Evaluate my Equipment

[Dan123]

The panels are facing SW and SE due to the roof structure of the house. I didn’t want them to put a panel on any north-facing roof.



I was able to talk to them and upgraded my inverter from 7600 W to 10000 W at no cost. So I think I’m in a good place. Thank you all who commented in this thread!

The panels are facing SW and SE due to the roof structure of the house. I didn’t want them to put a panel on any north-facing roof.



I was able to talk to them and upgraded my inverter from 7600 W to 10000 W at no cost. So I think I’m in a good place. Thank you all who commented in this thread!

Here is the thing, inverters work less efficient when they are underutilized. So a 10000w inverter may be less efficient than 7600w, if most of the time the power is 5000w. Since your panels are split between SW and SE, it is likely that 7600w would have been sufficient.

You can download software called SAM, and do a simulation with the two inverters. Although I suspect the difference will be negligible either way.

Of course getting a larger inverter will allow you to upgrade to a larger PV array in the future. So go for it.

 

[banshee08]

Hey Banshee, I was able to upgrade to a 10000W inverter at no cost. So I’m hoping I will be utilizing the full potential of the solar array. I didn’t get the PW’s, but I plan to add a couple units in the future.

On a side note, how long have you been waiting on PTO from SCE?

Going on my 2nd week now. Its really random. Some of my friends in the area got their PTO in about 1 week and some like 4 weeks.

 

[NuShrike]

Hey Banshee, I was able to upgrade to a 10000W inverter at no cost. So I’m hoping I will be utilizing the full potential of the solar array. I didn’t get the PW’s, but I plan to add a couple units in the future.

On a side note, how long have you been waiting on PTO from SCE?

Solar PTO from SCE should take about one business day, after being electronically submitted in the < 10 kW filing. Make sure your installers do that as your system is also < 10 kW in AC, per the filing's formulas.

 

[Odiemac]

Here is the thing, inverters work less efficient when they are underutilized. So a 10000w inverter may be less efficient than 7600w, if most of the time the power is 5000w. Since your panels are split between SW and SE, it is likely that 7600w would have been sufficient.

You can download software called SAM, and do a simulation with the two inverters. Although I suspect the difference will be negligible either way.

Of course getting a larger inverter will allow you to upgrade to a larger PV array in the future. So go for it.

Is that still true, though? I only got 10.4kw of inverter for 13.32kw of panel, and I’m regretting not asking Tesla to upgrade the inverters. There doesn’t seem to be an efficiency different at least on the Delta inverters...

 

[nyprepper]

I have 20 x 330 (6.6kw) array facing south with a 7.6kw inverter and two powerwalls. In the early Spring I saw point in time production as high as 7.4kw but I have not seen higher than 6.1kw for the last couple of months. My single day record was 46KwH in late April. My first year production estimate was 12,000KwH.

 

[Daskid]

Here is the thing, inverters work less efficient when they are underutilized. So a 10000w inverter may be less efficient than 7600w, if most of the time the power is 5000w. Since your panels are split between SW and SE, it is likely that 7600w would have been sufficient.

You can download software called SAM, and do a simulation with the two inverters. Although I suspect the difference will be negligible either way.

Of course getting a larger inverter will allow you to upgrade to a larger PV array in the future. So go for it.

Yes, I plan to upgrade to a larger PV array in the future to maximize the power generation to power loss ratio in various seasons of the year.

Might have to tinker around with that software. Thanks!

 

[Daskid]

Would you pick the GSM kit with 12 year monitoring over a direct connection to your router for the inverter to be connected to the internet? Installer is telling me that if I remove it, it would not change my total cost. I am contemplating having it connected to the router instead to not deal with any issues after the 12 year monitoring service expires. But hate the idea that by removing it, it doesn’t affect my cost.

Thoughts?

 

[Dan123]

Would you pick the GSM kit with 12 year monitoring over a direct connection to your router for the inverter to be connected to the internet? Installer is telling me that if I remove it, it would not change my total cost. I am contemplating having it connected to the router instead to not deal with any issues after the 12 year monitoring service expires. But hate the idea that by removing it, it doesn’t affect my cost.

Thoughts?

How about both?

 

[Daskid]

How about both?

Good call. I could ask them. I also thought about just paying for the service after the included 12 year monitoring expires.

 

[Pale_Rider]

What brand inverter? If it’s SolarEdge you can have both, but you have to manually switch between them in the settings. It’s not a big deal, but be aware if your hardline goes down it will not automatically fall back to cellular. Also, cellular only updates every 4 hours...

 

[Daskid]

What brand inverter? If it’s SolarEdge you can have both, but you have to manually switch between them in the settings. It’s not a big deal, but be aware if your hardline goes down it will not automatically fall back to cellular. Also, cellular only updates every 4 hours...

Yes it’s SolarEdge. Is it difficult to switch settings?

 

[Pale_Rider]

Yes it’s SolarEdge. Is it difficult to switch settings?

No, you go into the settings. Password is usually 12312 by default (that’s from memory so I might be wrong) go to comm setting and pick which you want to use.

 

[Daskid]

No, you go into the settings. Password is usually 12312 by default (that’s from memory so I might be wrong) go to comm setting and pick which you want to use.

Thanks!