Best Invertor and Panels

ctlsleh

Hi,

I was hoping to find a sticky on Invertor reviews. it seems that Solis and Huawei are the most popular?

are there any pros and cons of each?

I am hoping to have a 5-6KW system with a 5Kw Battery, annual usage seems to be about 6500 per year.

Also, what are the highest output/highest performance panels out there, i have south facing front roof, but I have some shading in winter from trees at the low end of the roof., so need highest performance available (no shadinge during the summer as the sun is higher in the sky)

Using the Solar Panel calculator https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/#api_5.1 i get the following: is that good?

Simulation outputs:Slope angle [°]:39 (opt)

Azimuth angle [°]:0

Yearly PV energy production [kWh]:902.98

Yearly in-plane irradiation [kWh/m2]:1106.02

Year-to-year variability [kWh]:56.46

Changes in output due to:Angle of incidence [%]:-3.16

Spectral effects [%]:1.84

Temperature and low irradiance [%]:-3.74

Total loss [%]:-18.36

TIA

Big Lar

Have a Solis myself and its fine, from what I have read here on the forums the Huawei has limitations as to what battery you can use.

irishchris

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335586/best-invertor-and-panels

Also wouldn't go near Huawei for the above reason but after having solis hybrid also wouldn't go that route due to the throttling of charging power after 15 mins.

Would recommend either the sofar hyd-EP models or sunsynk/deye. All of which have good ownership here and with positive feedback. Have the sofar hyd-ep 6kw myself and couldn't recommend it enough

FFVII_npc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121757249#Comment_121757249

whats this Solis throttling about?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121757413#Comment_121757413

It drops from 100 amps charging batteries after about 15 minutes but has been shown by a boardsie who ran tests on it that it can do around a stable 85ish amps after that.

Edit.

Search here is useless but eventually came across the post! It's Post #360 here https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058211660/solis-inverter-settings/p12

FFVII_npc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121758831#Comment_121758831

Ah thanks!

I've a whole thread to catch up on.

irishchris

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121758831#Comment_121758831

Doing well then even if only 85 amps as mine would throttle to 68 amps straight after 15 minutes before I sold it

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760158#Comment_121760158

I'm not sure if the inverter size had anything to do with it, I know he had a 6kW Solis when doing it so not sure about the others below that. I haven't needed to charge mine via the grid because of my old meter so can't say what the 5kW does.

championc

You cannot rate any inverter by the number of units sold. Units sold doesn't make them good.

They are likely the most popular with installers because of their profit margins..

A good inverter should potentially have flexibility of setups, and be quick to react to changes in load demand.

A good inverter should be able to track a zero watts import / export. A better inverter will allow you to offset the CT clamp reading to ensure you constantly import or export a specific amount.

A good inverter should supply data at 1 sec internals (or whatever) over a local RS485 connection and publicly publish the spec of that data stream format.

ctlsleh

Is there one that does that?

I appreciate the comments on the inverters, and I know the Huawei one is limited to Huawei battery, I’m ok with that as a closed system as it’s proven and low risk…….unless there are other considerations?

any suggestions on most efficient panels considering the shadowing in the winter mornings?

TIA

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760252#Comment_121760252

@HotSwap if around can fill you in on the Huawei inverters and as far as panels go there's not a lot between them apart from price so get the best price you can AFAIK.

championc

I have replaced my Sofar for a Deye / Sunsynk. I honestly think it's the best of options by far.

If it says it can work at x kW, then you expect that 24 X 7 if that was what you wanted.

The one thing I noticed today was the output in the sunshine. I'm sure it was higher than the Sofar delivered. But then again, the dun was fractionally lower a week ago.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone has ever done scientific tests of trying several inverters on the same string of panels at much the same time in the same conditions, and compared the outcome.

FFVII_npc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760332#Comment_121760332

what installers are using them?

I got alot of quotes and none used it.

Would an installer put it in if it was requested or do they stick to what they have?

Do solis just need to sort out their firmware?

championc

On the Solis, one person was actually somewhat promised a different firmware to stop the debating, but I don't think they followed through, blaming too much heat etc and so therefore, it technically couldn't perform to spec.

You could certainly ask an installer for a Sunsynk / Deye. Only a proper solar crowd will know them.

But they mainly want to get in and get out, not to be messing with settings.

You could get one from Alibaba if you can find an installer who would use if if you bought it

ctlsleh

I’m also hearing that glass backed panels perform better in the long run than plastic backed panels, any opinions? Solarwatt vs Jinko for example?

FFVII_npc

What about Sungrow inverters? How are they?

HotSwap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760286#Comment_121760286

Sorry for slow reply. Been busy. Did you have any specific questions about huawei?

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121772077#Comment_121772077

It was the poster before my post I tagged you in to see if you could guide him, post #10. Thanks

GReid2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121769038#Comment_121769038

I have one, got it installed in November with 8.4Kw's of panels. In the early days before I started charging my battery overnight, it was charging the battery rapidly, sometimes managing over 7Kw's of power from the panels on the sunny days of mid November. Its rated to handle up to 12kw's of DC but I've just 20 panels on it at the moment as I'm waiting on Sungrows Smart Optimisers which are coming within the next few months. they're needed to control the voltage if your wanting to go large with the array. When DC coupled EV chargers come on stream I'll be adding 8 more panels and adding the Optimisers.

Everything is controlled through a desktop interface or App, with the display on the inverter only displaying production information. I always use the desktop interface for changing settings as I prefer working with a large screen. The interface is very easy to navigate, and changing settings is very simple as you can look at the settings and intuitively know what to do without having to revert to the manual.

ctlsleh

I have an installer telling me that I can, and he would recommend, putting the inverter and battery outside, as attic is very tight……anytime done that? Any opinions on it?

championc

All kit is IP65 rated. But just ensure the location is shaded. You don't want the sun shining down on it

ctlsleh

is there something specific about the Huawei inverted that justify their additional cost?

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121779297#Comment_121779297

No. I have one and no better or different. You're locked into very expensive Huawei batteries of you get one. Major downside.

FFVII_npc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121779286#Comment_121779286

I read it's fine in every country in Europe except ireland. we're to damp.

DC999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121779470#Comment_121779470

Nah, my inverter is outside and it's fine. They have an outdoor rating of IP65.

FFVII_npc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121776319#Comment_121776319

can you charge those batteries to fast?

HotSwap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121779297#Comment_121779297

They are not more expensive.

GReid2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121780578#Comment_121780578

I'm not sure to be honest, I only had a few days of charging before I started overnight charging on the EV rate. I guess I'll find out when the sunny days come in and I cut out the night charges. There were a few occasions where the Inverter was dumping over 6Kw's of DC into the battery after the base load was covered.

ctlsleh

I have a south facing from roof and an east /west apex out back. Is east facing worth it at all as there isn’t a lot of heat in the light until the late morning?

just wondering if it’s better to put more on the west side than the east side?

championc

Solar has nothing to do with heat. In fact, heat is bad. So solar produces more on a good day in May than in July.

You will likely use more power in the evenings, than in the mornings, so west over est makes more sense

ColemanY2K

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121786446#Comment_121786446

if you can afford to do all three aspects then do it, if not then maximise south facing and then pick either east or west or just south if funds don't stretch. having the three aspects covered will ensure an increased level of production throughout the day with east producing power from early morning to noon-ish, south panels producing power from morning to evening and west facing panels from noon-ish to the late evening.

as noted by champ solar has nothing to do with heat, its all about light. at 25 degrees celsius and above panels start to lose efficiency which makes ireland actually quite a good place for pv.