Micro Inverters

[mrs]

Has anyone installed these? I wanted to use enecsys with sanyo n240se10, but having run it through pv sol it was incompatible. Checked with enecsys and they have confirmed that this is correct. So need another option what has anyone else used?

 

[methley]

Take a look at SolarEdge. Similar principle but a simpler power tracker behind each panel which present a constant string voltage (350v-ish) to a single inverter. Has all the same benefits as Enecsys from an optimisation / shading point of view. I have two installs with SolarEdge and am very pleased. The monitoring portal is also up there with the best. You will, however, need to provide an ethernet connection to the inverter if you wish to make use of the monitoring portal.

Edit, should also say SolarEdge is compatible with your panel. It's what I have! :icon14:

 

[JohnDee]

Several other Sanyo panels are compatible with the Enecsys SMI-240-72. My list includes the HIT-H240ED4 and the HIT-H245/250E01 panels. I guess in depends on the output voltage of the various panels - the N240SE10 is quite a bit higher than most.

I have met people running this system successfully and I am likely to put one on my own roof in the next few weeks if that helps, as I have both space and shading issues.

 

[LightGEN]

We installed an Enecsys based system at the beginning of December and were fairly happy with the results. From an installation perspective it was a little fiddly - when ordering the equipment we assumed that Schuco one-turns would be usable to mount the inverters on Schuco rails but found these were too short. In the end we used Schuco anti-slip devices, replacing the supplied SS bolts with longer ones machined to an appropriate length. This turned out to be a good solution though one-turns would have been a more elegant solution if appropriate sized ones had been available. All in all, I would say that the Enecsys solution was a little more time consuming to install, though, on the other hand, it would have been difficult to find a tidy home for a string inverter in the premesis in question and micro-inverters were the right choice due to the potential for early morning/late afternoon shading on a couple of panels.
The Enecsys web-monitoring portal is pleasing, though this is only useful where the site has a broadband connection and to be elligible for the 20 year inverter warranty the system has to be connected to the web monitoring portal, thus excluding folks with no broadband connection from a 20 year warranty, which seems a bit limiting.
Although it isn't of use to you at the moment, SMA is introducing a micro-inverter product later in the year. Hopefully a bit of competition will make micro-inverter pricing keener.

 

[series530]

We have Enecsys and HIT250E01's. There are issues with the choice of inverter. Enecsys favour the -72 inverter over the -60. The jury is still out as to if the Enecsys route is better than a pure string route or the SolarEdge product. Our system, though, behaves fine and does mitigate the shade issue pretty well. The real proof will be if it matches the prediction from the installer. It's too soon to tell at the moment.

 

[fiardor]

Tigo systems are a combination of optimisers and your own inverter as opposed to exclusive solar edge optimisers and solar edge inverter.

Enecsys are err how shall i put it................ truly truly awful.

I have done 3 Enecsys systems and the cons far out weigh the pros....

Yes you get a monitoring system that is very detailed and impressive.

However:

The process of running 230v ac onto a roof is very strange.

BUT what really gets on my tatas is getting the gateway to talk to the repeater or double repeater.

Oh the hours i have had playing with this system.

Forget doing a short course to allow you to register a system for the first time.

Forget registering the whole system online including panel and inverter layout which can take 3-4 hours.

Forget that you probably will have to fit a socket in the loft to power the repeater.

Forget that it could take hours getting the gateway to smile and pick up all inverters.

Forget that you have to plug in each panel to its micro inverter to make sure the gateway picks up that inverter before plugging in the next panel.

If you can forget all of that? Its a great system LOL

I still have nightmares....... lol

Solar edge is ok but as someone has said you need a solid link to internet.
Plus registering system can be fiddly.
NOTE: If registering a solar edge system make sure you remove stickers from each optimiser unit or packaging to put on plan to send to solar edge so they can design roof layout correctly.

Tigo is also ok but as with enecsys you will need a power supply to power the control box in loft and also an ethernet link to a router and have to register the system online.

Aurora have a range of micro inverters and optimisers Aurora Micro | Power-One

SMA are about to start testing theirs next month SMA Solar Technology reimagines the Microinverter | GUNTHER Portfolio

 

[dansk]

i like the SE system, and you need a "zigbee" for wireless conection. I found the set up slow, but easy to do.

 

[fiardor]

i like the SE system, and you need a "zigbee" for wireless conection. I found the set up slow, but easy to do.

Ah the infamous Zigbee.
Never seen one myself but they obviously exist.
My company claimed that they couldnt get one for a customer so i had to wire to a router that was built in 1266. ----ers. Sounds like a zigbee would have taken 5 minutes not 5 hours as we had to upgrade the customers router as he had only 1 rg45 port.
Not amused.

 

[dansk]

lol, same i had to run Cat5 to router, luckily they had a spare port, but yes zigbee wold have done it.

 

[HPSauce]

I want to provide some balance to fiardor's post, as a reasonably satisified Enecsys customer.
I can't speak about some of the installation issues mentioned (strange AC on roof).

I had some concern because of the foil wrapped insulation in my loft might block the Zigbee transmissions and I was provided with a repeater but found it was not required. The gateway is located in a bedroom on the opposite side of the house to the micro-inverters. The repeater location suggested was the landing - OK not great.

The gateway was installed and picked up the micro-inverters in a matter of a couple of minutes. Simples. There was no individual plugging in of inverters required.
The whole install (13 panels) was done in slightly less than one day by two roof guys and an electrician.

 

[series530]

I would like to echo the statement made by HPSauce:

Provided the installer is properly trained and the customer is not the guinea pig, the installation of the inverters and the commissioning of them is a very quick and painless exercise.

We have 14 micro inverters together with a repeater. The inverters were all installed and the system was up and running in just a few hours. Our website was up within an hour of the system commissioning.

We have had no issues with system communication or with access to the Enecsys website.

 

[fiardor]

I would like to echo the statement made by HPSauce:

Provided the installer is properly trained and the customer is not the guinea pig, the installation of the inverters and the commissioning of them is a very quick and painless exercise.

We have 14 micro inverters together with a repeater. The inverters were all installed and the system was up and running in just a few hours. Our website was up within an hour of the system commissioning.

We have had no issues with system communication or with access to the Enecsys website.

Oh put your trumpet down!

I dont like your comment about proper training. Do tell what extensive training you received to qualify to instal these systems. How many days training did you receive?

And surely by default your first customer was your guinea pig.

Err who said anything about communication to Enecsys website? Not me.

Ok you may continue blowing that lovely trumpet :82:

 

[Earthstore]

From previous posts I think series 530 is a customer, not an installer.
Maybe he chose his installer well.

 

[Gavin A]

there've been some issues reported elsewhere with these inverters and sanyo panels of both types in shaded conditions - ie the conditions the things are designed to work best in supposedly, although I think some of these were at least partly down to the installers not understanding the bypass diode layout on the H series panels (along the long side, not the short)

We looked at these a while back, but couldn't find a situation where after modelling it the improved efficiency of the 4000TL outside of the shaded time didn't over ride the better performance of the micro inverters during shaded conditions, which almost always occur towards the start or end of the day when output is low anyway. Combine this with the 4000TL's dual MPPT and optitrack global peak shading function, and I'd bet on that system to outperform the enecsys micro inverters over the year 9 times out of 10 even in shaded situations.

Then there's the issue of getting on the roof to replace the inverter if one breaks down.... it may have a 25 year guarantee, but if there are 16 of them then the chances of one going earlier than that are pretty high, and they definitely had some quality control issues last year with several failures reported.

Basically it fails the KISS test IMO.

 

[series530]

All fair points and accepted.

We all need training and somebody needs to be a guinea pig. A sensible customer would not want a freshly trained installer and would not want to be the guinea pig... even if a sweetened deal was offered. Earthstore is right in saying that I am not an installer, I am a customer. I am not a guinea pig either.

With hindsight, Enecsys may have been not as good a choice as I had expected. Having said that, two months of dull weather and rain is hardly a statistically significant sample. I will never know if a dual MPPT tracker system would have been better as it isn't economically practical to try one out.

One thing I did do, however, was put the inverters inside the roof space. If any one of them does pop, the replacement procedure is child's play. Enecsys, by the way, support such an approach before anybody suggests that my warranty is void.