How to Solar Power Your Home #7 - Grid Tie v Micro Inverter v Power Optimizer v Charge Controller

[@marvincarvin1846]

This is one of the best explanations of the different types of PV systems I have seen. Anybody contemplation solar should watch this video.

[@nobodyyouknow222]

Huge Thumbs Up Martin ! From an old electronics guy and union electrician who hasn't paid much attention to Solar since the early days, this brings me up to speed, and will save us so many thousands of U.S. Dollars I could have otherwise wasted on an inflexible system with huge I squared R losses, and big investments in heavy guage copper.. now thankfully all ancient news with the micro-inverters and modularized AC transmission wiring. Perhaps still some component level repairablility in the micro inverters that will likely disappear with the all robot made "ac" panels, and what will surely be surface mount components ( or worse). Now we can build a system with our micro-resources ! BTW... the case of that nice old Simpson meter is really fragile ... precarious spot its in ! Cheers to you also !

[@jacksonusese]

Hi Martins; I really appreciate your videos on 'how to Solar Power Your Home'. Your explanations are so elaborate and easy to understand. I am beginning to understand the concept of installing solar power. Good job.

[@gdefederico]

Very informative video; You explained the several issues very clear and congratulations for your pause and accent, it si great for non English speaking persons. Many thanks

[@majorfibbs7999]

Best 30 min. spent watching a youtube video. Very informative and useful for my planned balconee PV installation. Greetings from Switzerland.

[@reerbaadia1896]

Thank you Sir. I feel like I can assemble it myself now let alone someone ripping me off. The best explanation on this topic on the net.

[@ChristopherFranks]

Very informative. Thank you for taking the trouble to clearly explain the different options with their advantages and drawbacks

[@h0ll0wm9n]

Great job on another informative video. I like the way you edit within the scene to tighten things up. Also, your whiteboard presentations, with clear, color-coded info-graphics, make unfamiliar concepts graspable. Super!

[@cal48koho]

wow. this guy is then bees knees and it is 7 yrs old! we need recent updates. I rarely subscribe to anybody but he is an exception. No promotional videos or useless self serving reviews like you see on amazon and ebay.

[@DMonZ1988]

thank you, your videos are so informative, concise and clear. i will be building an off grid system soon and will be referring to your videos regularly. if possible, worked through set up examples and recommendations for different usage scenarios and systems would be really really helpful. i know there are so many variables, but a selection of four or five full system set ups for some of the most common scenarios, with all your expertise and the latest, up to date technologies considered would be very beneficial for the more casual viewers. editable copy/paste examples if you will. or alternatively, a few different systems that can be achieved on a fixed budget, with explanations on the pros and cons of each. just an idea, but i would personally find that very useful. anyway, once again thank you so much, looking forward to the next video!

[@ggileau]

I really enjoyed the video. You were very meticulous in your explanation without being opinionated. There should be more posters like you. I chose Solaredge for my system. The reason being that I have room for only fourteen 60 cell panels on the building that I am installing them on. Enphase maxes out at 250 watt per inverter where using Solaredge optimizers I am able to get 305 watts per panel. It was a difficult decision at first as I was sold on the Enphase technology but the more I researched the more this made sense. Keeping my fingers crossed. It was information like yours that let me understand the differences between systems.Thank you very much

[@Nostrildomus]

I'm your newest subscriber hoping to start with good basic solar understanding of about 1250 watts . Air conditioning on the Texas gulf area is mandatory at seventy years old and humidity a big problem approaching ninety . A/C in my home can/will be confined to one room in my home with the remaining three hundred square feet dehumidified from the grid and a gasoline inverter backup . I'm not really interested in buying warranty at my age but not wanting to leave demo projects behind in five years either . I'm presently considering as much salvaged equipment possible with upgrades keeping embarrassment to a minimum I hope . Thanks for being here

[@WisdomTree2024]

absolutely best explanation I've seen on youtube, Thank you very much for sharing. cheers.

[@philstat100]

Thank You for the great video and valuable information. WOW! lots to learn here. I will have to watch it again. I think that You should have made this video in four parts to make it more simple for thick headed people ( Like Me ) to learn. Again Thank You.

[@divinemadman01]

hi from the land down under{Australia}. great vids. you are so far the best at explaining solar ,for off grid. keep up the good work. looking forward to more vids.

[@anothershade]

Your videos are great. Thank you very much for providing such useful information in a concise way. Jason, UK.

[@jrgenthomsen8692]

Best eksplanation until now....Thanks Jørgen Thomsen Denmark DK

[@dagjohansen8641]

Great video. I opted to go with a microinverter system because my local building department demanded that I put a DC cut-off switch on the roof if I built a conventional string-based system. Since it seemed difficult, kludgy, and ugly to somehow mount a DC cut-off switch on the roof, I went with the microinverter based system that allowed me to avoid having any switch box on the roof.

[@erichaller9822]

Killer side by side explanation. Informative.

[@martshal]

Thank you for a very concise comparison of those topologies. I’ve seen some diy projects in which hobbyists have tried to solve their heat problems by using a copper pipe radiator system to make hybrid active/passive systems. (For instance, PVC sun-side in a regular panel, bonded to a copper pipping backing the panel to cool it, and heated water, and a micro inverter mounted on the back.) I imagine that large scale panel producers could make panels like this efficiently with far fewer safety issues. Have you seen anything like this?

[@wendellb.6798]

That was great! That answered so many questions I had on how to tie solar to house/grid. Awesome explanation!!!!

[@kremicfein]

Great Video! Thanks! One question though: Can Micro Inverters feed batteries in order to satisfy night time consumption?

[@richardsides2742]

Outstanding! Very clear on a subject that is generally murky.

[@learningaboutgenerators1177]

I'm very familiar with solar systems and my concern is micro invertors are still unproven no matter what Enphase states. However if they stand behind their product that would be the game changer. Speaking of game changers supplying AC directly from the panel would be huge. I also have viewed your VOM tests and appreciated those as well...

[@ricardojimenez3471]

Great info. I just started learning about solar system and its use and I found this video awesome. Thanks a lot.

[@suryaprihadi2258]

Martin...Thank you so much !!! :). I have been away from Solar technology for like 7 years.

[@jimdavis8804]

Always great info from a Man who knows.

[@subramaniangyt]

Excellent series. Thank You.

[@gcrady]

Excellent, in depth comparison of different installation systems and techniques. Best I've seen so far. I heard MJ on the AMP Hour podcast Dave Jones and (???, lol) talking about this video series, and will re/viewing them all ,,,, eventually :)

[@ibidapoilawole7120]

Very good video. Micro inverters would come in handy in Africa where there is abundance of sunshine for most part of the year.The cost of the batteries in an off grid setup is huge. With the micro inverters especially in offices that run during the day,this would come in as a great cost reduction.

[@youngman2686]

i love your effort and your demonstration, highly appreciated!

[@BillsAllotmentDiary]

Really informative video for the electronically braindead such as myself I do no have solar panels on my home as the roof orientation does not make it viable for the on grid system that I'm assuming we us here in the UK. However the Micro Inverter system you mention seems a workable way around the issue I have with my roof which allows for shading to be accounted for and as you can start with just the one panel it also allows for expansion should finances allow and should I ever have the money to actually look at solar panelling. Cheers

[@myatix1]

Hi Martin, A really helpful and great series of videos on Solar installations, well done! :) I was wondering if it would make sense to install a micro inverter setup with a battery bank? I live in Denmark and we obviously have plenty of cloudy days. I really like the Micro Inverter Setup and the MPPT aspects to monitor individual panels but does it make sense to convert DC > AC > DC and back to AC when you need to use it? Is there a cool solution to this type of setup? Thanks for all the great advice and tips!

[@WattSolar]

I bought a micro inverter brand power one model 0:25, but in Brazil the import rates are high, approximately 70% of the product + shipping, so I'm not afford to buy the original trunk cable to connect the drive, someone could I indicate in the photo report which are the four AC cable pin micro inverter?

[@303jagter]

Good video, just a question, can a limeter be added to the micro inverters? in my case I can not feed on to the grid, so would like to generate only what I need, and if I need more then use mine first with the bit exstra, and in the evening or morning the grid, please advise. Thanks and keep well

[@azizalhusayni2304]

best explination i have ever seen, but explain how to make micro solar off grid

[@sridharkvv]

Great, interesting facts in -depth analysis. Thank you for posting..Would like to see more about grid-tie with net-metering

[@Anazet-Energy]

Many tanks for such informative video, you covered very detailed and useful information in a concise way.

[@electrodacus]

I will suggest people take in to account all they want to purchase and try and make a cost/kWh calculation else there is the risk you pay more for that solar power that what you pay from the grid. For those very few that are offgrid the most important component that you need to investigate is the battery since that is by far contributing to your cost of energy at this moment in time.

[@weldchip]

great job one of the best solar videos out there.

[@Truthisindelible]

Martin, Excellent info. Thx for your time.

[@MrButuz]

Brilliant Video thanks for taking the time to make it!!

[@DblDTheThird]

Have you ever had a chance to look into SunPower solar systems. It would be interesting to see how they compare with enphase.

[@bee4pcgoldrule592]

Right now both systems require a 2 pole 15 amp breaker and 14-3 wire to energize the data control module witch can be a challenge in maxed out meter panels.I think Enphase is the industry leader with Sunpower real close second. Enphase does not make a solar module/panel yet that i know of. Sunpower make s the best panel/module .The cleanest way to go is Sunpower modulus/panal and cables, Enphase micro-inverters, invisa rack rails, Enphase envoy data controller. Although the backup batteries are really good now and you can add up to 14 in a circuit, im not a fan of batteries.

[@CarlosArruda77]

Hi. I have a small setup on my shed with 100W+25W 12V panels feeding a 22amh deep charge battery, which is, for now, enough for my needs. Only a flood light outside and lights on the shed. I want to connect an amp/volt meter on both my incoming power (PVC) and power being drawn (from my battery). I have got 2 100A 100V with shunt amp/volt meters. Now the connection suggests the neutral from the PVC to be connected to the shunt. I don't know why is this but I thought through the shunt the live cable should be connected. Any advice much appreciated. Great videos you have. Thanks. Albert

[@Cirocoleman]

Hi Martin, Thanks for all your great vid's. I don't know if you've covered the question I have in a previous video blog as I can't find one but . . . I'm puzzled. I keep hearing that energy not used is 'fed back' onto the grid - but how? I understand the inverter makes DC into AC and this is wired into the circuit board/box that is also utilised by the incoming electricity from the grid. So how does it go out to the gird when more/unused power is generated by the solar panels than the house uses? Does the electricity flow backwards? The old meters that spun round, apparently, went 'backwards', so I've been told but I have a digital meter and have been told they can't go backwards. I'm still confused at how the flow coming into the house from the grid can reverse direction and go out because of excess/unused power from the solar array? How does it know? Aren't they the same voltage? To my logic the voltage/power would need to be higher from the solar array to overcome the incoming voltage from the grid to push it 'backwards' or am I totally off kilter?? Shooting in the dark here!! Cheers Ciro (UK)

[@peterxyz3541]

Thanks for the education. Dense information. as of 2015, micro-inverter are 150.00US for an Enphase. There aren't good ways around fix cost.

[@rolandjackson9771]

Hi mjlorton ,Very good, please can i connect 8 micro optimizes to parallel two dc invertor and battery and two banks

[@BWWGL9]

Hi, thanks for taking time to explain Solar. I want to do a small Grid Tie in system say 400-600W, but I having a problem finding a GOOD Grid Tie-inverter. I'll be using 12v, 100w Panels. What BRAND, MODEL, etc., do you recommend.. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Again thanks for help.

[@joecox9958]

Some updates needed here: central inverters cost less for any system >=2KW, shipping does cost much, but microinverter cables and gateway are very expensive, and those price doesn't contribute to power but mfg's profit. Other costs are mounting parts and labor, labor is 50% of whole system. As far as Asian countries involved consumers can enjoy low price, or else they just overpay, usually 10X more for trunk cable, gateway, and 3-6X for aluminum due to import barrier.

[@guywhoknows]

There was a few mistakes, such as the high voltage is less of a problem than current. Also the topology of the micro inverter is wrong*. They often have split inverters/mppt. So you plug four panels into one inverter, or two or one depending on what you want. Then they optimise on the two panels or four panels to produce the correct power inversion. I've not gone into detail if they use serial or parallel, or either depending on the requirements. Obviously the best results are obtained by a 375v DC system, as this is the right voltage for 230v, all you need to then have is the current, which is about 5 amp. Then the panels come in three tiers, low, 18/12v, 37/24, 50/48. This of course dictates how many panels you would have or need. But I found the micro lower power, 1200w being the higher 600w being a average and some single 300w. Those having 4,2,1 panel connections respective. Four 50v panels is going to give you 200v which works fine with 120v AC ratios, but not 240. 8 panels and two micro inverters would work well for most users, 2400w of power is good for most users, and highly excessive for average Joe, who will not take any real benefits unless they invest for night storage/use. We then return to the lower voltage DC scenario with batteries.

[@budchestnut9303]

Big thumbs up. Your scripting and presentation were cogent and informative. I am designing two 20KVA and 1 ea. 10KVA systems and the large, Grid-Tied technology seems to be lagging. MPPT seems limited to 10KVA and less. What single Inverter/Charger/Synchronizer would you use for a 20KVA Grid-Tied System with batteries? 80 ea. 275 modules.

[@stevedavidjohnson8599]

Were you able to do the video about the old type of spending electrical meters.And question I have a three phase Eskom residents. Does this mean if I purchase a Grid Tie it should be as well?

[@poch88pl]

Nice explanation,keep it up folks.

[@AirandEnergy]

I know solar voltage is pretty stable but what about using capacitors on wind turbine to help surges? I know it's not a subject you are into currently but just wondering if you would have an answer?

[@SynVar]

... An excellent presentation: I have twelve "LG200N1C-G3 panels with "Enphase M250 Microinverters"; including the "Envoy" device with USB Zigbee device installed which communicates with my "GE i210+ Revenue Grade Meter". ... You mentioned we should be able to monitor and gather information from our solar system via Web (; Enphase) or PC interface. ... I can access my "Envoy" via it's IP address however; the information contained therein is limited, and is not as robust as when I log in to my Enphase account. ... I bought the "Zigbee" and meter whereby I could gather direct data upon my PC instead of it going to Enphase's web interface from the "Envoy". ... I'm missing software aren't I? ...

[@TexasStatesman]

You made an excellent point about the controller, especially for the grid tied micro inverter systems. The two important issues that you pointed out were the dependency on the solar system to operate whether or not the controller is functioning and the privacy issue. It is my understanding, in the state of California, the utility company by law has to have access to the inverter at all grid tie systems, and there is pending legislation in California giving the utility companies the access to the power in the batteries. California has been experiencing problems with their electrical grid the last few years (California is a socialist governed state).

[@malkaff1562]

I would like to run a 7.5kw AC borehole pump using only the solar panels and the micro inverters. Do I have to increase my solar panels to cater to the starting current?

[@DFrenky]

Awesome explanation! Do you know if they make 110v micro inverters with anti-islanding? That's a requirement for on-grid systems here.

[@sjcsystems]

Excellent video, very helpful

[@dandurica9570]

Really helpful explanation! Thanks!

[@anthonypapa8676]

I watch a lot of your videos. I have a general Solar question for you. I have a gable fan in the attic that pulls out the hot air. Can I put a micro inverter and wire it right to that fan? I wouldnt need a backup battery system because it only runs in the daytime. Please if you can help me with any thoughts on this?

[@kevlue1689]

Excellent . Great comparison.

[@lesliestrydom942]

Hi Martin, I have been unable to obtain any information relating to the use of DC optimizers (MPPT) with a central charge controller (which may or may not have its own MPPT). The only implementation of which I can find information is PV -> DC Optimizer -> Inverter. I would like to use larger DC optimizers to do string based MPPT for each of my 4 parallel PV strings and then combine the array which has each string optimized into a charge controller (1 PV input) which will charge my battery. I cannot find any information about PV -> DC Optimizer -> Charge Controller so I'm not sure if the technologies can work together, however I don't see why it could not work? Please advise. Thanks

[@mjlorton]

Leslie Strydom Hello Leslie. I don't have the information to hand either. It's part of the reason I'm doing this video series and I hope to investigate that type of setup you talk about in the future. That investigation will only happy later this year once time and the weather allow it to happen.Cheers, Martin.

[@MauryMarkowitz]

Leslie Strydom Outback has stated on a number of occasions that you can use Tigos with their CC's. However, it appears in this case that the advantages are limited - since their CC's (and most others) have limited voltage windows, and thus very short strings, the advantages are severely limited. For instance, with optimizers in a AC system you might use them to match two different string lengths or panels facing different directions, but if your string only has two or three panels (common here in Canada due to low winter temperatures) you can likely just arrange the panels to achieve the same end. Of all the companies out there, SolarEdge - and similar systems with distributed dc-dc and centralized ac inversion - are in an excellent position to address this issue. They could produce a version of their central inverter that is actually a CC and re-outputs power at the same 350Vdc input level. That would then feed into one of their normal AC inverters. The advantage here is that the AC side doesn't change at all, it doesn't even have to be aware where that DC is coming from, the panels or the batteries. The fact that they haven't done this does illustrate the relative size of the two markets and the financial rewards in each. Outback et al are now in a very niche area, and frankly I think they could be wiped out if anyone takes a strong interest in this area.

[@AMIRNIAZI]

Hi Martin. Thanks for sharing this video. I have a quick question: When we use solar panels connected to a Grid-Tie inverter which is connected to the grid, what are potential issues in terms of meters? Do we need to have special type of meters that are capable of working backwards? What about digital vs. mechanical meters? Are they all capable of doing so? Thanks

[@jamesbaxter2812]

I would like to see more on the micro inverters. I am looking to get going on this

[@overcastfriday81]

You mentioned a night time consuming household might want the battery solution. #1 Maybe he hasn't been upgraded to a digital meter, so he can charge during the day to spin meter backwards, then use that electricity in the evening. He effectively off loaded the responsibility of batteries to the grid/electric company.

[@Anazet-Energy]

Great video; It is very interesting! Many thanks for sharing

[@jimthvac100]

Regarding the micro inverters, I would be very concerned about them failing, and the expense of replacing all of them. it may also be hard to tell which one is working properly and which one is not. I would think being on the roof in the extreme heat and weather that they may have to be replaced every few years. And newer ones may not mount the same way as the old ones and there may be allot of fabrication involved. It just seems if one is going to have a Grid tie inverter it may be better to have them mounted in a central location where it is easy to test them and replace if necessary. Having a micro inverter on every panel seems like it could be a good idea but one may end up spending a Huge amount of money replacing them when they go bad. It seems micro inverters just adds to the complexity of the system and the more complex it is the more likely for parts to start failing.

[@josepeixoto3384]

Since you just can«t parallel the ACs, what is the use of having inverters at the solar panels?

[@VinayKumar-iu9ku]

I have a question here.: if i am using a grid tie inverter without a battery. My solar system is able to provide some part (60%) of the power to house so rest of the part power (40%) is supplied by Grid. so can Inverter manage this power combiner also of Solar and Grid power ?

[@showme360]

What to you think of these Micro Inverter Grid Tie Power Inverter with 4 in 1 i.e. Four solar panels controlled by one box. It looks like there two inverters in the same box, each managing 600W on one side, and 600w on the oposite side. Both have 230v main ac coming out. The ones I am considering are from Germany. The makes looks like 'eco worthy' on ebay for £183.00.

[@letsdothisthing3769]

Hi Martin, I recently purchased 10 240watt canadian solar panels that were pulled off a roof system that had a termite problem and hadn't been installed correcectly - anyway it was one of those "got lucky" deals. The problem is I have no idea how to use them in such a way as to not burn the house down. My plan is to setup a mixed configuration, of 1k watt grid tie system, then 1500watts for a more traditional charge controller, and battery backup system. I am currently on grid, and would like to reduce my costs of electric with the grid tie system. The 1500 watt backup system would be exactly that, it would be my SHTF off grid system should I lose the grid. However, I don't want the back system to not be utilized, I'd like to use it to power a segment of the house dedicated to a desktop computer, a freezer and some lighting. My plan at present is to take 1k watt, using two strings of 500watts each feeding individual grid tie chargers. That's the part that I understand and have figured out reasonably well from a hardware perspective. I've purchased a couple of 500 watt grid tie inverters. The 1500watt backup system is where things become more of a challenge for me. I've purchased 1k watt puresine inverter and a morning star ts-60 and 45 charge controller. The idea was that the 45 would be used during now with the 1500 watt array, and the 60 would be added to the mix if the grid did come down for an extended period of time. will the 45 support the 1500 watt panel configuration, should they be setup in // ? Thanks, J

[@MauryMarkowitz]

LetsDo ThisThing I *strongly* recommend using an all-AC system, an AC charger for the batteries (which you can get anywhere), and a cutover switch. If you split the system like this, the panels on the DC side are going to spend 99% of their time doing nothing. Sure you might power something small like a laptop, but only at the cost of those panels not offsetting your normal power, and doing so for a very high cost.

[@sundeeprao1678]

Thank You So much Guruji 🙏, enlightened 😇

[@dennislamberti]

Hi Martin Where can we get micro inverters in South Africa? I have been looking all over. Great video. Thanks Dennis

[@karlcoetze3430]

How would you setup a system where you are using micro inverters to directly supply your house AC and you still want to have a battery bank to use at night? The AC would obviously needed to be changed back to DC to charge the batteries. Can an inverter take AC and give out DC to charge the battery and will you then still need a charge controller before getting to the batteries? I would assume it would be a system that is a combination of your second line of drawing and the 4th line with the micro inverters.

[@gracc46]

Awesome.Very informative.

[@kdknitro]

One note i will bring up is on inverters with batteries. I mess with boat systems that the inverter charges the battery bank when at shore and can be used later when out at see. What i see is that you have a large battery bank that powers the inverter. The inverter isnt smart enough to charge each battery separately so they wind up frying batteries because one will die and the inverter see's a low nominal voltage so i continues to try and charge the battery bank and winds up over charging the rest of the batteries. Just a tip from what i have seen happen in real life.

[@nobodyyouknow222]

an inverter may not be designed to be a battery charger.. and people are often stupid in how they manage their batteries.

[@kdknitro]

very true, its very rare i see them treat the batteries like they should be

[@s.a.3041]

Hi Martin, Thanks for these great videos, Does Micro-Inverters works without being tied to the Grid? I mean Could we connect Micro-Inverter directly to the load "TV, PC, Fan etc.." If yes what would be the result when load's consumption exceed the generated power? Thanks & Regards, Sherif

[@Jad2410]

Would it be possible to read from the power supply of your device and then configure a way to power them by D/C, bypassing the A/c to D/C conversation in the power supply?

[@nelsonneto5370]

Hi i manage to buy a grid tie inverter and i would like to know if need so much wiring process to charge a battery from solar panel going through the grid tie inverter

[@WizzRacing]

There is already a battle brewing in the states. The utility companies want to charge customers anywhere from $100.00-150.00 a month if your grid tied to their system. So I would check before I spend money on a grid system. The micro inverters are tested in some of the higher tempeture, humidity environments you will find and perform very well. Just don't buy from a company that had not been around very long. They seem to come and go very fast as government funds dry up to offset their cost.

[@nobodyyouknow222]

screw the grid tie if it costs you money. Be independent. Who cares what the power company says or does. That is the whole point of solar. Store the excess in your Leaf electric car, or battery bank. Or don't build an oversize system with money as the focus.

[@plonkster]

In Cape Town, there is a small fee involved if you want to push power into the grid. The idea is the same, they really only want bigger setups on the grid, not every small guy with a GTI and a couple of kilowatts to spare... the fee is however much less than a hundred USD, it's more like a hundred ZAR :-)

[@gosolxsolar]

I like the idea of optimizers. They seem to be a cheaper alternative to Micro-inverters and can pass through more wattage than micro-inverters which may clip 20+ watts off a 280 watt panel. However, I'm hesitant to use them because of my uncertainty of whether or not they will handle shade and different orientations as well as micro-inverters. Product literature is not particularly clear on what happens with a mismatch between a module experiencing shade and the module next to it that experiences no shade at all. Is production completely independent between the two? Or, does the shaded module result in a percentage reduction in the module next to it (and possibly others on the same string)? What I'm saying here is that I understand optimizers are supposed to even out mismatches, but how much? It would seem the devil is in the details.

[@rogersmith194]

Hello, been watching for quit while and you made a video about setting up your studio for the youtube videos. I am a teacher for electrical and would to record videos so as each class come through I could play training videos Roger Smith thanks

[@smudgeshouse]

For the most part, very informative..

[@geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz]

I love my solar panels although I get little power in UK winter when I could most do with it for heating for example but the rest of the year is fine. The power output defintiely increases when the plants begin to sprout their leaves. Apparently my inverter contains a mobile type sim card which alerts the installer if the system has problems and they are supposed to then arrive and fix it which I imagine could be an awkward job having to basically remove all the pannels to find the defective one or more. Do hope they remain reliable.

[@waqarayaz3594]

i want to ask that some polycrystalline solar panels have two silver strips and some panels have three silver strips so which one is better two silver strips or three silver strips

[@Flavius-Tech]

can we make a system pv with microinverters off grid? To store energy in battery bank?

[@petersterf6561]

Hi, do you know the mesning of WVC in the name of the microinverters..example...model WVC 600 W? thanks !

[@VinayKumar-iu9ku]

Thanks for Sharing Great information here

[@hotomdochannel512]

Can microinverters be used off grid?

[@vrichmarketingrenewableene9418]

Sir, i have an issue in one of my cheap modified sinewave inverter..it beeps Fault whenever i draw large load like 500 watts and up from my batteries..i suspect the voltage sensor is damage..even i use other inverter to drive the load and the modified has no load..it will still beep for fault even it has no load, just turn on together with the other inverter with the Load on it.please share if you have idea on how to repair this..

[@Soldier53flyer]

Do you know any thing about the Monocrystiline by ECO-Worthy it's a 1200w with a MPPT system. I'm lost!?$% HELP PLEASE!

[@mac2105]

Thanks man super helpful!

[@labelbrand]

Great job again.

[@valverdefilipe1]

Good day, all. I stay in Centurion, South Africa. And am thinking of installing a PV system to augment my Eskom supply. Idea is to first use PV power and only use Eskom when PV insufficient. Which would be an affordable grid tie invertor (say 3kW) that would do the job, automatically switching between PV and Eskom sources?

[@mjlorton]

The two options I would look at are MLT Drives and Victron Energy. Cheers, Martin.

[@plonkster]

A have a friend with a 4KW array and an SMA Sunnyboy grid-tie inverter. He makes between 10 and 15 kwh a day, which has cut his bill in half. With a GTI there is no real "automatic switching", it layers the incoming solar "on top", almost like a bit of butter on a slice of bread (Eskom being the bread), so you bite into the butter first and into the bread if there isn't enough butter (I hope the analogy makes sense :-) ). At night when there is no butter, you eat dry bread. This friend of mine has an old meter. He simply lets the meter run backwards. This isn't really legal, but in such low quantities it isn't too much of a problem (I think the authorities might disagree with me there). In order to gain maximum from his own power, he runs the pool pump during the day. Here in Cape Town you can get permission to feed into the grid, but they actually charge you a fee for the privilege, which I suspect it specifically designed to keep out small producers, in other words, you need a fairly big system before it makes financial sense. They also force you to stay a net-consumer of power, by only paying you the lesser of the consumption/production numbers, so if you produce more than you consume, you don't get money for the extra production. My father has a similar setup on his farm in Namibia. Their meters have reverse-lockup, so you can push the power back into the grid, but you don't get credit for it. I have an electronic meter. Those meters can't see the direction of flow, and will actually charge you for current you push backwards. The downside to grid-tie is that when the grid goes down, so do you. That means that during load shedding, my friend with the GTI can lose as much as 10kwh. Because my main reason for going solar was that I work from home and I needed backup during load shedding, I went with an off-grid system instead. I used one of the cheaper Victron Multiplus inverter/chargers, and programmed it to do grid-failback, so it runs off the solar/batteries and go back to grid at night (usually around 9PM, my batteries are small and I don't cycle them too deeply). Shortly after I did that, Victron came up with a system which they call hub-1. This system uses the usual PV-string(s) setup with a Victron MPPT charge controller, batteries and a multiplus or quatro inverter. The inverter and the MPPT controller are connected to each other (using a VE.Net comms channel, which is presently still quite expensive), so the inverter knows how much power is coming into the DC-bus. It can then take any surplus and push it back into the grid. This way you get the best of both worlds. You should read Victron's self-consumption whitepaper on this :-) Finally, something that a lot of people are doing in my area (Helderberg) is to installa Fronius Grid Tie inverter, and combine it with a grid-limiter, a device that throttles the GTI back to the point where you don't push back into the grid. The grid-limiter device is made by a local company called Exsolar (mjlorton is well acquanted with them :-) ). That might be something to look into.

[@valverdefilipe1]

Thanks plonkster. Very informative input. Regards

[@overcastfriday81]

#2 Maybe he wants to dramatically reduce his bill but not necessarily eliminate it. He can put in say 1200 watts during the day, making the refrigerator and clocks run for free, and with money he saves, run appliances at night, or AC on the weekend.

[@alext9067]

why did you choose lead crystal over Li-Ion?

[@miltcamp8658]

I have just become interested in Solar and trying to get up to speed on this. I will be attending a International Off Grid Renewable Energy conference in Manila June 16 and 17. I just purchased a YAKE R15 Kit to play with and get my feet wet. I enjoy all the info you have presented in past 7 YT. I plan on helping the people here in The Philippines without power get some light in their homes 73's K6OYX

[@desmonddaniels4584]

Dear, I bought micro inverters 127V , but I need 220V. I cannot return these micro inverters. Do you know how these micro inverters can be changed into 220V?

[@SolarizeYourLife]

You could have current sensor on each panel to monitor locally, instead of needing internet/service, might be cheaper....