nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Upgrading inverter 5kW - 8kW

...Ghost...

Looking to upgrade from my 5kW Solis hybrid to an 8kW Solis hybrid.

Can someone recommend the best place to buy?

Would love to go bigger, but 8kW will do for now for what I need, which is allowing me to feed more than 5kW to the house load. Sticking with Solis just to keep it simple, as I know I'll be able to swap it out myself and keep everything essentially the same.

edited to add: I've just bit the bullet and ordered one from Ebay.

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

GarlicBed

Nice,

How much?

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124555890#Comment_124555890

£1,100 so far. Let's see what happens when it lands. The UK VAT gets knocked off when shipping to Ireland. I expect VAT, customs and fees to be added when it lands in a few days.

I'm about to pull the trigger on 16 x 628Ah cells and a JK BMS. I'm experimenting and optimising the space I have. I think I can fit 2 x 32kWh DIY packs into the same space I have a single 16kWh Seplos battery. I'll be moving on 2 of my Seplos batteries soon enough now. Eventually i'll add another 32kWh pack if everything goes to plan.

GarlicBed

Does the 8kw have 4mppts?

thatk'll be aomsome set up when done.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058439782/upgrading-inverter-5kw-8kw

You might want to get some software up and running that will not get you in trouble by exporting too much 😁

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124556296#Comment_124556296

No, only 2. Solis 14kWh model and bigger have 3 or more.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124556586#Comment_124556586

The export can be limited in the settings.

I’m going with the 8kW because it’s more or less a direct replacement without the need to upgrade anything at the CU, as I already had a 40A breaker installed to accommodate one back when I was getting the second inverter installed. I’ll need to crimp a couple of lugs onto battery cables, but otherwise it’s all the same.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124556860#Comment_124556860

Yeah makes sense and I'd say one or two of the regulars in this forum have done the same 🙃

Beware though that if you go over the export levels you are allowed with the NC6, the ESB will notice this if you have a smart meter. So if you have exported more than 3kWh in any 30 minute slot, it is recorded and possibly flagged. I have heard that you get 1 warning, but it could be game over straight away and no more getting paid this very lucrative FIT until you get re-certified

And just trusting the inverter to do the right thing is extremely risky. Sometimes things go wrong, inverter settings might not work or got reset with a firmware update etc. It helps if you have a myenergi (or other smart) system in place which can automatically divert if you exceed a certain export like 5500W. I would still get a home assistant system set up which can to control your inverter and send you a notification if your export goes over the threshold, when diversion or limitation is not working

ECO_Mental

There should be a network grid settings menu that is locked behind a password (that in theory only your qualified electrician /supplier is allowed to set and have the password!) this will have all the grid frequencies voltage settings etc but also your grid export limit. So in theory once set it cant be changed by the end user….these should be settings you will never have to adjust.

For NC7 this is a requirement and is a fail safe, if you update firmware etc and these setting are almost hardcoded into the inverter.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124557956#Comment_124557956

Ironically that password should never be changed from the default 😂.

What if anything happens the original installer disappears/uncontactable/etc.

Grid standards have been known to change, we've seen it already.

...Ghost...

Well, my inverter is on the way. Should have it this week.

Also ordered 16 x 628Ah cells and a JK BMS from NKON…order is packed.

My 5kW Solis and a 16kWh Seplos battery will be going to my Dad who lives in an apartment. He is getting a RECI to install connect/certify the inverter and do the NC6. Load shifting is the plan, as he can't get solar.

I'll get some videos made for the changes.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124558316#Comment_124558316

Can you get an NC6 without micro generation (PV)?

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124558394#Comment_124558394

I had asked Chat GPT about it and it doesn't specifically exclude getting an NC6 even though it's a microgeneration notification form. I was thinking we could just say 900W of panels will be connected, which would be 2 panels on the balcony. Probably won't connect any panels though.

Chat GPT:

So if you submitted an NC6 saying:

PV: 0 kWp
Battery: 16 kWh
Hybrid inverter: 5 kW

you might get one of two responses:

Accepted, because the inverter is a compliant parallel generator.
Queried, with ESB asking what the generating source is.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124558424#Comment_124558424

Biggest problem is to find a sparks to sign off on it. If you have one in your friends or family, you're laughing.

Also of course balcony solar is now allowed in the UK, so should follow here soon. Might mean the end of the NC6 cert, which is rather outdated now anyway.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559038#Comment_124559038

I've left the sparks finding to my old man.

Yeah the NC6 is a load of…

The NC7 is too. There should be no problem hooking up a 10kW inverter and limiting to 5kW. Sure…anything exported above that could easily be snipped from the export payout.

"Exporting 8kW sir? You only get paid for 5kW, thanks for the free juice."

Backwards we are in this country.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559153#Comment_124559153

If you can draw 15kW from the grid, how bad is it to export 8kW back to the grid. Really stupid rules. I don't know of any other EU country where you have to have a license for micro generation

mjatkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124558394#Comment_124558394

Got it for our apartment no issue, Solis 5K and 32Kwh battery, no panels. May add plugin some time this year once I get a few cheap panels.

Now I did have to pay over the odds to get the sparks to drive to Cavan for the install but well worth it. Just snicked in with Pinergy so have until Jan 2028 with 6cent buy and 25cent sell (unless of course they change them before).

mjatkey

Gary, Jason will do NC6 for your dad probably.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559452#Comment_124559452

That would be ideal 😅

olympicweights

Watching this one…..

mjatkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559719#Comment_124559719

Ha ha indeed.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559153#Comment_124559153

it’s moreso that ESB are worried about the local transformers not been able to handle the load

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124559451#Comment_124559451

The T$Cs do say that the payout is only for self generated electricity. While they don’t currently enforce it. They may in the future

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124565796#Comment_124565796

There is no way for ESB to tell if what you are exporting is what you have generated yourself. The only data they have is from the smart meter. Although I guess me exporting 5.9kW at 1AM is a bit of a giveaway 😂

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124565809#Comment_124565809

Ah, shure that's from all the PV energy you stored and didn't use during the day 😉

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124566251#Comment_124566251

Well all or most of it is actually this time of year, depending on the day 😀

...Ghost...

New inverter was to arrive on Friday with DPD. It then got delayed and scheduled for Monday. It was in Athlone, but tracking now shows it's back in the UK, returning to consignor. 😒

Contacted the seller and it seems it's returning because the VAT and customs hasn't been paid. Well, of course it wasn't paid. I wasn't asked to pay. No contact from DPD or anyone else. Amateurs.

ABrannock

The primary limit on the inverter size is due to the harmonics produced. So an 8kW inverter will produce emissions that exceed standards. These can be detected by the smart meter.

Usually electricians are very hesitant to issue a Reci cert for anything they did not install, particularly if in breach of standards. If anything ever happens eg fire ar inverter, neighbour getting a shock when inverter did not turn off, equipment maloperating and manufacturer claiming it was excess harmonics, the guy who signed the Reci cert is exposed. The household insurance will not apply to inverter fire as not in compliance with regs. They will instead suggest you sue your electrician. But his insurance will not cover him as he breached the terms - cut and dried. So now you need to sue him personally for assets such as house. Not a situation any electrician would want to be CV in.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124567869#Comment_124567869

I'm not sure where you've got the harmonics argument from, but it isn't how modern grid-tied inverters work.

If an inverter is export-limited to 5kW (around 22A), then that's all the grid sees. Harmonic current is related to the current actually being exported, not the nameplate rating of the inverter. An 8kW inverter exporting 5kW isn't somehow injecting "8kW worth of harmonics". If it were, it wouldn't comply with the harmonic emission standards it was certified against in the first place.

The comment about the smart meter detecting this is equally unconvincing. The ESB smart meter measures energy import/export, voltage, current and various network events. It isn't a power quality analyser sitting there calculating harmonic spectra and identifying inverter model numbers. If ESB wanted to investigate harmonics they'd use dedicated power quality monitoring equipment, not rely on a domestic smart meter.

The insurance comments are also far more dramatic than reality. Insurers don't simply say "the inverter wasn't compliant, claim denied". They investigate the cause of the loss. They would need to establish that a non-compliance actually caused or materially contributed to the incident. That's how insurance claims work, not by automatically voiding cover because an installation didn't meet every technical requirement.

Likewise, suggesting that a manufacturer would simply blame "excess harmonics" if an inverter failed doesn't make much sense. Manufacturers look at things like overvoltage, surge damage, installation faults, overheating and component failures. They don't routinely reject warranty claims because of some imaginary harmonic issue.

As for the electrician, you're making assumptions there too. The intention is to regularise the installation with an NC7 application, so there won't be any issue with certification once the work has been inspected. A RECI isn't expected to blindly sign off work they haven't checked, but equally they can certify an installation they've properly inspected and verified. That's how inspections work every day.

One final observation: your account has exactly one post, and it's in this thread. If you're genuinely interested in discussing the technical points, why not use your normal Boards account instead of creating a brand new one just to post here? It does rather undermine the credibility of what you're saying.

Duine_Eigin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124567626#Comment_124567626

Would you not get it delivered to one of the lockers in Northern Ireland and go up and collect it yourself? It's €6 for an oversized package for a 48hr stay in the Oohpod in Jonesborough. It's about an hour's drive up, depending on where you're located in Dublin. You'd save yourself a few hundred quid plus the hassle of customs etc.

https://www.oohpod.com/pricing

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124570363#Comment_124570363

There’s no saving sending it to NI. They ship to Ireland VAT free. If shipping to NI, the UK VAT is added and I have the hassle of collecting. I looked at both options.

Now, if I’m real lucky, it will end up in NI without the VAT, because I have a NI address as an alternative.

Duine_Eigin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124570618#Comment_124570618

How can you say there's no saving when delivering to ROI would result in you paying the higher ROI VAT rate with customs duty and fees added on top?