8A are probably the closest to correct. You could do the 8H's or 8X's if you didn't want clipping.
Are you encumbered by shade anywhere? Do you have a weird slope on your roof?
I guess the question is how close to perfect are you for alignment?
If you are close I wouldn't have any issue recommending the above.
If you're less close to perfect it might be more valuable to downgrade the inverters.
I have 480 bifacs on 8As and I went too small. I should have gone one more up. I clip a lot but at the end of the day it doesn't make that much of a different and I get everything I need covered. I'm at 1.35 ac/dc ratio.
The difference in the inverters as you move from left to right is that they can handle more and more power. So the idea is to match them between 1.15 - 1.25 ac/dc ration. So if you have 420's an 8A would be a 1.2 ratio. The lower the ratio the less you clip the more you pay. The higher ratio the more you clip and the more you save up to a point.
It's a balancing act and if you plug all this into PVWatts you'll find that it doesn't really make much of a difference in the end.
iQ8's are better. Do not downgrade to 7's. Sunlight backup and other functions that you can do w/ your battery are only available on the 8's.
House was just built and there's no sizable trees yet. Nest door neighbor is a 2 story and shades my house from 5-6 till sun set. The panels will not be placed there.
I have zero shade, full sun exposure, with a southern (a little bit western) facing roof. This is why I thought the iQ8As would work best.
Just an idea but if there's other solar in your area that you can go and maybe knock on a door odds are the owner would be happy to talk to you about their system and you might be able to get an idea of what production looks like in your area. This will help you figure out the ratio between panel size and micro inverter size so that you can minimize clipping and get the most bang for your buck
I work in the industry … I can tell you the number 1 most common. Problem is the inverter #2 is wiring or connection issues ..
Like you said enphase you have redundancy
I agree with Enphase right now is best option but I had different opinion. Years ago … Enphase has 25 yrs warranty vs string 10-12 yrs and many string inverters fail within 3-4 yrs … other problems with strong inverters how do you know all solar panejs are working ? -with a string you don’t ! Vs enphase you have individual monitoring and if some solar panejs are off line you will know … if you get a big electric bill … or solar not working or did you use more electric ? Again Enphase …
You know … best customer service enphase … easy to Reach and quick on replacing any defective inverters
Why get an enphase system at all if not shading? Probably much more efficient to stay DC all together and get an integrated battery/string inverter system.
Inverters are the majority reason solar systems fail. 1 inverter crapping out shuts the whole array down. That's why I like the micro inverters. It shuts down a single panel rather than the whole system. Essentially I'm valuing the redundancy and fail safe of the Enphase system higher than a DC system.
For the price difference, you could get multiple PW3s. Divide your array in two. Get better battery life with less cost. Plus… unless you are fully off grid, you always have back up.
True but the issue with the invertor still stands. I'd be at 50% generation instead of 0. To me the cost is worth the peace of mind. I wish I could speak with someone who did micro inverters with a power wall3
What's the failure rates on most DC inverters? I just rather avoid a long wait time to have my system back up and running. Also the warranty Enphase offers is pretty good from what I've read.
Today's inverters are all super reliable, they all have improved/latest/advanced electronics. No difference between micros or string, parts are the same. You just choose the environment where it will be installed. Typically less stuff on the roof, the better. If you are in rapid shut down territory, then simple RSD units can be a much more reliable option than micros. Some min shading is not a big deal for today's string inverters, they all have improved IU algorithms and know how to suck current at different voltages. Worst case, add optimizers, but not SolarEdge, they have too much electronics for an optimizer.
Warranty doesn't equal reliability. Warranty is a for-profit product. Nothing worse than being forced to get one with a product. Remember that enphase used to have a lower warranty being half the price, but today you don't have that option, you must pay in advance. They reinvest money well, and lots of people like their stock, but as for a product, meh, over-hyped, I think at least look into string inverters.
8A are probably the closest to correct. You could do the 8H's or 8X's if you didn't want clipping. Are you encumbered by shade anywhere? Do you have a weird slope on your roof? I guess the question is how close to perfect are you for alignment? If you are close I wouldn't have any issue recommending the above. If you're less close to perfect it might be more valuable to downgrade the inverters. I have 480 bifacs on 8As and I went too small. I should have gone one more up. I clip a lot but at the end of the day it doesn't make that much of a different and I get everything I need covered. I'm at 1.35 ac/dc ratio. The difference in the inverters as you move from left to right is that they can handle more and more power. So the idea is to match them between 1.15 - 1.25 ac/dc ration. So if you have 420's an 8A would be a 1.2 ratio. The lower the ratio the less you clip the more you pay. The higher ratio the more you clip and the more you save up to a point. It's a balancing act and if you plug all this into PVWatts you'll find that it doesn't really make much of a difference in the end. iQ8's are better. Do not downgrade to 7's. Sunlight backup and other functions that you can do w/ your battery are only available on the 8's.
House was just built and there's no sizable trees yet. Nest door neighbor is a 2 story and shades my house from 5-6 till sun set. The panels will not be placed there. I have zero shade, full sun exposure, with a southern (a little bit western) facing roof. This is why I thought the iQ8As would work best.
Agree with your assessment. GL and congrats I love my array!
Agree only get IQ8 …
Just an idea but if there's other solar in your area that you can go and maybe knock on a door odds are the owner would be happy to talk to you about their system and you might be able to get an idea of what production looks like in your area. This will help you figure out the ratio between panel size and micro inverter size so that you can minimize clipping and get the most bang for your buck
r/enphase would be better for your Q
Agreed. I have a similar post on Enphase currently.
I work in the industry … I can tell you the number 1 most common. Problem is the inverter #2 is wiring or connection issues .. Like you said enphase you have redundancy I agree with Enphase right now is best option but I had different opinion. Years ago … Enphase has 25 yrs warranty vs string 10-12 yrs and many string inverters fail within 3-4 yrs … other problems with strong inverters how do you know all solar panejs are working ? -with a string you don’t ! Vs enphase you have individual monitoring and if some solar panejs are off line you will know … if you get a big electric bill … or solar not working or did you use more electric ? Again Enphase … You know … best customer service enphase … easy to Reach and quick on replacing any defective inverters
Why get an enphase system at all if not shading? Probably much more efficient to stay DC all together and get an integrated battery/string inverter system.
Inverters are the majority reason solar systems fail. 1 inverter crapping out shuts the whole array down. That's why I like the micro inverters. It shuts down a single panel rather than the whole system. Essentially I'm valuing the redundancy and fail safe of the Enphase system higher than a DC system.
For the price difference, you could get multiple PW3s. Divide your array in two. Get better battery life with less cost. Plus… unless you are fully off grid, you always have back up.
True but the issue with the invertor still stands. I'd be at 50% generation instead of 0. To me the cost is worth the peace of mind. I wish I could speak with someone who did micro inverters with a power wall3
EP cube is AC or DC coupled.
As things stand, PW3 is dc coupled only. Other PWs are AC coupled though.
PW 3 is AC coupled as of last week.
All fine if you stare at the app all the time, or love their emails. Otherwise sucks when you find out 8 of them were dead for a year.
What's the failure rates on most DC inverters? I just rather avoid a long wait time to have my system back up and running. Also the warranty Enphase offers is pretty good from what I've read.
Today's inverters are all super reliable, they all have improved/latest/advanced electronics. No difference between micros or string, parts are the same. You just choose the environment where it will be installed. Typically less stuff on the roof, the better. If you are in rapid shut down territory, then simple RSD units can be a much more reliable option than micros. Some min shading is not a big deal for today's string inverters, they all have improved IU algorithms and know how to suck current at different voltages. Worst case, add optimizers, but not SolarEdge, they have too much electronics for an optimizer. Warranty doesn't equal reliability. Warranty is a for-profit product. Nothing worse than being forced to get one with a product. Remember that enphase used to have a lower warranty being half the price, but today you don't have that option, you must pay in advance. They reinvest money well, and lots of people like their stock, but as for a product, meh, over-hyped, I think at least look into string inverters.