[RE-wrenches] favortie micro inverters?

Tue Sep 24 13:41:03 PDT 2024

I agree with Jason that it is going to take a really compelling
microinverter product at this point to knock Enphase off the #1 micro
position. It seems risky to sell any other microinverter products given the
complexity of the product and the fact that if the competing product
manufacturer goes out of business that there won't be any choice but to
replace all of that product. That said, competition in the market is good,
so my salutes to anyone willing to try other microinverter products. We
have experience with SolarBridge (they were owned by SunPower for a while)
and that product was by far inferior to Enphase. We've also installed a few
hundred PowerOne ABB micros - those have been for the most part very
reliable, but the monitoring side of the equation is very poor so dealing
with RMA issues there is a bit of a challenge. Both of those products are
outdated now and no longer on the market.

I've posted here on this before - we're having good luck with the Tesla
solar inverter. It is low cost and has lots of benefits including 4 x
trackers with low start voltage, power control systems, built in
monitoring, etc. We're now offering Enphase systems as well (we were a
SunPower dealer for many years) so customers can have a choice if Tesla is
not their cup of tea. Elon Musk is aggravating.

August
Luminalt

On Tue, Sep 24, 2024 at 1:21 PM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> I don't really understand the resistance to Enphase on a roof (anymore, at
> least). We have many thousands of microinverters out there, and I don't
> even have a dedicated service department. We swap maybe 100 a year at the
> most at this point, and that includes for systems we didn't install. It's
> super quick and easy. But most of our roofs are single story 5:12 pitch on
> average.
>
> I have at least a dozen small commercial sites with 100 - 500 units each,
> and I can't remembereven an handful of replacements on those over
> the years.
>
> I did get involved with a commercial site I did not install, and that was
> a nightmare, with over 100 early generation microinverters that failed. It
> was a custom rack, and the clamps were a nightmare, not to mention the
> array map had gotten out of whack over the years from prior micro swaps.
> But for the most part, I have no issue with micro swaps on roofs.
>
> Jason Szumlanski
> Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group
> NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP)
> Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956
> Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 24, 2024 at 2:14 PM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via
> RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> I am with Chris except I might put them on a barn roof ! Never a
>> residence and never Offgrid !
>>
>>
>>
>> *Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
>> "we go where powerlines don't"
>>    <http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>https://offgridsolar1.com/ <https://offgridsolar1.com/>  <http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>
>> e-mail  offgridsolar at sti.net <offgridsolar at sti.net>
>> text 209 813 0060*
>>
>>
>> On 2024-09-24 10:16 am, Chris Schaefer via RE-wrenches wrote:
>>
>> Was an Enphase installer since the beginning, I think 08' but moved away
>> when the tech support and early model failures were numerous. Moved to APS
>> with the two modules per micro. Really saved on install time as it was half
>> the number of micro's. One recommendation regardless of brand, don't put
>> them on a roof.
>>
>> Christopher
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 24, 2024 at 11:14 AM Bryan Norkunas via RE-wrenches <
>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>
>> I've had great luck with APS and so have our local installers.
>>
>>
>> *Bryan Norkunas*
>>
>> *PV-Cables Inc.  *
>>
>> *989 Milton Ave Ste 1D *
>>
>> *Ferndale CA 95536*
>>
>> (707) 923-3000 office
>>
>> www.pv-cables.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>      Please print only if necessary.
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>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* RE-wrenches <re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org> on
>> behalf of greg egan via RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>> *Sent:* Monday, September 23, 2024 7:29 PM
>> *To:* RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org <
>> RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>> *Cc:* greg egan <greg at remotepowerinc.com>
>> *Subject:* [RE-wrenches] favortie micro inverters?
>>
>> Esteemed wrenches,
>>
>> Have a client that is grid connected (not my usual client) and looking
>> to do solar without back up.  Has shading issues so I'm thinking micros
>> would work best for this application, plus take care of rapid shut down
>> without needing extra devices/wiring.  Problem is I have not ever
>> installed micros.
>>
>> Any recommendations on brands /models that have been reliable? Decent
>> tech support?  Customer just wants something that works and is
>> relatively simple to navigate the online monitoring.  Probably 4-5 kW so
>> not a huge system.
>>
>> Thanks in advance, I appreciate it!
>>
>> Greg Egan
>> Remote Power Inc.
>> Fairbanks, AK
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>> Chris Schaefer's
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>> *Tel 585-229-2083 or Cell 585-748-1870 *
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>>
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