[RE-wrenches] Enphase track record

[Mark Frye]

I have had 40 enphase 190s on a roof with sweeping shade for 4 months now. I
had no DOA units and no unit failures to date. They are part of a standard
Pro Solar rack.
 
That is about all I can say.
 
The customer is very happy.
 
Mark Frye 
Berkeley Solar Electric Systems 
303 Redbud Way 
Nevada City,  CA 95959 
(530) 401-8024 
 <http://www.berkeleysolar.com/> www.berkeleysolar.com  
 

  _____  

From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Drake
Chamberlin
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 1:34 PM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Enphase track record


I'm also concerned about the issues brought up here.  I have two possible
projects that would benefit from Enphase due to the fact that the modules
will go on more than one roof, with significantly different orientations.
In one case, there are shading issues as well.

Supposedly the Enphase units are selling fast.  Someone must be installing
them.  They have been out long enough that there must be some data as to
whether or not the units are surviving.  The long term will not be known
until the inverters have been out for many years, however if they are having
issues in the short term, then we know they have issues.  

One idea that Enphase tech support said was acceptable was to mount the
inverters in accessible groups.  The DC leads would need to be extended, and
some loss would occur.  Also the inverters can be mounted in vented attics.
Having the inverters in a group in an accessible attic would make
maintenance easier than tearing apart an array to get to a dead inverter.  


At 02:00 PM 11/7/2009, you wrote:



I put a temperature probe

under the modules almost every job, and it is always 

drastically lower than the module itself. A frying module at 130 might

have an

ambient temperature underneath in its shade of 89 degrees. the specifics

are 

always surprisingly low relative to touching the panel and how your face

feels 

up there. 



Nick









Can anyone think of a more brutal environment for a piece of electronic

equipment than under a solar module which day in and day out experiences

the

elements and temperatures of 130+ plus F?



 



Despite any so-called accelerated life-cycle testing and estimated mean

time

to failure probabilities, nothing takes the place of actual time cooking

under solar arrays.  



 



Having seen my fair

 share of controller and inverter manufacturers come and

go out of business in 30+ years in the RE field, I'll be watching with

great

interest the great Enphase experiment unfold.



 



And ever heard of the word "recall"?  Swapping a central

inverter or two is

one thing.  Imagine doing it with the X number of microinverters

you

installed six months or two years ago...



 



But hey, other than my Eeyore-sounding words above, aren't Enphase

inverters

so cool with all that they can do?



 



marco in Hawaii



 



A while back there was a discussion about the reliability of Enphase

inverters.  As I understand, they have been selling like hot cakes,

so a lot

must be installed.  Some sort of track record must be emerging. 



Has the promised reliability of these inverters been met?  Can they

be

connected to a rail, under a large array without worry that the unit

will

need to be dug out

 and replaced?  Should the inverters be located in an

attic or other accessible location.



Thanks, 







Drake Chamberlin

Athens Electric

OH License 44810

CO License 3773

NABCEP TM  Certified PV Installer 

Office - 740-448-7328

Mobile - 740-856-9648 



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Drake Chamberlin
Athens Electric
OH License 44810
CO License 3773
NABCEP TM  Certified PV Installer 
Office - 740-448-7328
Mobile - 740-856-9648 

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