[RE-wrenches] Fronius IG vs IG Plus inverters

Howie Michaelson howie at suncatchervt.com
Tue Jun 28 13:16:27 PDT 2011


HI August,

Thanks for the note.  I'm solely interested because of the voltage window
- I always struggle around the 3.5-4.5 kW range for string inverters,
particularly with SMA which is my general preference.  I have defaulted to
Enphase in some cases, but typically shy away from them because lack of
trust and higher cost (though the Enlighten Monitoring is certainly an
eye-catcher - time waster - for the clients).

Howie
-- 
Howie Michaelson
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™

Catamount Solar, LLC
Renewable Energy Systems Sales and Service
VT Solar & Wind Incentive Program Partner
http://www.CatamountSolar.com
802-272-0004



On Tue, June 28, 2011 3:40 pm, August Goers wrote:
> Hi Howe,
>
>
>
> Why are you still interested in the original IG? We've had a fairly high
> failure rate with the original IG and I wouldn't recommend going back to
> them unless you're getting some sort of amazing inventory clearance
> price...
> We have over 100 IG+s in the field with only two failures to date. Both
> just
> wouldn't turn on at all.
>
>
>
> -August
>
>
>
> *From:* re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:
> re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] *On Behalf Of *Philip Boutelle
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 28, 2011 11:44 AM
> *To:* RE-wrenches
> *Subject:* Re: [RE-wrenches] Fronius IG vs IG Plus inverters
>
>
>
> I replaced the IG at my house 5 times under warranty (the circuit board
> failure that William described, no fires just some internal melting)
> before
> finally getting them to give me an IG+, which has been working flawlessly
> now for almost 2 years.
>
> As a company we replaced all of the IGs we installed--a dozen or so--many
> repeatedly. We never got an IG+ upgrade for our customers.
>
> -Phil
>
> On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 10:45 AM, Jimmy Thompson
> <jimmy at southern-energy.com>
> wrote:
>
> All
>
>
>
> I have had good experiences with the IG Plus. It is easy to work with and
> the different power stages make for a more efficient inverter. The IG
> however is not very good in my opinion. The groundfault cards tend to go
> bad
> due to poor ventilation. Dust and dirt tends to get trapped inside the
> inverter. With that being said, Fronius always sent a replacement and was
> very helpful anytime I called.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 1:35 PM, Howie Michaelson <howie at suncatchervt.com>
> wrote:
>
> William,
> Thanks for the clarification on the disconnect - I vaguely remember this
> issue with Fronius we used in the distant past.  As I remember, several
> manufacturers' early integrated disconnects were this way.
>
> All,
> Anyone else have a particularly poor track record with Fronius?  Worse
> with the IG vs. the Plus?
>
>
> Howie
> --
> Howie Michaelson
> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
>
> Catamount Solar, LLC
> Renewable Energy Systems Sales and Service
> VT Solar & Wind Incentive Program Partner
> http://www.CatamountSolar.com
> 802-272-0004
>
>
> On Tue, June 28, 2011 1:21 pm, William Miller wrote:
>> Howie:
>>
>> The IG has an integrated disconnect section, but it the electronics are
>> not
>> removable from the disconnect.  Therefore it is not safe to replace an
>> IG
>> unless it is dark or you can tarp the modules.
>>
>> The Plus series has two chassis that mate.  You can turn of the DC and
>> remove the electronics for repair, which we have had to do all too
>> often.
>>
>> We had an IG burst into flames and scared the heck out of the widow who
>> was
>> home alone.  She called the fire department and then called us.  Sure we
>> get replacement inverters for the asking, but we get tired of asking.
>>
>> Wm
>>
>>
>>
>> At 10:14 AM 6/28/2011, you wrote:
>>>Thanks for the feedback Kistopher.  1 question:  I thought that the IG
>>>also came with the integrated AC/DC disco as well as the IG Plus.  I
>>> know
>>>the IG doesn't come with the string fusing.  Am I missing something
>>> here?
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>Howie
>>>--
>>>Howie Michaelson
>>>NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
>>>
>>>Catamount Solar, LLC
>>>Renewable Energy Systems Sales and Service
>>>VT Solar & Wind Incentive Program Partner
>>>http://www.CatamountSolar.com
>>>802-272-0004
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>On Tue, June 28, 2011 1:00 pm, Kristopher Schmid wrote:
>>> > I have used both recently.  The IG Plus is nice for two reasons: the
>>> > integrated DC disconnect and the onboard string fusing/combining
>>> > capability.  Their tech support has been easy to work with and have
>>> > reimbursed me for labor when needed with no questions asked.
>>> >
>>> > On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Howie Michaelson
>>> > <howie at suncatchervt.com>wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Hi All,
>>> >>
>>> >> Anyone care to relate the differences (pros/cons) of the Fronius IG
>>> vs.
>>> >> IG
>>> >> Plus inverters?  Haven't used either and haven't dealt with Fronius
>>> in 5
>>> >> or 6 years.
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks,
>>> >> Howie
>>> >> --
>>> >> Howie Michaelson
>>> >> NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
>>> >>
>>> >> Catamount Solar, LLC
>>> >> Renewable Energy Systems Sales and Service
>>> >> VT Solar & Wind Incentive Program Partner
>>> >> http://www.CatamountSolar.com
>>> >> 802-272-0004
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
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>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Thanks,
>>> > Kris Schmid
>>> >
>>> > Legacy Solar, LLC
>>> > 864 Clam Falls Trail
>>> > Frederic, WI 54837
>>> > 715-653-4295
>>> > www.legacysolar.com
>>> > solman at legacysolar.com
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>>
>> William Miller
>> Miller Solar
>> Voice :805-438-5600
>> email: william at millersolar.com
>> http://millersolar.com
>> License No. C-10-773985
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> --
> Jimmy Thompson, Design Support
>
> NABCEP PV Certified Installer
> Southern Energy Management
> (O) 919.836.0330
> (F) 919.836.0305
>
> (C) 919.795.6649
> 101 Kitty Hawk Drive
> Morrisville, NC 27560
> www.southern-energy.com
>
>
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