[RE-wrenches] Enphase M190 failures

[Kent Osterberg]

Thanks for your input, Carl. That data looks pretty grim. This is a 
serious black eye for our industry.

Kent Osterberg
Blue Mountain Solar, Inc.
www.bluemountainsolar.com

On 5/20/2013 12:36 PM, Carl Adams wrote:
> Ken,
>
> We installed our first Enphase units in Dec 2009, and our *last* 
> Enphase units in 2011.  The breaking point for me was when the first 
> 215 failed about 6 weeks into production, oozing black slime out of 
> the case.  Enphase did two complete system for us last year(one M190 
> and one D380 site), when they hit failure rates of 23.7% and 25% 
> respectively.  It seems the wind has shifted at Enphase lately though. 
>  We had another site hit 28.6% failure rate this spring and asked 
> Enphase to upgrade the site to 215s.  No dice.  Here is the response 
> from Enphase:
>
> "As we discussed we would like to start a 90-day monitoring cycle for 
> the XXXXXXX site. During this process a hold on any current 
> replacements and monitor the site to see the site stabilizes. A check 
> will be completed every 30-day to assess the site for any production 
> issues. After the 90-day monitoring period replacement devices will be 
> sent out. The customer will also be reimbursed for any loss of 
> production seen during that time.
>
> At the end of the monitoring cycle the site will be assessed if a more 
> aggressive approach is necessary."
>
> Needless to say neither the customer or myself were happy with the 
> response.  This weekend we had another site hit 19% failure rate ( 
> four failures since the beginning of the year)
>
> How long will we be in this mess?  Looks like awhile longer.
>
> I've attached a little table with failure rates for our Enphase systems.
>
> With Regards
> Carl Adams
> SunRock Solar
>
>

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