equipped with an optimizer... can you tell which one? Hint: It's not the one in the top left...
DB-Cooper
Member
Nah, my roof is crazy steep and high, I once tried to walk it to find a skylight leak and valued my life too much to pursue it. My home is three stories with a steep pitch and it's sitting on top of 20' slab on a canyon. The penalty for failure up there is basically a plunge into a canyon filled with limestone.
I think I'm just going SolarEdge SE7600H with 28 LG 330W panels. My roof is well positioned for solar, almost no shade. Fortunately the side of that house is sort of in the canyon with trees so the HD-Wave Optimizer will be on the side of the house under tree coverage all day.
Am I giving up anything going this route instead of Enphase? I don't think so. Another vendor I was close to selecting was really promoting AP Systems, their UI looked great, but I'd never heard of them. I trust SolarEdge will be around. My vendor also said they pay for all the 25 year upgrades on the string inverteres and all other components.
Have Enphase since 2015 and no problems (Australia). Would appreciate better reporting (instantaneous rather than every 15 minutes). Chose the the micro-inverters because we inherited the world's most magnificent gum tree (so the council say) when we bought the place. There is a significant loss when the sun sits behind the shade of tree (winter and autumn). The micro-inverters have been great.
We have Enphase M210 inverters. I think it was a bad design, many others have had failures with those. They recently offered us the opportunity to pay for a new set of inverters so they won't have to keep fixing our old ones. Oh joy. Since they aren't getting us replacements per our existing warranty and I like clean energy, I'm shelling out another $7k just to get my array working fully again. Bastards. I'd go with another brand if it was plug and play.
I doubt that's an issue for my installation. I think I have more clearance. Panels are mounted on the ridges of a standing seam roof.
@Solarman530
can you island with Enphase microinverters? can you add Tesla battery? what extra HW do I need? 37 IQ7's and 315w panels
anything?
You can island with IQ 6s and 7s, if you have a battery back-up like the Tesla. I have had both and it works fine in that regard. IQ8s will allow off grid operation without battery back-up. That is the huge advantage the IQ8s will have in reducing the cost of islanding. Of course, without a battery back-up when the sun goes down, there is no power.
@JHellow
where can i find info? i realize google is my friend, but sometimes others can help point the way
i shall look up on Enphase site and see, but all pointers appreciated. t
The downside I see to IQ8's w/o battery is you are subject to the vagaries of the sun on smaller arrays since you must either use or store electricity as it is made.
3 days ago i made 53+ kWh, today, cloudy and rainy and virtually no production and my heat runs on electricity.
A battery is absolutely necessary to being a node in a VPP, unless your neighbor has a battery, but even then.....
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
I've wondered why there's such a deficit of real world data on this. I'd love to see a 10kW system with 8kW of enphase inverters compared to the same SMA and solar edge systems.
Maybe enphase is 'the best'. But in my experience solar edge and even SMA are 'good enough'. I need low $/kWh. If SMA and SE systems are ~10% lower over 20 years that's what I'm using. With rapid shutdown there's really no safety difference.
@JHellow
where can i find info? i realize google is my friend, but sometimes others can help point the way
i shall look up on Enphase site and see, but all pointers appreciated. t
The downside I see to IQ8's w/o battery is you are subject to the vagaries of the sun on smaller arrays since you must either use or store electricity as it .
3 days ago i made 53+ kWh, today, cloudy and rainy and virtually no production and my heat runs on electricity.
A battery is absolutely necessary to being a node in a VPP, unless your neighbor has a battery, but even then.....
my system installed 12/11/2018 is 37 Hanwah 315watt panels with 37 enphase IQ7’s. 11.65kW (derated to just under 10) SW Florida, cloudy rainy afternoons, usually clear mornings, some shading of some panels at various times of the day so I think micros better than strings but shall see.
Still not legal yet for some unknown reason and 1 microinverter of the 37 not reporting.
Still on a non-ratcheting meter.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Sure... maybe they are. That was never really the question. If you're installing a ~10kW system is it better to spend $4k more on micros vs strings or upgrade to a 13kW array for the same cost? I would argue that you're better off buying more panels for a string inverter. Micros aren't worth the premium. If you're space constrained and need to squeeze every mw you can out of limited area... sure but then cost no longer matters.
Further limiting the value of optimizers is the reality that evening and afternoon generation is going to become more valuable than mid-day generation which means oversized system which means inverters will be saturated at midday which means optimization becomes worthless for large chunks of generation.
The ~23kW system I'm currently working on is using 15.4kW of string inverters with some panels facing East and some facing West. Can't split inverter capacity like that with micros. The inverters will also be saturated from 11am - 4pm so any increased efficiency offered by optimizers would be lost.
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I have legally maxed out my system.
Here where I am 10kW is the cutoff between something like 3-5x more insurance and pesky stuff etc, except I get to multiply by 0.85 to get system “actual”. I could double the size but costs would go way up. Right now it’s about 150 - 175% of needs.
I’m more interested at present in islanding w/battery capability (hurricane Irma nailed me in 2017 with at least 70+ hours outage, $700 - $1,000 food and fuel? What fuel? for car) (got small electric)
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