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2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Hi
Do you folks have any comments on these new Micro Inverters? Specically the Enphase M215. I understand there is a new one Enphase M215 IG I believe that addresses the interference experience by hams on VHF band. These are the Micro Inverters two suppliers tole me to use that qualify for the Ontario Microfit program. I reading reviews on Amazon that they are very interfering. Is there a way of grounding them or a equal alternative model that doesn't interfere with ham bands during peak sunlight hours? I need to put 50 of these on my roof under each panel. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks Gents,,, 73s Tom |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On Tue, 28 Jul 2015 07:05:54 -0400, "Tom" wrote:
Do you folks have any comments on these new Micro Inverters? Specically the Enphase M215. I understand there is a new one Enphase M215 IG I believe that addresses the interference experience by hams on VHF band. These are the Micro Inverters two suppliers tole me to use that qualify for the Ontario Microfit program. I reading reviews on Amazon that they are very interfering. Is there a way of grounding them or a equal alternative model that doesn't interfere with ham bands during peak sunlight hours? I need to put 50 of these on my roof under each panel. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks Gents,,, I help maintain a few grid tied solar systems. Most use Enphase micro inverters. The latest uses M215 IG inverters. Previous models were totally floating and had no grounding points or fault protection. The IG means "integrated ground" and also has a built in ground fault protector. The grounding change probably has nothing to do with EMI/RFI. There are also Chinese clones of these inverters, which ended up at one of these systems thanks to a fly-by-night solar contractor. My guess(tm) is you're dealing with conducted EMI/RFI, not radiated. Therefore, clamp on ferrite beads and blocks should work. http://www.solar-electric.com/installation-parts-and-equipment/electrical-devices-transfer-switches-noise-filters/nosufefi.html When I complained on behalf of one customer that the inverters were trashing OTA TV reception, they installed the ferrite beads for free. I don't think Enphase supplied the ferrites. It's mentioned in their troubleshooting guide, but nowhere else: http://www2.enphase.com/global/files/Enphase_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf See Pg 22. Note that the filters go as close to the source of the noise (i.e. the M215 IG micro inverters) as possible. I think the M215 IG uses the same 144KHz communications frequency and Zigbee protocol as most everyone else. The problem is that it uses the same power lines that are conducting the switching noise for communications. If your added ferrite beads clobber this signal, the Envoy controller box is going to complain that it can't communicate with the panels. So, be careful when you add a ferrite block as too big a block, wrong material, too many beads, or too many turns, is going to cause problems. I would aim for a 500 KHz low-pass corner frequency. As for grounding, the evolving NEC Article 690.35 for the US requires that literally everything on the roof be well grounded. Since I believe that the noise will be conducted rather than radiated, additional grounding isn't going to do anything useful. In my never humble opinion, filtering is your only option. Good luck. Light reading: http://www.homepower.com/solar-electricity -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Thank you for the information.
That is it in a nutshell. I am waiting for approval for the program, If approved then I can go forward to begin purchasing the system and start building it. Thanks again for this info, 73s "Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ... On Tue, 28 Jul 2015 07:05:54 -0400, "Tom" wrote: Do you folks have any comments on these new Micro Inverters? Specically the Enphase M215. I understand there is a new one Enphase M215 IG I believe that addresses the interference experience by hams on VHF band. These are the Micro Inverters two suppliers tole me to use that qualify for the Ontario Microfit program. I reading reviews on Amazon that they are very interfering. Is there a way of grounding them or a equal alternative model that doesn't interfere with ham bands during peak sunlight hours? I need to put 50 of these on my roof under each panel. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated as always. Thanks Gents,,, I help maintain a few grid tied solar systems. Most use Enphase micro inverters. The latest uses M215 IG inverters. Previous models were totally floating and had no grounding points or fault protection. The IG means "integrated ground" and also has a built in ground fault protector. The grounding change probably has nothing to do with EMI/RFI. There are also Chinese clones of these inverters, which ended up at one of these systems thanks to a fly-by-night solar contractor. My guess(tm) is you're dealing with conducted EMI/RFI, not radiated. Therefore, clamp on ferrite beads and blocks should work. http://www.solar-electric.com/installation-parts-and-equipment/electrical-devices-transfer-switches-noise-filters/nosufefi.html When I complained on behalf of one customer that the inverters were trashing OTA TV reception, they installed the ferrite beads for free. I don't think Enphase supplied the ferrites. It's mentioned in their troubleshooting guide, but nowhere else: http://www2.enphase.com/global/files/Enphase_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf See Pg 22. Note that the filters go as close to the source of the noise (i.e. the M215 IG micro inverters) as possible. I think the M215 IG uses the same 144KHz communications frequency and Zigbee protocol as most everyone else. The problem is that it uses the same power lines that are conducting the switching noise for communications. If your added ferrite beads clobber this signal, the Envoy controller box is going to complain that it can't communicate with the panels. So, be careful when you add a ferrite block as too big a block, wrong material, too many beads, or too many turns, is going to cause problems. I would aim for a 500 KHz low-pass corner frequency. As for grounding, the evolving NEC Article 690.35 for the US requires that literally everything on the roof be well grounded. Since I believe that the noise will be conducted rather than radiated, additional grounding isn't going to do anything useful. In my never humble opinion, filtering is your only option. Good luck. Light reading: http://www.homepower.com/solar-electricity -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 07:15:26 -0400, "Tom" wrote:
That is it in a nutshell. I am waiting for approval for the program, If approved then I can go forward to begin purchasing the system and start building it. One more potential problem. Enphase has an online monitoring system at: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public_systems I suggest that you eventually sign up as a system owner. You can download the data and create your own graphs such as: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/solar/380732/total-energy-21040613-20150213.jpg Incidentally, you can query the Envoy controller directly either via a web interface or using a graphing program (MRTG): http://blog.tinle.org/?p=111 http://pvoutput.org http://pvoutput.org/outputs.jsp None of the system owners I deal with want me to do this, so I haven't bothered to try it. Now that I'm thinking about it, you might run into another problem. The People's Republic of Santa Cruz (county) uses the NFPA NEC code which now demands 2ft of clearance between the roof peak and the solar panels. This clear area is for ventilating the roof should the house catch fire. I have some issues with this requirement because it significantly reduces the available roof area for panels for no benefit because the other side of a typical hip roof is usually clear of solar panels. You might want to check whether this is a requirement in your area. I have some docs on the topic if becomes a problem. Good luck. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Thank you sir for your expertise again.
Very much appreciated. 73s "Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ... On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 07:15:26 -0400, "Tom" wrote: That is it in a nutshell. I am waiting for approval for the program, If approved then I can go forward to begin purchasing the system and start building it. One more potential problem. Enphase has an online monitoring system at: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public_systems I suggest that you eventually sign up as a system owner. You can download the data and create your own graphs such as: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/solar/380732/total-energy-21040613-20150213.jpg Incidentally, you can query the Envoy controller directly either via a web interface or using a graphing program (MRTG): http://blog.tinle.org/?p=111 http://pvoutput.org http://pvoutput.org/outputs.jsp None of the system owners I deal with want me to do this, so I haven't bothered to try it. Now that I'm thinking about it, you might run into another problem. The People's Republic of Santa Cruz (county) uses the NFPA NEC code which now demands 2ft of clearance between the roof peak and the solar panels. This clear area is for ventilating the roof should the house catch fire. I have some issues with this requirement because it significantly reduces the available roof area for panels for no benefit because the other side of a typical hip roof is usually clear of solar panels. You might want to check whether this is a requirement in your area. I have some docs on the topic if becomes a problem. Good luck. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Hi Jeff
Can you comment on the fact that these Enphase converters need 240ac volts (grid connection) to run? This means that if ever the power supplier locally ever shuts down for more than a long period of time that these Enphase units become useless. Around my neck of the woods we are getting more and more power outages lasting longer and longer. These inverters require being connected to the grid to function. I understand the safety requirement and it needing to do this to be certified but it really limits the home owner (or cottage owner in my case). Have you ever worked on a system that was more practical? That qualified for the grid program but was useful when detached from the grid? Seems to me if ever the power company decides to cancel the program you may be stuck with 40 inverters that are useless and are 200 dollars each. Any comments are thankful, Regards Tom "Tom" wrote in message ... Thank you sir for your expertise again. Very much appreciated. 73s "Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ... On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 07:15:26 -0400, "Tom" wrote: That is it in a nutshell. I am waiting for approval for the program, If approved then I can go forward to begin purchasing the system and start building it. One more potential problem. Enphase has an online monitoring system at: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public_systems I suggest that you eventually sign up as a system owner. You can download the data and create your own graphs such as: http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/solar/380732/total-energy-21040613-20150213.jpg Incidentally, you can query the Envoy controller directly either via a web interface or using a graphing program (MRTG): http://blog.tinle.org/?p=111 http://pvoutput.org http://pvoutput.org/outputs.jsp None of the system owners I deal with want me to do this, so I haven't bothered to try it. Now that I'm thinking about it, you might run into another problem. The People's Republic of Santa Cruz (county) uses the NFPA NEC code which now demands 2ft of clearance between the roof peak and the solar panels. This clear area is for ventilating the roof should the house catch fire. I have some issues with this requirement because it significantly reduces the available roof area for panels for no benefit because the other side of a typical hip roof is usually clear of solar panels. You might want to check whether this is a requirement in your area. I have some docs on the topic if becomes a problem. Good luck. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On 8/20/2015 3:14 PM, Tom wrote:
Hi Jeff Can you comment on the fact that these Enphase converters need 240ac volts (grid connection) to run? This means that if ever the power supplier locally ever shuts down for more than a long period of time that these Enphase units become useless. Around my neck of the woods we are getting more and more power outages lasting longer and longer. These inverters require being connected to the grid to function. I understand the safety requirement and it needing to do this to be certified but it really limits the home owner (or cottage owner in my case). Have you ever worked on a system that was more practical? That qualified for the grid program but was useful when detached from the grid? Seems to me if ever the power company decides to cancel the program you may be stuck with 40 inverters that are useless and are 200 dollars each. Any comments are thankful, Regards Tom Tom, We don't do PV installations, but I have worked with a couple of companies who do. Most of these installations will not run unless they can synchronize with the 60hz line voltage - that is, when power fails, the PV system doesn't run. I know there are some out there which will run off of batteries, but not being familiar with the systems themselves, I can't recommend any. One other caution. At least here on the East Coast, you need a permit to install a PV system. In many jurisdictions the wiring must be done by a licensed electrician, although some will allow you to do it. In most cases, if you are going to do it, you will need to take a test on the National Electric Code before you are allowed to proceed. And finally, the installation must be inspected by building authorities. Failure to do so can cause all kinds of problems. In short, a PV installation is not a DIY project. It's very complex, with numerous building and electric codes involved. And a bad installation can be a serious fire and electric shock hazard. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Thanks for commenting Jerry
Yes, all you say is the same here. All elements of the codes must be followed. So you are saying it is possible to be able to use your solar panels when the grid is off? At my cottage the grid shuts off for long times. Thanks "Jerry Stuckle" wrote in message ... On 8/20/2015 3:14 PM, Tom wrote: Hi Jeff Can you comment on the fact that these Enphase converters need 240ac volts (grid connection) to run? This means that if ever the power supplier locally ever shuts down for more than a long period of time that these Enphase units become useless. Around my neck of the woods we are getting more and more power outages lasting longer and longer. These inverters require being connected to the grid to function. I understand the safety requirement and it needing to do this to be certified but it really limits the home owner (or cottage owner in my case). Have you ever worked on a system that was more practical? That qualified for the grid program but was useful when detached from the grid? Seems to me if ever the power company decides to cancel the program you may be stuck with 40 inverters that are useless and are 200 dollars each. Any comments are thankful, Regards Tom Tom, We don't do PV installations, but I have worked with a couple of companies who do. Most of these installations will not run unless they can synchronize with the 60hz line voltage - that is, when power fails, the PV system doesn't run. I know there are some out there which will run off of batteries, but not being familiar with the systems themselves, I can't recommend any. One other caution. At least here on the East Coast, you need a permit to install a PV system. In many jurisdictions the wiring must be done by a licensed electrician, although some will allow you to do it. In most cases, if you are going to do it, you will need to take a test on the National Electric Code before you are allowed to proceed. And finally, the installation must be inspected by building authorities. Failure to do so can cause all kinds of problems. In short, a PV installation is not a DIY project. It's very complex, with numerous building and electric codes involved. And a bad installation can be a serious fire and electric shock hazard. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Tom wrote:
Thanks for commenting Jerry Yes, all you say is the same here. All elements of the codes must be followed. So you are saying it is possible to be able to use your solar panels when the grid is off? At my cottage the grid shuts off for long times. Thanks Yes, it is possible, but takes more equipment. Most PV systems take the simple approach to the requirement that they not feed into a grid that is off and potentially electrocute a lineman by simply turning off your system. More expensive systems include sensors and relays to isolate your PV system and residence from the grid if the grid turns off. -- Jim Pennino |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Yes, but Enphase Microinverters shut off, SolarEdge inverters shut off, for
just that reason. This makes them certifiable. They are probably the better ones for my application. You mentioned it was possible with more equipment. Can you elaborate? I want to primarily be on the program, but when my grid goes down for any serious length of time what more equipment would you recommend me considering that both meets the code, made in Ontario and is tried and true, suitable for the program. I don't want knock offs or copies, or offshore stuff. Must be certified and meet the code, etc etc, and not so complicated it needs NASA Satelite Engineers to approve my drawings. Thanks wrote in message ... Tom wrote: Thanks for commenting Jerry Yes, all you say is the same here. All elements of the codes must be followed. So you are saying it is possible to be able to use your solar panels when the grid is off? At my cottage the grid shuts off for long times. Thanks Yes, it is possible, but takes more equipment. Most PV systems take the simple approach to the requirement that they not feed into a grid that is off and potentially electrocute a lineman by simply turning off your system. More expensive systems include sensors and relays to isolate your PV system and residence from the grid if the grid turns off. -- Jim Pennino |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Tom wrote:
Yes, but Enphase Microinverters shut off, SolarEdge inverters shut off, for just that reason. This makes them certifiable. They are probably the better ones for my application. You mentioned it was possible with more equipment. Can you elaborate? I want to primarily be on the program, but when my grid goes down for any serious length of time what more equipment would you recommend me considering that both meets the code, made in Ontario and is tried and true, suitable for the program. I don't want knock offs or copies, or offshore stuff. Must be certified and meet the code, etc etc, and not so complicated it needs NASA Satelite Engineers to approve my drawings. Thanks I have nothing to do with solar systems and what I know is based on the research I did to decide whether or not such a system made any sort of sense in my situation. I did not find any system that would maintain power in a grid outage that did not include some sort of backup power, i.e. either a battery storage system or an autostart generator. All the systems I found were integrated systems in that I did not find anything you could add to an existing simple PV system and convert it to one that would maintain power in a grid outage. All I can suggest is an extensive web search to see if there is anything on the market that meets your needs. -- Jim Pennino |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
In article ,
wrote: I have nothing to do with solar systems and what I know is based on the research I did to decide whether or not such a system made any sort of sense in my situation. I did not find any system that would maintain power in a grid outage that did not include some sort of backup power, i.e. either a battery storage system or an autostart generator. I think that's difficult to do, unless you have already converted to a pure-DC system and have devices which can tolerate brownouts. Solar-panel systems have a somewhat funky power-delivery curve. If you try to draw more power than they can deliver, their output voltage drops like a rock. For some sorts of loads (incandescent) this may be tolerable. For surge loads such as motors, it's bad... the motors can stall, or bog down, and may burn out. Some classes of load (e.g. many switching power supplies) will start drawing *more* current as the voltage drops, in order to continue delivering the required amount of power to their load... and the solar panel's output voltage drops further, current load goes up, voltage drops more... THUNK. So, driving inverters or other variable loads directly from a solar-panel array, without at least *some* stored energy to handle spikes in load or drops in supply (cloud-over-the-sun) is a tricky problem to solve, and I believe it's very likely to result in a system which simply isn't reliable. If you're going to spend a hefty chunk of money for one as a back-stop against grid outages, that probably isn't a satisfying result. |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On 8/20/2015 5:40 PM, Tom wrote:
Yes, but Enphase Microinverters shut off, SolarEdge inverters shut off, for just that reason. This makes them certifiable. They are probably the better ones for my application. You mentioned it was possible with more equipment. Can you elaborate? I want to primarily be on the program, but when my grid goes down for any serious length of time what more equipment would you recommend me considering that both meets the code, made in Ontario and is tried and true, suitable for the program. I don't want knock offs or copies, or offshore stuff. Must be certified and meet the code, etc etc, and not so complicated it needs NASA Satelite Engineers to approve my drawings. Thanks Tom, Yes, there are systems which can operate independently from the grid. Typically they operate like a zero time switchover UPS - your house actually runs off batteries and/or rectified and filtered AC, through an inverter which generates the 60hz. But if you're talking 200A service at 230V, you're talking over 45KW maximum drain. An inverter which generates sine waves with that much power (not to mention the batteries required to support it) is quite expensive (and generating clean sine waves isn't all that efficient). Sure, you don't need it all of the time - but you need to be able to supply the peak draw. As Jim hinted - you have to isolate the output of your inverter from the power lines, even though they both feed the same equipment. Otherwise, when you lose power, your inverter is going to try to supply power to the whole neighborhood. Not only would that burn out your inverter, but it could electrocute someone. That's a big reason most backup systems use diesel generators. They are much more cost effective and will run as long as they have fuel available. Plus they generate pretty clean sine waves. Switchover is on the order of a few seconds; if that's too long one or more UPS's for critical systems can keep power up for that short of a time. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 15:14:46 -0400, "Tom" wrote:
Can you comment on the fact that these Enphase converters need 240ac volts (grid connection) to run? This means that if ever the power supplier locally ever shuts down for more than a long period of time that these Enphase units become useless. Around my neck of the woods we are getting more and more power outages lasting longer and longer. These inverters require being connected to the grid to function. Yep, been there. Almost everyone that has a grid tied solar system wants to know what it will take to make it run when the power is down. Home Power Magazine had a nice article on the topic in the current issue (168): http://www.homepower.com/articles/solar-electricity/design-installation/adding-battery-backup-your-pv-system-ac-coupling The magic buzzword for Googling is "AC-Coupled Battery Backup PV System" (or something like that). Note that there are both DC and AC coupled approaches to the problem, each with their own advantages and problems. Note that Elon Musk wants to do much the same thing but not to backup your solar PV system. He wants to store excess power in a battery bank, and return it during times of peak loads to save money using time of use billing. http://www.wired.com/2015/05/teslas-batteries-will-power-home/ I understand the safety requirement and it needing to do this to be certified but it really limits the home owner (or cottage owner in my case). Yep. All of the stuff in the article is probably approved, but I would be careful and check, especially with made in China hardware purchased on eBay. Have you ever worked on a system that was more practical? More practical than what? I've done nothing with AC coupled backup systems for grid tied PV systems, mostly because none of my customers will tolerate the cost. It's often cheaper to just buy a big generator and let it sit around until it's needed. Diesel seems to be the favorite. That qualified for the grid program but was useful when detached from the grid? Seems to me if ever the power company decides to cancel the program you may be stuck with 40 inverters that are useless and are 200 dollars each. You're mixing up a bunch of programs. First, your power company is unlikely to pull the plug except for non-payment. It might decide to cancel subsidies or refuse to offer net metering payments, as happens in many states. In California, if the power is lost for extended periods, there is some fixed amount that the power companies are required to refund the customer on their next bill. That too might be terminated. At this time, power generation and distribution is mostly a "best effort" exercise, with little in the way of guarantees covering extended outages. If you're dependent on a sole source of power, such as utility *OR* PV, then you'll have the same problem with outages. My best suggestions is to have more than one source of power. Utility and PV are the most common. There's also wind and micro-hydro generation. Batteries don't generate electricity so they're not considered an alternative power source. Once you have your power source in place, then you can think about storage options. Any comments are thankful, If you wanted to be off the grid, then kindly plan your system for off grid use. That mostly eliminates grid tied systems and always requires batteries or other forms of energy storage (maybe flywheel). Instead of micro-inverters, you're back to the big charger/controller boxes, and banks of batteries. Batteries are always a problem. They require constant care. They tend to die rather quickly. They're expensive. They're big, ugly, and dangerous. They're far too easy to kill. Before dealing with batteries, make sure you know what you're getting into. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Thanks gents
Great, thanks for all your thoughts. I wanted to stay away from the battery bank thing, I have enough trouble with keeping 4 or 5 deep cycles alive for more than 5 or 6 years. But I may introduce them to a PV system. But all my Deep Cycles are different sizes, so sure would like some of those Tesla by Elon. I believe that person is developing a huge PV manufacturing facility in Buffalo NY but I talked to SolarCity reps and they will not deal with Canadian market. My program is with Ontario Hydro and up north our local providers are shaky and unreliable. In Ontario Canada the provincial govt is recently (last decade or more) really screwed things up, they started a Gas Power Plant and cancelled that after about a billion, they have had other programs that they started and abruptly ended after loosing a few billion and now they are in a 50 year debt and trying to sell off to private (fire sale) and they are offering this program to me for a 20 year contract. So I must install 40 panels on my roof and tie it all into the grid and they want 100% of it and paying a pretty nice penny per KWh. But the initial investment by me is substantial up front so if they pull out of the deal in one year then I have a very big expensive inverters that are good for nothing. A lot of people in Ontario Canada don't think that the local Ontary Hydro will be long for this world, so we don't want to get stuck on this program and left hanging. I can see them keeping me (and all home owners or cottage owners) as providers because we aren't unionized and costing more to produce it than selling it, I think they are trying to eliminate the nuclear (60% of our power in Ontario) because it is costing too much debt. So their goal may be to get all that can to provide it because I maintain the house structure and panel system and no union or salary or coffee breaks. But they could cancel that tomorrow leaving me a $30,000 system I can do nothing with. I like what they are offering, it seems too good to be true. I will take a chance, role the dice and jump in. For the program. Without the program it isn't worth it at this time. Thanks very much for all the food for thought, I will implement a small charge controller and small battery bank system. I like your Diesel Generator idea for if ever the power does go out, which it does. But it is small to worry about. Thanks again for all the ideas. For my primary reason for this system, I will buy the 40 panels and do you folks have any reasons why you would select the Solaredge technology with the new optimizers for efficiencies (about $3000.00) for their product, or using Enphase microinverters (about $7000.00). Other than costs difference, which would you folks prefer? Both become useless if the power grid goes off, but both are looking pretty equal for efficiences and installation is easy enough. All the surfing and reading I see is everyone has installed the Solaredge and it seems to have improved nicely, while the Enphase is the lastest and not really had many years of use to compare, but they apparently to some are the better device. Do you folks have any comments on either of these devices? Have good day, thanks "Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message ... On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 15:14:46 -0400, "Tom" wrote: Can you comment on the fact that these Enphase converters need 240ac volts (grid connection) to run? This means that if ever the power supplier locally ever shuts down for more than a long period of time that these Enphase units become useless. Around my neck of the woods we are getting more and more power outages lasting longer and longer. These inverters require being connected to the grid to function. Yep, been there. Almost everyone that has a grid tied solar system wants to know what it will take to make it run when the power is down. Home Power Magazine had a nice article on the topic in the current issue (168): http://www.homepower.com/articles/solar-electricity/design-installation/adding-battery-backup-your-pv-system-ac-coupling The magic buzzword for Googling is "AC-Coupled Battery Backup PV System" (or something like that). Note that there are both DC and AC coupled approaches to the problem, each with their own advantages and problems. Note that Elon Musk wants to do much the same thing but not to backup your solar PV system. He wants to store excess power in a battery bank, and return it during times of peak loads to save money using time of use billing. http://www.wired.com/2015/05/teslas-batteries-will-power-home/ I understand the safety requirement and it needing to do this to be certified but it really limits the home owner (or cottage owner in my case). Yep. All of the stuff in the article is probably approved, but I would be careful and check, especially with made in China hardware purchased on eBay. Have you ever worked on a system that was more practical? More practical than what? I've done nothing with AC coupled backup systems for grid tied PV systems, mostly because none of my customers will tolerate the cost. It's often cheaper to just buy a big generator and let it sit around until it's needed. Diesel seems to be the favorite. That qualified for the grid program but was useful when detached from the grid? Seems to me if ever the power company decides to cancel the program you may be stuck with 40 inverters that are useless and are 200 dollars each. You're mixing up a bunch of programs. First, your power company is unlikely to pull the plug except for non-payment. It might decide to cancel subsidies or refuse to offer net metering payments, as happens in many states. In California, if the power is lost for extended periods, there is some fixed amount that the power companies are required to refund the customer on their next bill. That too might be terminated. At this time, power generation and distribution is mostly a "best effort" exercise, with little in the way of guarantees covering extended outages. If you're dependent on a sole source of power, such as utility *OR* PV, then you'll have the same problem with outages. My best suggestions is to have more than one source of power. Utility and PV are the most common. There's also wind and micro-hydro generation. Batteries don't generate electricity so they're not considered an alternative power source. Once you have your power source in place, then you can think about storage options. Any comments are thankful, If you wanted to be off the grid, then kindly plan your system for off grid use. That mostly eliminates grid tied systems and always requires batteries or other forms of energy storage (maybe flywheel). Instead of micro-inverters, you're back to the big charger/controller boxes, and banks of batteries. Batteries are always a problem. They require constant care. They tend to die rather quickly. They're expensive. They're big, ugly, and dangerous. They're far too easy to kill. Before dealing with batteries, make sure you know what you're getting into. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On 8/21/2015 9:00 AM, Tom wrote:
Thanks gents Great, thanks for all your thoughts. I wanted to stay away from the battery bank thing, I have enough trouble with keeping 4 or 5 deep cycles alive for more than 5 or 6 years. But I may introduce them to a PV system. But all my Deep Cycles are different sizes, so sure would like some of those Tesla by Elon. I believe that person is developing a huge PV manufacturing facility in Buffalo NY but I talked to SolarCity reps and they will not deal with Canadian market. My program is with Ontario Hydro and up north our local providers are shaky and unreliable. In Ontario Canada the provincial govt is recently (last decade or more) really screwed things up, they started a Gas Power Plant and cancelled that after about a billion, they have had other programs that they started and abruptly ended after loosing a few billion and now they are in a 50 year debt and trying to sell off to private (fire sale) and they are offering this program to me for a 20 year contract. So I must install 40 panels on my roof and tie it all into the grid and they want 100% of it and paying a pretty nice penny per KWh. But the initial investment by me is substantial up front so if they pull out of the deal in one year then I have a very big expensive inverters that are good for nothing. A lot of people in Ontario Canada don't think that the local Ontary Hydro will be long for this world, so we don't want to get stuck on this program and left hanging. I can see them keeping me (and all home owners or cottage owners) as providers because we aren't unionized and costing more to produce it than selling it, I think they are trying to eliminate the nuclear (60% of our power in Ontario) because it is costing too much debt. So their goal may be to get all that can to provide it because I maintain the house structure and panel system and no union or salary or coffee breaks. But they could cancel that tomorrow leaving me a $30,000 system I can do nothing with. I like what they are offering, it seems too good to be true. I will take a chance, role the dice and jump in. For the program. Without the program it isn't worth it at this time. Thanks very much for all the food for thought, I will implement a small charge controller and small battery bank system. I like your Diesel Generator idea for if ever the power does go out, which it does. But it is small to worry about. Thanks again for all the ideas. For my primary reason for this system, I will buy the 40 panels and do you folks have any reasons why you would select the Solaredge technology with the new optimizers for efficiencies (about $3000.00) for their product, or using Enphase microinverters (about $7000.00). Other than costs difference, which would you folks prefer? Both become useless if the power grid goes off, but both are looking pretty equal for efficiences and installation is easy enough. All the surfing and reading I see is everyone has installed the Solaredge and it seems to have improved nicely, while the Enphase is the lastest and not really had many years of use to compare, but they apparently to some are the better device. Do you folks have any comments on either of these devices? Have good day, thanks You're going to be better off asking questions like this in a solar power related group. I don't think anyone here has any detailed experience with what you're asking. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
No, I believe you folks here have a lot of helpful information.
And even the not so helpful information sometimes helps just as much. So I appreciate it all. Sure, I can install my first ever solar project and join that group, but the width of knowledge this group touches on so much more and items the other groups might not. I am reading all the links and dissecting all the information you folks throw and believe me, it is all so very helpful and appreciated. Keep throwing, I am going forward with this and I am just curioius as to all your comments about both those inverters that are available. Very expensive so I want to make the most informed decision as to which to purchase, before I do. Thanks folks, have a great day 73s "Jerry Stuckle" wrote in message ... On 8/21/2015 9:00 AM, Tom wrote: Thanks gents Great, thanks for all your thoughts. I wanted to stay away from the battery bank thing, I have enough trouble with keeping 4 or 5 deep cycles alive for more than 5 or 6 years. But I may introduce them to a PV system. But all my Deep Cycles are different sizes, so sure would like some of those Tesla by Elon. I believe that person is developing a huge PV manufacturing facility in Buffalo NY but I talked to SolarCity reps and they will not deal with Canadian market. My program is with Ontario Hydro and up north our local providers are shaky and unreliable. In Ontario Canada the provincial govt is recently (last decade or more) really screwed things up, they started a Gas Power Plant and cancelled that after about a billion, they have had other programs that they started and abruptly ended after loosing a few billion and now they are in a 50 year debt and trying to sell off to private (fire sale) and they are offering this program to me for a 20 year contract. So I must install 40 panels on my roof and tie it all into the grid and they want 100% of it and paying a pretty nice penny per KWh. But the initial investment by me is substantial up front so if they pull out of the deal in one year then I have a very big expensive inverters that are good for nothing. A lot of people in Ontario Canada don't think that the local Ontary Hydro will be long for this world, so we don't want to get stuck on this program and left hanging. I can see them keeping me (and all home owners or cottage owners) as providers because we aren't unionized and costing more to produce it than selling it, I think they are trying to eliminate the nuclear (60% of our power in Ontario) because it is costing too much debt. So their goal may be to get all that can to provide it because I maintain the house structure and panel system and no union or salary or coffee breaks. But they could cancel that tomorrow leaving me a $30,000 system I can do nothing with. I like what they are offering, it seems too good to be true. I will take a chance, role the dice and jump in. For the program. Without the program it isn't worth it at this time. Thanks very much for all the food for thought, I will implement a small charge controller and small battery bank system. I like your Diesel Generator idea for if ever the power does go out, which it does. But it is small to worry about. Thanks again for all the ideas. For my primary reason for this system, I will buy the 40 panels and do you folks have any reasons why you would select the Solaredge technology with the new optimizers for efficiencies (about $3000.00) for their product, or using Enphase microinverters (about $7000.00). Other than costs difference, which would you folks prefer? Both become useless if the power grid goes off, but both are looking pretty equal for efficiences and installation is easy enough. All the surfing and reading I see is everyone has installed the Solaredge and it seems to have improved nicely, while the Enphase is the lastest and not really had many years of use to compare, but they apparently to some are the better device. Do you folks have any comments on either of these devices? Have good day, thanks You're going to be better off asking questions like this in a solar power related group. I don't think anyone here has any detailed experience with what you're asking. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
On Friday, August 21, 2015 at 10:01:54 AM UTC-4, Tom wrote:
No, I believe you folks here have a lot of helpful information. And even the not so helpful information sometimes helps just as much. So I appreciate it all. Sure, I can install my first ever solar project and join that group, but the width of knowledge this group touches on so much more and items the other groups might not. I am reading all the links and dissecting all the information you folks throw and believe me, it is all so very helpful and appreciated. Keep throwing, I am going forward with this and I am just curioius as to all your comments about both those inverters that are available. Very expensive so I want to make the most informed decision as to which to purchase, before I do. Thanks folks, have a great day 73s "Jerry Stuckle" wrote in message ... On 8/21/2015 9:00 AM, Tom wrote: Thanks gents Great, thanks for all your thoughts. I wanted to stay away from the battery bank thing, I have enough trouble with keeping 4 or 5 deep cycles alive for more than 5 or 6 years. But I may introduce them to a PV system. But all my Deep Cycles are different sizes, so sure would like some of those Tesla by Elon. I believe that person is developing a huge PV manufacturing facility in Buffalo NY but I talked to SolarCity reps and they will not deal with Canadian market. My program is with Ontario Hydro and up north our local providers are shaky and unreliable. In Ontario Canada the provincial govt is recently (last decade or more) really screwed things up, they started a Gas Power Plant and cancelled that after about a billion, they have had other programs that they started and abruptly ended after loosing a few billion and now they are in a 50 year debt and trying to sell off to private (fire sale) and they are offering this program to me for a 20 year contract. So I must install 40 panels on my roof and tie it all into the grid and they want 100% of it and paying a pretty nice penny per KWh. But the initial investment by me is substantial up front so if they pull out of the deal in one year then I have a very big expensive inverters that are good for nothing. A lot of people in Ontario Canada don't think that the local Ontary Hydro will be long for this world, so we don't want to get stuck on this program and left hanging. I can see them keeping me (and all home owners or cottage owners) as providers because we aren't unionized and costing more to produce it than selling it, I think they are trying to eliminate the nuclear (60% of our power in Ontario) because it is costing too much debt. So their goal may be to get all that can to provide it because I maintain the house structure and panel system and no union or salary or coffee breaks. But they could cancel that tomorrow leaving me a $30,000 system I can do nothing with. I like what they are offering, it seems too good to be true. I will take a chance, role the dice and jump in. For the program. Without the program it isn't worth it at this time. Thanks very much for all the food for thought, I will implement a small charge controller and small battery bank system. I like your Diesel Generator idea for if ever the power does go out, which it does. But it is small to worry about. Thanks again for all the ideas. For my primary reason for this system, I will buy the 40 panels and do you folks have any reasons why you would select the Solaredge technology with the new optimizers for efficiencies (about $3000.00) for their product, or using Enphase microinverters (about $7000.00). Other than costs difference, which would you folks prefer? Both become useless if the power grid goes off, but both are looking pretty equal for efficiences and installation is easy enough. All the surfing and reading I see is everyone has installed the Solaredge and it seems to have improved nicely, while the Enphase is the lastest and not really had many years of use to compare, but they apparently to some are the better device. Do you folks have any comments on either of these devices? Have good day, thanks You're going to be better off asking questions like this in a solar power related group. I don't think anyone here has any detailed experience with what you're asking. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== Tom During my time as an electrician doing contract work for Westinghouse I installed photo-voltaic arrays from Alaska to Argentina and except for one design fault that was totally beyond my control all of my installations were successful in that they all worked as designed and did what they were supposed to do. Most of these installs were stand alone power systems for remote communications sites. I have done very few grid tie systems and those were not residential scale installs but rather institutional systems for a college and a factory. That said the principals of operation on these large grid tie systems are the same as on residential sized systems. What you may want to consider is the addition of a load diverter to your system. A load diverter reacts to the fall off of current flow to the primary load and connects the photo voltaic array to a different load so as to continue to make use of the current that is available from the array. In an off grid system the alternate load might be resistive water heating. With a grid tie system I cannot imagine any reason that the load diverter could not have a battery charger as the primary load and the grid tie inverter as it's secondary load. With that arrangement once the batteries are charged the photo voltaic array is connected to the grid tie inverter. That would require overly complicated wiring with the micro inverters but it would work fine with the more common single unit inverters. A separate inverter supplied from the batteries supplies back up power. If you buy the more sophisticated type of back up inverter it can start a standby generator if the load becomes more than the inverter can carry. That is how many off grid systems are arranged so that when the load is lighter the back up inverter supplies the needed current. When the ampacity of the back up inverter is insufficient the engine alternator set (generator) picks up the load and shuts down automatically when the load drops below the back up inverters capacity. One tremendous advantage is that once the occupants retire to sleep the load drops and the silent inverter picks up the remaining load until people get up and begin using more power. You do have to size the battery array and the back up inverter to carry all of the overnight loads for eight hours or so. The use of larger pressure tanks or a small elevated water tank could take care of overnight toilet flushing and hand washing. What you want can work but the cost will approach building two systems. The thing that you save on is the photo voltaic array. -- Tom Horne |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Hi
Thanks for the ideas. I have seen a lot of utubes of folks heating water with their panels, or charging battery banks or more secondary ideas. The primary idea is to go on the grid, that makes the most practical sense because they pay for the power a rate of 5 times what the power is purchased by me from the same grid. So after factoring in all the losses from heating water and required voltages to meet certain wattages it just cheaper to plug into the wall. Or use the wood stove. So a lot of secondary ideas do not seem practical. I will hold off on the secondary or auxillary until later because I can add that easily. I will only focus on the primary now and that is the program that supplies 100% of power produced to the grid. I can only provide 10 kw max that they will pay for. Anything over and they don't pay for that. But name plate ratings must equal 10kw or less but you will never reach that efficiency. My choice now is between the Enphase microinverters or the Solaredge single inverter with the optimizers. Are there any advantages to either one over the other that you folks are aware of? They seem to be both as efficient, the SolarEdge system is 20% cheaper, they both do not operate without attached to the grid. While I am reading that these panels efficiencies levels will only produce really 80% of their plate ratings could I add two more panels down the road to the array? With Microinverters I would have to purchase two more at a few hundred dollars and more harnesses, but with SolarEdge I believe I can add more panels easily and get as close to the 10KW to earn maximum as possible. I am wondering what the ease of installation, maintenance, repair, adjust, addition or subtration of panels to the system. Which system is more prefered? Enphase or Solaredge? Watching the Solaredge with optimizers now seem to look more simpler to install, but Microinverters seem to be the new thing. I am wondering how you folks think about one or the other, why or why not. I just want to focus on the primary now and earn as much as possible from the grid and 40 panels that qualify me for the program. My thinking now is to buy an additional 2 panels, keep them charging (seperate small charge controller) small battery bank and have them jump over to help the grid (become 42 panels) when batteries are full. I can figure that switch or diverter safely and easily enough but which inverter would work best for that type of thinking? I would think the SolarEdge because the MicroInverters on the two seperate would not work to charge the batteries. So if power does go out I have the two panels to keep batteries charging. Any comments on this? Which inverters do you folks like best? SolarEdge or Enphase? Both have almost a 25 year warrenty and I believe both might be around for 25 years. Seems to be the new thing these solar panels. I don't think these big firms will be going anywere soon. Thanks again for all advice,, 73s "Tom W3TDH" wrote in message ... On Friday, August 21, 2015 at 10:01:54 AM UTC-4, Tom wrote: No, I believe you folks here have a lot of helpful information. And even the not so helpful information sometimes helps just as much. So I appreciate it all. Sure, I can install my first ever solar project and join that group, but the width of knowledge this group touches on so much more and items the other groups might not. I am reading all the links and dissecting all the information you folks throw and believe me, it is all so very helpful and appreciated. Keep throwing, I am going forward with this and I am just curioius as to all your comments about both those inverters that are available. Very expensive so I want to make the most informed decision as to which to purchase, before I do. Thanks folks, have a great day 73s "Jerry Stuckle" wrote in message ... On 8/21/2015 9:00 AM, Tom wrote: Thanks gents Great, thanks for all your thoughts. I wanted to stay away from the battery bank thing, I have enough trouble with keeping 4 or 5 deep cycles alive for more than 5 or 6 years. But I may introduce them to a PV system. But all my Deep Cycles are different sizes, so sure would like some of those Tesla by Elon. I believe that person is developing a huge PV manufacturing facility in Buffalo NY but I talked to SolarCity reps and they will not deal with Canadian market. My program is with Ontario Hydro and up north our local providers are shaky and unreliable. In Ontario Canada the provincial govt is recently (last decade or more) really screwed things up, they started a Gas Power Plant and cancelled that after about a billion, they have had other programs that they started and abruptly ended after loosing a few billion and now they are in a 50 year debt and trying to sell off to private (fire sale) and they are offering this program to me for a 20 year contract. So I must install 40 panels on my roof and tie it all into the grid and they want 100% of it and paying a pretty nice penny per KWh. But the initial investment by me is substantial up front so if they pull out of the deal in one year then I have a very big expensive inverters that are good for nothing. A lot of people in Ontario Canada don't think that the local Ontary Hydro will be long for this world, so we don't want to get stuck on this program and left hanging. I can see them keeping me (and all home owners or cottage owners) as providers because we aren't unionized and costing more to produce it than selling it, I think they are trying to eliminate the nuclear (60% of our power in Ontario) because it is costing too much debt. So their goal may be to get all that can to provide it because I maintain the house structure and panel system and no union or salary or coffee breaks. But they could cancel that tomorrow leaving me a $30,000 system I can do nothing with. I like what they are offering, it seems too good to be true. I will take a chance, role the dice and jump in. For the program. Without the program it isn't worth it at this time. Thanks very much for all the food for thought, I will implement a small charge controller and small battery bank system. I like your Diesel Generator idea for if ever the power does go out, which it does. But it is small to worry about. Thanks again for all the ideas. For my primary reason for this system, I will buy the 40 panels and do you folks have any reasons why you would select the Solaredge technology with the new optimizers for efficiencies (about $3000.00) for their product, or using Enphase microinverters (about $7000.00). Other than costs difference, which would you folks prefer? Both become useless if the power grid goes off, but both are looking pretty equal for efficiences and installation is easy enough. All the surfing and reading I see is everyone has installed the Solaredge and it seems to have improved nicely, while the Enphase is the lastest and not really had many years of use to compare, but they apparently to some are the better device. Do you folks have any comments on either of these devices? Have good day, thanks You're going to be better off asking questions like this in a solar power related group. I don't think anyone here has any detailed experience with what you're asking. -- ================== Remove the "x" from my email address Jerry, AI0K ================== Tom During my time as an electrician doing contract work for Westinghouse I installed photo-voltaic arrays from Alaska to Argentina and except for one design fault that was totally beyond my control all of my installations were successful in that they all worked as designed and did what they were supposed to do. Most of these installs were stand alone power systems for remote communications sites. I have done very few grid tie systems and those were not residential scale installs but rather institutional systems for a college and a factory. That said the principals of operation on these large grid tie systems are the same as on residential sized systems. What you may want to consider is the addition of a load diverter to your system. A load diverter reacts to the fall off of current flow to the primary load and connects the photo voltaic array to a different load so as to continue to make use of the current that is available from the array. In an off grid system the alternate load might be resistive water heating. With a grid tie system I cannot imagine any reason that the load diverter could not have a battery charger as the primary load and the grid tie inverter as it's secondary load. With that arrangement once the batteries are charged the photo voltaic array is connected to the grid tie inverter. That would require overly complicated wiring with the micro inverters but it would work fine with the more common single unit inverters. A separate inverter supplied from the batteries supplies back up power. If you buy the more sophisticated type of back up inverter it can start a standby generator if the load becomes more than the inverter can carry. That is how many off grid systems are arranged so that when the load is lighter the back up inverter supplies the needed current. When the ampacity of the back up inverter is insufficient the engine alternator set (generator) picks up the load and shuts down automatically when the load drops below the back up inverters capacity. One tremendous advantage is that once the occupants retire to sleep the load drops and the silent inverter picks up the remaining load until people get up and begin using more power. You do have to size the battery array and the back up inverter to carry all of the overnight loads for eight hours or so. The use of larger pressure tanks or a small elevated water tank could take care of overnight toilet flushing and hand washing. What you want can work but the cost will approach building two systems. The thing that you save on is the photo voltaic array. -- Tom Horne |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
I would go with the single unit inverters because as you have already observed the wiring for those is simpler. Then if you ever wanted to make a secondary use of the photo voltaic array's output it would be a lot simpler to wire in the needed additional equipment. With the micro inverters that would be impractical because you would need to tap into the panels output between the panel and each micro inverter rather than the single set of input conductors just ahead of the single unit inverter. But if you know that you are super unlikely to ever want to use the solar array for anything but grid tie power then the only thing that matters is the relative efficiency of the two choices when you balance that against any cost difference.
-- Tom Horne On Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 6:50:00 AM UTC-4, Tom wrote: Hi Thanks for the ideas. SNIP My choice now is between the Enphase microinverters or the Solaredge single inverter with the optimizers. Are there any advantages to either one over the other that you folks are aware of? They seem to be both as efficient, the SolarEdge system is 20% cheaper, they both do not operate without attached to the grid. While I am reading that these panels efficiencies levels will only produce really 80% of their plate ratings could I add two more panels down the road to the array? With Microinverters I would have to purchase two more at a few hundred dollars and more harnesses, but with SolarEdge I believe I can add more panels easily and get as close to the 10KW to earn maximum as possible. I am wondering what the ease of installation, maintenance, repair, adjust, addition or subtration of panels to the system. Which system is more prefered? Enphase or Solaredge? Watching the Solaredge with optimizers now seem to look more simpler to install, but Microinverters seem to be the new thing. I am wondering how you folks think about one or the other, why or why not. I just want to focus on the primary now and earn as much as possible from the grid and 40 panels that qualify me for the program. My thinking now is to buy an additional 2 panels, keep them charging (seperate small charge controller) small battery bank and have them jump over to help the grid (become 42 panels) when batteries are full. I can figure that switch or diverter safely and easily enough but which inverter would work best for that type of thinking? I would think the SolarEdge because the MicroInverters on the two seperate would not work to charge the batteries.. So if power does go out I have the two panels to keep batteries charging. Any comments on this? Which inverters do you folks like best? SolarEdge or Enphase? Both have almost a 25 year warrenty and I believe both might be around for 25 years. Seems to be the new thing these solar panels. I don't think these big firms will be going anywere soon. Thanks again for all advice,, 73s |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
"Tom" wrote in message ... No, I believe you folks here have a lot of helpful information. And even the not so helpful information sometimes helps just as much. So I appreciate it all. Sure, I can install my first ever solar project and join that group, but the width of knowledge this group touches on so much more and items the other groups might not. Go here and look around. This fellow lives a few miles from me and had given some talks at the local ham club a couple of times. He put up some solar panels a good number of years ago and also some roof top solar heat. http://www.kenclifton.com/wordpress/ |
2m antenna and Micro Inverters
Thanks for all the information. Really helpful.
I suppose the best system of the two is the SolarEdge system of single inverter. This way I can have 40 panels for the program and 4 on their own not attached to the batch feeding the grid. However, with some proper disconnects and diverters I can utilize those 4 to a charge controller and keep my batteries charged. It is just that these latest pieces of equipment are the latest of technology and updated options but by next month there is next generation of these inverters so they keep improving them. The SE10000A SolarEdge inverter is the one I will need to purchase. Do you folks have any reasons or ideas why I wouldn't want this inverter? Anyone have bad or good luck with these? Warrenty and reviews on them look good. But that is the same with the Enphase microinverters. Thanks gents for a lot of great information, very helpful. 73s "Ralph Mowery" wrote in message ... "Tom" wrote in message ... No, I believe you folks here have a lot of helpful information. And even the not so helpful information sometimes helps just as much. So I appreciate it all. Sure, I can install my first ever solar project and join that group, but the width of knowledge this group touches on so much more and items the other groups might not. Go here and look around. This fellow lives a few miles from me and had given some talks at the local ham club a couple of times. He put up some solar panels a good number of years ago and also some roof top solar heat. http://www.kenclifton.com/wordpress/ |
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