[RE-wrenches] SunPower Warranty and Monitoring

Thu Nov 14 09:48:40 PST 2024

Hi All,

It seemed worthwhile to follow up on this one again. I talked to Enphase
again a couple days ago in hopes of finding out what to do about some of
the Sunpower systems with arc fault issues. I found out that Enphase is now
saying that they will only warranty their own microinverters and nothing
else. This is a total flip from what they were telling me at the end of
September. Each time I called them, I have called their phone number that
is specific to dealing with Sunpower warranty claims.

This leaves the question now of: are people with Sunopwer panels and older
Sunpower MI's completely out of luck? Does anyone have any other avenue to
getting support for Sunpower equipment other than just the MI's that are
produced by Enphase?

We've got a lot of systems that need the arc fault retrofit. I recall that
Sunpower was sending UKT devices, but does anyone out there know exactly
what that device was or where to source them?
For the handful of retrofits that I did do, we found that there would be at
least a few failed solder joints on the diodes inside the module junction
boxes in the array. I am wondering if anyone has tried just checking and
resoldering these on site to see if that helps with the arc fault problems.

Cheers,
Dave

On Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 4:50 PM August Goers <august at luminalt.com> wrote:

> Hi Dave -
>
> Thanks for following up on this. I spoke with Parker in the sales
> department just last Friday 9/27. I explained that I had heard that
> monitoring type C and D SolarBridge with Enphase equipment was possible,
> but he said there was no way. That said, I think he was just not up to
> speed yet - we called tech support today and were told the same as you
> reported, that it is possible to monitor the type C and D micros with
> Enphase monitoring equipment.
>
> We also confirmed with Enphase tech support that SunPower modules
> with IQ7XS micros should be compatible with the Enphase IQ Gateway or
> Combiner 5. Those micros were paired with the smaller 96 cell modules like
> the X22-360.
>
> Clearly there are a lot of nuances to all of the possibilities, so I'm
> happy that we're able to chat about it here on Wrenches. I'm also looking
> forward to receiving more documentation from Enphase as they sort this all
> out.
>
> Best,
>
> August
>
> On Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 1:32 PM Dave Tedeyan via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> August,
>>
>> When did you talk to Enphase about monitoring the Sunpower SolarBridge
>> micros? It sounds like this whole thing was dropped in their lap about a
>> month ago, and they are still working out the kinks. I talked to them again
>> today, and I was told that it is possible to monitor the -C and -D micros.
>> If you called before last week, they might not have had that sorted out
>> yet. I was also told that they will be providing warranty support for the
>> panels themselves as well, although I gather that the details are still a
>> bit fuzzy. I asked about the arc fault retrofits, and it sounded like they
>> planned on supporting that, but again, I don't think the details are fully
>> worked out yet.
>>
>> As of now if you have an existing site with both Sunpower and Enphase,
>> the existing Enphase Gateway cannot be made to monitor the Sunpower panels
>> (at least yet). But there might be a chance that if you are adding Enphase
>> to an existing Sunpower system, you might be able to get one of the
>> specially programmed Gateways from the beginning. Those will be able to
>> monitor both the Enphase and the Sunpower equipment.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Dave
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 27, 2024 at 8:05 PM Dave Tedeyan <dave at sungineersolar.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi August,
>>>
>>> That is fascinating that you got told different info. I specifically
>>> asked the person I talked to (I did not write down her name though) about
>>> the -C and -D microinverters. She said that they had figured out a way to
>>> monitor them with their equipment, but they needed some kind of
>>> reprogramming.
>>>
>>> Being that you got told conflicting information, I am going to call them
>>> back next week and see if I cannot get a definitive answer. I'll update you
>>> all here afterwards.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Dave
>>>
>>> On Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 7:04 PM August Goers via RE-wrenches <
>>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Dave -
>>>>
>>>> The sales rep, Parker, I spoke with at Enphase said that they don't
>>>> have a way of monitoring the SunPower Type C and D micros since those were
>>>> manufactured by SolarBridge. They do have an upgrade program where folks
>>>> can pay for new IQ7 micros, he said. They also have an upgrade program to
>>>> switch over to Enphase monitoring for $699 as you mention, but that is only
>>>> for IQ7AS and IQ7HS according to Parker. Were you able to get more info on
>>>> the potential monitoring for the C and D units?
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>> August
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Sep 27, 2024 at 8:05 AM Dave Tedeyan via RE-wrenches <
>>>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>
>>>>> I talked to Enphase recently about this. They will be providing
>>>>> warranty support at least for Sunpower's microinverters. They do not know
>>>>> how long Sunpower's monitoring will continue to work. But they have figured
>>>>> out a way to use their Gateway to monitor Sunpower's microinverters, even
>>>>> the older -C and -D micros. Currently the customer will need to pay a flat
>>>>> fee of $699 and Enphase will send them the equipment and then schedule one
>>>>> of their techs to come install it. It sounds like it involves some
>>>>> reprogramming of the equipment on site.
>>>>>
>>>>> Then once they can monitor the system, they can provide warranty
>>>>> support. People should call Enphase at  510-945-6752 in order to get the
>>>>> process started.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> Dave
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, Sep 3, 2024, 11:56 AM Corey Shalanski via RE-wrenches <
>>>>> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Jason,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Perhaps you also saw this headline:
>>>>>> Maxeon to offer warranty support for bankrupt SunPower
>>>>>> <https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/08/30/maxeon-to-offer-warranty-support-for-bankrupt-sunpower/?utm_source=SolarWakeup&utm_campaign=9ede8c7a6b-SolarWakeup_2_182_16_2013_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5eaa0aab62-9ede8c7a6b-44304797&mc_cid=9ede8c7a6b&mc_eid=f811e4c728>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> it doesn't address Enphase equipment separately/specifically -
>>>>>> seemingly only Maxeon modules (or ac modules with Enphase units attached).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Corey Shalanski
>>>>>> Jah Light Solar
>>>>>> Portland, Jamaica
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thurs, Aug 15, 2024 at 5:09 PM <jason at floridasolardesigngroup.com
>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> As another one bites the dust, does anyone have insight into who, if
>>>>>>> anyone, will take over the warranty for Sunpower branded Enphase
>>>>>>> microinverters and if the SunPower monitoring will continue to work? Or
>>>>>>> maybe they can be software updated to work on the Enlighten portal?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> And also, would a system be able to be upgraded using Enphase
>>>>>>> branded microinverters if the software was made to be compatible?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm sure there are more questions than answers at this point, but I
>>>>>>> wanted to get the discussion going.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Jason Szumlanski
>>>>>>> Florida Solar Design Group
>>>>>>>
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