<div> </div>
<div>Jason - A few comments:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>1) I did install 1 AC coupled Enphase / XW system and it worked just fine. After completion someone brought the Enphase warranty limitations to my attention, so I called Enphase for clarification and they confirmed that any connection to a battery-based system would indeed void their warranty. This was at least 2 years ago so it is possible that this policy has changed.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>2) I am of the opinion that, considering Enphase's rapid production increases and technology that is not significantly different from the AC modules of the 90's that had such significant failures, Enphase could be facing a large number of warranty issues in the coming years and redeeming any warranty might be challenging. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>3) I've done numerous AC coupled systems with string inverters and am an absolute fan. The systems are more efficient than DC coupled battery back-up installations (assuming the grid is up most of the time) and the wiring is obviously easier.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Good luck with the project!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"></span> </div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">For a brighter energy future,<br><br>Andrew Truitt</span> </div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">Principal</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"><br></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">Truitt</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"> </span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">Renewable</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"> </span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">Energy</span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"> </span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">Consulting</span></div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)">NABCEP Certified PV Installer<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">™</span> (ID# 032407-66)</span></div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"></span><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"><a href="tel:%28202%29%20486-7507" target="_blank"><a href="tel:%28202%29%20486-7507" target="_blank">(202) 486-7507</a></a></span></div>
<div><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,102,0)"></span><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-truitt/8/622/713" target="_blank"><font color="#147dba">http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-<span>truitt</span>/8/622/713</font></a><br>
<br><font color="#147dba"><img title="24 copy.jpg" alt="24 copy.jpg" src="cid:ii_12c39a5f9f3ba831"><br><br></font>"Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And it's wireless!"<br>
<br>~William McDonough<br></div><br></div><br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 9:40 AM, Jason Szumlanski <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Jason@fafcosolar.com" target="_blank">Jason@fafcosolar.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div lang="EN-US" vlink="purple" link="blue" bgcolor="white">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d">When it rains it pours… Just got a call from a competitor’s Sunny Boy owner that wants to add Enphase to an existing system.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d">Anyway, thanks for the tip on the X MPPT80. This higher voltage might make the wire size small enough to run DC back to the existing battery room. I guess the advantage is that this would eliminate the high battery voltage shutdown issue. On the other hand, this would be less efficient as far as grid selling as I understand it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'">Jason</span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<div>
<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: windowtext">From:</span></b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: windowtext"> <a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Gary Willett<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, May 03, 2011 10:40 AM
<div>
<div></div>
<div><br><b>To:</b> RE-wrenches<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Coupling Xantrex XWInverters toEnphaseMicroinverters</div></div></span>
<p></p>
<p></p></p></div></div>
<div>
<div></div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt">Jason, etal<br><br>Another Schneider/Xantrex option to consider.<br><br>Xantrex will be adding the MPPT 80 to their product line (orderable this month). This new charge controller will allow high voltage strings (600V, as opposed to 150V for current CC). It will also integrate into the existing 4024 inverters via the XAN-Bus for charge control.</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Regards,<br><br><br>Gary Willett, PE<br>Icarus Engineering / Solar Services LLC<br>NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer # 031310-246</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">On 5/3/2011 9:15 AM, Jason Szumlanski wrote: </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d">Interesting. It’s only “off-grid” when the grid goes down, which is presumably not often in this case. I think the actual Enphase position is that this “may void warranty.” In practice, I doubt they would a) ask, b) know, and c) actually disallow a warranty claim unless there is system-wide damage that can be directly attributed to the off-grid setup.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d">But to be safe I would advise the customer of this issue and make a case for using the Xantrex GT or another brand that does not make the same exception.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d">Thanks for the info!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'">Jason</span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </span></p>
<div>
<div style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">From:</span></b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> <a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a> [<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Mark Frye<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, May 03, 2011 9:32 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'RE-wrenches'<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] AC Coupling Xantrex XW Inverters toEnphaseMicroinverters</span></p></div></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Jason,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">My guess is that this will work just fine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">My comment is that according to my conversations with Enphase, they would consider this an "off-grid" application for which they do not warranty their product.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">If this is the case, it is something your customer should understand upfront.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <br></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Mark Frye</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> <br>
</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Berkeley Solar Electric Systems</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <br></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">303 Redbud Way</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> <br>
</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Nevada City, CA 95959</span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <br></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><a href="tel:%28530%29%20401-8024" target="_blank" value="+15304018024">(530) 401-8024</a></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> <br>
<a href="http://www.berkeleysolar.com/" target="_blank"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">www.berkeleysolar.com</span></a></span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> </span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </span></p>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">
<hr align="center" width="100%" size="2">
</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">From:</span></b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> <a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a> [<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Jason Szumlanski<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, May 03, 2011 6:18 AM<br><b>To:</b> RE-wrenches<br><b>Subject:</b> [RE-wrenches] AC Coupling Xantrex XW Inverters to EnphaseMicroinverters</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I read the application note here:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.global-download.schneider-electric.com/852577A4005D7372/all/8FA29D94B918A0FB8525781F0072FCA7/$File/ac-coupling-app-note%28976-0240-01-01_rev-a%29.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.global-download.schneider-electric.com/852577A4005D7372/all/8FA29D94B918A0FB8525781F0072FCA7/$File/ac-coupling-app-note(976-0240-01-01_rev-a).pdf</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">…and I contacted Xantrex to make sure the application note applies to other brands of grid-tie inverters. It does according to the rep I spoke with.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I just wanted to find out if there is any real world experience out there with Enphase and the XW series AC coupled. I have a customer with three XW4024’s in single phase configuration set up as a battery backup only now. He wants to add up to 10kW. I suggested Enphase as an AC coupled system (mainly due to the distance to the proposed array). I’m aware of the pitfalls noted in the application note regarding high limit shutoffs. Any thoughts?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'">Jason Szumlanski</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Cambria','serif'">Fafco Solar</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><pre> </pre><pre> </pre><pre>_______________________________________________</pre><pre>List sponsored by Home Power magazine</pre><pre> </pre><pre>List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a></pre>
<pre> </pre><pre>Options & settings:</pre><pre><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a></pre>
<pre> </pre><pre>List-Archive: <a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a></pre><pre> </pre><pre>List rules & etiquette:</pre>
<pre><a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm</a></pre><pre> </pre><pre>Check out participant bios:</pre><pre><a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org/" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a></pre>
<pre> </pre></div></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>List sponsored by Home Power magazine<br><br>List Address: <a href="mailto:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>Options & settings:<br><a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br><br>List-Archive: <a href="http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org" target="_blank">http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br>List rules & etiquette:<br><a href="http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm" target="_blank">www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm</a><br><br>Check out participant bios:<br><a href="http://www.members.re-wrenches.org/" target="_blank">www.members.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
<br><br></blockquote></div><br>