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Stay away from SolarEdge inverter
- Thread starter lettcco
- Start date
I had a 10.75KW Solar City/Tesla array installed with a PowerWall 2 in August 2018. I found this topic, because my Solar Edge Inverter failed on August 3, 2020 (seems like a common problem with installs around that time).
Meanwhile, I'm going through a heat wave, power safety shutoffs, and NorCal fires - all sans solar or battery.
The earliest they could get a tech out to see me was 8/25/20 (and he pretty much confirmed the error codes, etc). Now I'm waiting for a new inverter to be ordered and installed, whenever the hell that might be....
Realistically, I'm looking at two full months out of service with a system that didn't even make it two years before something went bad. I realize I'm under warranty for the repairs, etc. But, does anyone on this board know if I have any recourse with Tesla for the lost productivity, the sky high electric bill coming my way, spoiled foods, etc? Any strategy recommendations with their customer services?
I really appreciate your insights...
Meanwhile, I'm going through a heat wave, power safety shutoffs, and NorCal fires - all sans solar or battery.
The earliest they could get a tech out to see me was 8/25/20 (and he pretty much confirmed the error codes, etc). Now I'm waiting for a new inverter to be ordered and installed, whenever the hell that might be....
Realistically, I'm looking at two full months out of service with a system that didn't even make it two years before something went bad. I realize I'm under warranty for the repairs, etc. But, does anyone on this board know if I have any recourse with Tesla for the lost productivity, the sky high electric bill coming my way, spoiled foods, etc? Any strategy recommendations with their customer services?
I really appreciate your insights...
darhall993
Member
That is really disappointing customer service. I've been there too. Similarly, in the summer of 2018 I had a SolarEdge 7600HD fail about 2 months after original install, but I had my deployment done by a local certified Tesla installer, the local folks replaced the failed inverter in 10 days. So I lost 10 days of generation, I can only imagine what you must be going through.
Are you on a solar lease or did you buy your system? I don't know about Tesla, but the Sunrun contract actually says they'd pay the homeowner for the lost energy production due to defect if the system were on a lease. But they'd do nothing for a homeowner who owned the system. This is because the leased system has a production guarantee (exempting shortfalls caused by natural event such as cloudy weather) while the owned system does not.
I think you're out of luck on the damaged food though. I can't imagine any warranty covering lost food or proximate damages.
The inverter failing shouldn't have prevented the Powerwalls from charging up from the grid under the Stormwatch right? Or did you lose power so long that even the PW2s were depleted since the solar couldn't charge them?
BTW if you haven't already - you should consider the buy-up option for your SolarEdge inverter warranty. Solaredge has one of the shortest warranties in the inverter business, and you're about to hit the 24 month cutoff to use the buy-up option.
https://www.solaredge.com/sites/default/files/warranty-extension-pricelist-na.pdf
Inverter Warranty Extension | SolarEdge US
https://www.solaredge.com/sites/default/files/warranty-extension-pricelist-na.pdf
Inverter Warranty Extension | SolarEdge US
It’s a sucky situation to be in, but unfortunately I don’t think tesla has any guarantees about system production or warranty replacement timeframes or covering lost production due to equipment failure. You might even want to consider just buying a new inverter outright. Depending on the size of the inverter a new one would be in the $1500-2500 range. It sounds like that might be approaching your potential losses. I don’t know if tesla would be willing to come out and install the new inverter for your or if you’d have to have someone else install it or do it on your own, but theoretically that could get you up and running again in a matter of days. Then you could just keep the warranty replacement unit that tesla eventually gets so you have a spare in case it fails again.
Mine failed this past monday and its looking like a min 4-6 weeks for a replacement if im lucky. Not happy at the least bit considering the enormous loss of production and extremely high electric bills until it is fixed. Almost thinking of just buying a new inverter and having it installed so i can get back up and running. So frustrating.
Hold up... I'm revealing my noob-ness here, but you're telling me when I switch to "Storm Watch" on the app, my battery will fully charge from the grid?
I was under the impression that Storm Watch only preserved battery life (generated by solar) for incoming storms. If I leave on Storm Watch, will it automatically begin to charge from the grid when something's incoming? Because I have it on right now, and stuck on 0%. And we've been surrounded by lightning storms, public safety power shutoffs, and fires causing outages.
Thanks for your insights!
Yes, if storm watch is turned on by you in the app (default setting, I believe) and Tesla issues a storm watch (in the US, this seems to be based on certain NWS warnings,) your batteries will charge from the grid. I believe most people get a notification in the app when it turns on (though I did not) and you can also tell it is on by looking at the Power Flow screen in the app. Under the powerwall, it should say "Storm Watch" in red letters when Tesla has issued one.
To be clear, you turning it on in the app is not enough - that just allows it to happen when Tesla issues a storm watch for your location. So you cannot charge from the grid when you want, or when you feel there is a danger of an outage.
NerdUno
Member
SolarEdge inverters do appear to be the weak link. Palmetto Solar replaced two of ours the day after they failed at the 2 year mark.
This is a rather interesting thread, in a "huh, yet another thing to think about" way.
It seems as if the inverter(s), if they fail, can take the whole system down. This causes direct, measurable costs.
If its measured in a day or two, that seems to be what is known as "life."
But once you start measuring in weeks, then its (1) worth arguing about, (2) potentially worth buying a spare inverter just for the insurance. A spare inverter is expensive to just sit in one's garage, but so is two months of electricity.
Plus, if its just a spare inverter one would not have to obsess too much over its size.
I am sort of used to this as I cycle alot, including doing those weekend 100 mile events. One thing one learns is to take spare parts, especially, for example a thing called a "derailluer hanger" which is specific to each type of bike frame and as to which, if it fails or gets bent on a ride, you are guaranteed out for the day as the gears will not work. Everybody takes spare tubes for tires, but most of us learn about spare derailluer hangers the hard way -- by experience.
It seems as if the inverter(s), if they fail, can take the whole system down. This causes direct, measurable costs.
If its measured in a day or two, that seems to be what is known as "life."
But once you start measuring in weeks, then its (1) worth arguing about, (2) potentially worth buying a spare inverter just for the insurance. A spare inverter is expensive to just sit in one's garage, but so is two months of electricity.
Plus, if its just a spare inverter one would not have to obsess too much over its size.
I am sort of used to this as I cycle alot, including doing those weekend 100 mile events. One thing one learns is to take spare parts, especially, for example a thing called a "derailluer hanger" which is specific to each type of bike frame and as to which, if it fails or gets bent on a ride, you are guaranteed out for the day as the gears will not work. Everybody takes spare tubes for tires, but most of us learn about spare derailluer hangers the hard way -- by experience.
This is a rather interesting thread, in a "huh, yet another thing to think about" way.
It seems as if the inverter(s), if they fail, can take the whole system down. This causes direct, measurable costs.
If its measured in a day or two, that seems to be what is known as "life."
But once you start measuring in weeks, then its (1) worth arguing about, (2) potentially worth buying a spare inverter just for the insurance. A spare inverter is expensive to just sit in one's garage, but so is two months of electricity.
Plus, if its just a spare inverter one would not have to obsess too much over its size.
I am sort of used to this as I cycle alot, including doing those weekend 100 mile events. One thing one learns is to take spare parts, especially, for example a thing called a "derailluer hanger" which is specific to each type of bike frame and as to which, if it fails or gets bent on a ride, you are guaranteed out for the day as the gears will not work. Everybody takes spare tubes for tires, but most of us learn about spare derailluer hangers the hard way -- by experience.
The problem I have with a spare inverter is that it is still a large cost, and there could be risks that while leaving it sitting idle somewhere for a few years waiting for its moment, it might have a problem when it gets installed, and I'm not sure it is really practical to test it (unless you actually install a bunch of switches that would actually allow you to operate off of either one.) Unlike your derailleur hanger (and I did have to look it up - only brave enough to Zwift in my basement, so at least I don't have to walk home in a failure) there are a lot of complicated electronics to the inverter. It is also a real waste of equipment if (hopefully) failure rates are not too high overall. The real solution is that Tesla needs to find a way to reduce turnaround time on these repairs.
It does get to the question of what Tesla's responsibility is here. It is clear from my contract (and I think others are similar) that Tesla warrants the inverter for a length of time and will repair/replace it at their expense. However, the contract does not provide an explicit timeframe, nor does it provide for compensation for lost production. So the question eventually becomes what is a reasonable timeframe for such an install to occur before the customer has a right to extra compensation. Certainly, the lack of a timeframe does not mean Tesla can just sit on it for a year or two and then send somebody out, but it is also probably not reasonable to expect one-hour service, 24/7. But it may take enough people pushing for compensation (and even succeeding in arbitration) for Tesla to devote some additional resources to reducing service times.
I don’t think I would go out and order a new inverter just so I could have a spare sitting on my shelf. However, if I did experience an inverter failure and it looked like Tesla wouldn’t be able to repair it for weeks or months then I would considering buying a new one at that point. I think that would reduce my downtime to days, rather than weeks or months, and it would mean that the spare inverter would be tested and known working right away.
However, that said, in my case I have two inverters, so if one failed I would only lose half my production. Additionally, I’m not paying California utility prices, so I’m saving around $250 per month on my power bill. Half of that would only be $125 a month and at that rate it would be around a year before the lost production would pay for a new inverter. Hopefully tesla could get it replaced before that point.
I was told by the Tesla technician that the Solar Edge inverters that have been failing en masse were made/installed in late 2018 and early 2019.
reddy
Active Member
Mine was, yes. A 7600H. Installed November 2017, failed February 2020.
My installation has 2 inverters, so I now have one with, and one without, a screen.
