Sunpower system, which is best? Opinions?

[ExtremePV]

False!

 

[Gavin A]

I was told that Samil have been bought out by SMA. True or false ?

think that was eversolar, but may be wrong.

 

[jason121]

Has the Samil inverter been copied from the SMA TL -21? and been given a face lift ?

 

[Berneray]

To be fair, I think the Ferrari analogy is a clumsy one. I haven't seen anything to suggest that a Power One inverter is any better than a Samil inverter.

For the record, we have had three faulty Power One inverters since we have been installing and have had no faulty Samil inverters. We have only installed around 20 Samil inverters and around 50 Power Ones. From what I gather, our experience with Power One inverters hasn't been shared by other installers so it is more than likely just an anomaly.

We've not had to deal with Samil's technical support nor had to have an inverter replaced yet so can't comment on that side of their company, however Power One have been pretty good. Although their response to some ongoing problems with monitoring problems has been very disappointing.

There is a lingering sinophobia in Britain and the idea that all Chinese stuff is sub-standard is entirely outdated.

Agree entirely with SolarCity here. We have been using Samill for 14 months...and not one call back so far. Bet I'm tempting the gods here!

 

[Wortle]

I'd definitely go with the PowerOne 3.6 over Samil.

Have u got any possible shading? If so.. make sure they enable the wide sweep on the PowerOne, or better still go for an SMA 3600TL with optitrac enabled.

Ken

Minimal shading by trees til about 9am at this time of year and again about 5.30pm,probably less than that for 4 months of the year when the sun is higher in the sky.

The Samil system is being quoted £350 less than the Power one is that really the difference to the end user?

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[Wortle]

Still wondering if anyone can enlighten me on the price difference I should be paying between the samil,power one or even if I ask the two installers to requote for the SMA....although I think they both stated independently that SMA werent worth the "extra money"

 

[SolarCity]

I would say the difference would be around £100.

 

[whinmoor]

Why not ask the Samil guy to re-quote with a Power One?

There must be more to base your decision on than just the price. Which one did you trust more? Which did the better survey and produced the clearest paperwork?

 

[whinmoor]

I would say the difference would be around £100.

It may well be more than £100 if they both have a 10 year warranty.

(Note to OP - different installers will have different opinions.)

 

[Wortle]

Which one did you trust more? Which did the better survey and produced the clearest paperwork?

I felt both were trustworthy.

Both were thorough on survey.
Samil guy was a bit tardier on producing paperwork, but I felt had more experience.
Two younger guys came from the other company and were much quicker on responses, and I felt they were a bit more involved/dedicated/interested. Bottom line is I am looking at the price to try and help on the decision! If they both offered the same price and the same equipment it would be even worse! Head says older guy will be around longer. heart says younger ones will do a good job and would like to give them the work as they probably need it more......aaaargh.

 

[Gavin A]

ask to be put in touch with a previous customer in the area, that'll help find out what they're really like as a company.

 

[Wortle]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out both here and with PM's. I have weighed it all up and made a decision finally,bit of a relief. Expect a flurry of posts on 24th!

 

[SibertSolar]

Good for you, well done! I hope it all goes well.

 

[Earthstore]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out both here and with PM's. I have weighed it all up and made a decision finally,bit of a relief. Expect a flurry of posts on 24th!

Just curious, which choice did you make?

 

[John Barsby]

I was under the impression these panels needed special earthing arrangements as when we fitted the Benq Sun Forte panels we were advised to use an Eltek inverter configured for positive grounding.