[RE-wrenches] SunPower Warranty and Monitoring

Dave Tedeyan dave at sungineersolar.com
Thu Nov 14 12:08:53 PST 2024 

Hi August,

That is good to know, thanks. These are almost all E20-237 panels with
Yukita junction boxes on them.
Cheers,
Dave

On Thu, Nov 14, 2024 at 2:59 PM August Goers <august at luminalt.com> wrote:

> Hi Dave -
>
> What are the part numbers of the modules having the problem? Maxeon is
> warranting the module portion of pretty much all old SunPower modules
> (except of course the more recent non-Maxeon mods that SunPower was
> reselling such as Warree and REC) as far as I've been told. You may need to
> become a Maxeon partner in order to get any service from Maxeon, but if
> you're dealing with failed solder joints or diodes issues, I would think
> that's a Maxeon issue.
>
> Best,
>
> August
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Nov 14, 2024 at 9:49 AM Dave Tedeyan via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> 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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