UK solar panel installation upgrade using Solaredge inverters - Smart Energy Pt 1

The solar PV installation market in the UK has matured. We visit a UK solar inverter upgrade project, by electrician Sam Featherstone of Oval Renewables, which is using Solaredge inverter technology. We find out how Solar edge can be used to increase the electricity generation from solar panels and monitor performance.
Solaredge inverters can minimise the problems associated with panel shading and faulty panels. They also allow end-users and electricians to remotely monitor solar pv system performance.
We also discuss the electrical installation aspects including isolation, series wiring of solar panels and installed Kw ratings. Installation to BS7671.
See the next video discussing how the solar panels are linked to a Sonnen battery storage system.
• Sonnen Battery storage...
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‪@GSHElectrical‬ ‪@JoeRobinsonTraining‬ Sam Featherstone - Oval Electrical
#electrician uk #electricalinstallation

[@efixx]

*** BATTERY STORAGE*** The next part of this series - looking at home battery storage linked to these solar panels. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqfFhmtroc96fpo

[@jasonkirrage8021]

Amazing video, just one correction 13.30. The SolarEdge single phase inverters can be oversized to 200% this means a SE3680H can have 7360 watts of modules, this can all be on one string, as the inverter can only ever produce 3680 watts. The 5700 watts is the maximum string power, if this was on a SE6000H, you would need two strings, but any inverter below SE6000H, the 5700 rule does not apply. Also for the SE8000H and the SE10000H the maximum string power is 6800 watts, and not 5700 watts. Thank you again for a great video.

[@davidroche6973]

Great video, enjoy looking out for your videos on the latest new innovations

[@zjzozn]

Nice one Dave....👍

[@Anazet-Energy]

Great Infromative Video, Many Thanks

[@gordonr6532]

The video is helpful but that background music is so irritating after a while, sorry guys!

[@danielvelinski9522]

Great project - more of Sam please.

[@efixx]

Tune in on Sunday #moresam - but with Gary - joe's stuck in the loft

[@ovalelectricalservices7790]

Daniel Velinski thank you!

[@ChrisF133]

Love it

[@garrygriffithselectricalse843]

Great video 👍

[@ovalelectricalservices7790]

Garry Griffiths thank you!

[@rafiksa2903]

Nice information Sir..👍👍👍

[@anthonydyer3939]

Just got my first quote back for an 8.9KWp system to be installed on my house in Aberdeenshire. 320W JA Solar Panels, 10KW SolarEdge inverter / optimisers, GSE “in-roof” mounting kit. Once I get written confirmation from building standards that I don’t need a building warrant, then I’m good to go ahead with a purchase order! Just need to adjust the quote to get a hot water immersion heater controller included - that’s energy storage worth maybe 4KWh per occupant. Overall though, I’m looking at a 13year payback without an EV in the equation. Once I get an electric car however, the payback gets even shorter. The futures definitely electrical!

[@kevinpickett7249]

Great vid

[@CharlotteBrokenbrow]

Hello, I have a question! I have solar panels on my property but I have 2 of the red switches. Is this normal? The setup in my attic is identical to the one in the video, but the black wire that goes down to the fuse box (explained in the video), goes into another red switch first before going to a seperate fuse box. I had my house rewired in Nov 2021 where a bigger fuse box was installed for the whole property. Could the solar panels then be wired into this new fuse box and the 2nd red switch be taken out? Also, do any of these wires need to be attached to what Western Power install in a property? Sorry for all these questions, but I feel like the middle man at the moment between different electricians. Thank you!

[@martynholder1971]

great video, my system cut off while away for 12 months now my batteries will not charge, cannot find any company to check and reset my inverter

[@lindamorgey6736]

Im using Avasva instructions to make it and I do it already :)

[@timothylyons7399]

Two Teslas! Noice.

[@kenburgess321]

Why are rotary isolators used in PV systems and not more conventional ones? This is also true for Air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps

[@erichardy2151]

Technical the solaredge system is not in series. The panels are wired in parallel do to the solaredge optimiser. The old system was in series but their should been 2 separate inverters 1 for 1 roof and 1 for the other roof if not the panels can go faulty

[@kevinpickett7249]

Great video we installed solar for the first 3 years but then gave it up when Fitt was not very good I am interested in the battery set up and this one seems a good set up.Can I ask being grid tied do u need to tell supply authority u have added a battery or not as I have heard people say the supply authority have said no you can't add a battery to that system ?

[@efixx]

If you are planning to operate in “island mode” - keep running in the event of a grid power outage, you will need to inform your DNO. You will also need to alter your earthing arrangements for your incoming supply. Wiring regulations are due to be updated to reflect these new scenarios.

[@kevinpickett7249]

@@efixx ok that males it cleat ref earthing lol all the hassle pen faults on car pods it would be funny if we all go back to TT 😂.

[@souadmassi7683]

Thank you and greetings from Algeria. I have a question please regarding protections against high voltage and short circuit? Iam wondering why the installation does not have a fuse for the DC part and a surge arrestor?

[@ovalelectricalservices7790]

souad massi the solar edge inverter has all the up to date protection built in. 👍

[@souadmassi7683]

@@ovalelectricalservices7790 Thank you sir

[@andym3745]

Great Video. What about Surge Protection?

[@efixx]

Check out part 2 of this series - surge part of the story

[@dragonsummie]

was there a gateway connecting the inverter so the customer can monitor the each panel energy production or it was hard wired?

[@OvalRenewables]

The inverter is connected to the internet via a hard wired CAT5 cable. That means the customer can monitor the solar production remotely via the SolarEdge Dashboard. The includes individual panel production.

[@olly7673]

When I had my array installed about 8 years ago I was limited by FIT conditions to 4kw max panels and 3.6kw inverter. Have the rules changed to allow more panels as this example on 5.7kw or does the owner not get FIT payments? Cheers. P.S. just recently found the efixx channel having enjoyed GSH for a while. Enjoying both channels guys, keep up the good work. 👍

[@OvalRenewables]

Hi Olly, with your system the maximum you could generate was 3.6kw. This is a rule with regarding the local network operator. You could apply for more capacity meaning a larger inverter could have been installed. In this case we have maintained a 3.6kw inverter however as it is a SolarEdge inverter you can over install on the panels side hence the 5.7kw. This customer retains his FIT for his original 4kw of panels and 3.6kw inverter. As we have increased his panel production he will not receive any more money than he used to as Eon will pro rate his generation meter meaning he still gets paid for his original system but has the benefit of being able to use more power now being generated by his additional panels. The peak generation remains the same at 3.6kw but he will produce more during duller times thanks to the extra panels.

[@olly7673]

@@OvalRenewables Thank you for the reply, it is much appreciated. Could you just clarify though how I would go about increasing my capacity as I have the physical space for 2 more 250w panels on my current array. Do I need to change the current SMA Sunnyboy 3600TL or just add the two panels to the strings, balancing one per string? And, will the scheme need updating as a result? Thank you once again.

[@OvalRenewables]

Hi Olly, no problem. It will all depend on if the inverter can take the additional panels. This would be something that you would have to check. You would have to check that the maximum power, voltage and current will not be breached by adding the additional panels. With the solar edge 3.6kw inverter we can add 5.7kw of solar to it, meaning it generates more at duller times. The sunny boy may not be able to take more panels than you have fitted. I would be happy to have a chat to you about all of this over the phone if you wish. Drop me an email to [e-mail]

[@Brad.W]

So basically what I understand about SolarEdge optimizers is they are basically smart micro inverters. As far as his inverter goes somebody didn't know what they was doing because the inverters should always be bigger than what you can produce that's the one place where Enphase micro inverters fail. My system has 3 SolarEdge SE11400H-US HD-Wave Inverters my system is a 32.8 kwh system. No reason why the inverters will ever throttle the max output of my solar panels if I install s 32.8 kilowatt hours array I fully expect to get every bit of it why would I install an inverter or "Micro" inverters that can't give me what I installed. I have noticed that enphase micros are notorious for cutting/clipping nearly 20% of their peak production. Kind of backwards wouldn't you think?

[@jasonkirrage8021]

They are not microinvertersm these have both DC and AC connections, SolarEdge Power Optimizers have only DC connections.

[@rajeshmakwana8680]

Hello morning. If I want to do course for solar system installation. Can you please suggest me some course provider other than some college please... thank you

[@richardhall6509]

Mr. Oval is wrong. With permission you can put more than 3.68 kw per phase into the grid.

[@martdaymo]

How likely is it that the panel will fail before that micro inverter that's attached to it?

[@JasperJanssen]

Their respective warranty periods tend to be similar, in the 20-25 yrs range.

[@kenburgess321]

Why do these solar installations use Rotary Isolators rather than more conventional isolators?

[@efixx]

Easier to lock off rotary isolators for maintenance.

[@CriftinsCampers]

Considering how unpleasantly hot a loft gets I wonder how long the inverter will last up there Surely a loft is not a sensible location for kit like this if it is to last a reasonable amount of time?

[@efixx]

Good point -.we will be exploring this topic further

[@Medea007]

Why the music?

[@efixx]

Totally understand... 👍

[@pn8902]

Aren't these the guys from GSH Electrical?

[@efixx]

Yes that’s them Gaz and Joe

[@michaelcostello6991]

How do the individual panels communicate their status ??

[@alpachino468]

Over the internet

[@Brad.W]

@@alpachino468 or over a mobile connection my HD wave inverters have their own telecommunication modules I had the choice to have them connected through my Wi-Fi ir wired directly through my Ethernet either method would also be paired with a mobile wireless backup in case my internet ever went down they would still be able to communicate and diagnose with my inverters.

[@shilks8773]

Sam needs to brush up on his terminology/phrases. The Fibre boards will not "Negate" (03:14) the risk of fire. They will however "mitigate" the effects of heat causing a fire. He also talked about the Solar Panels Consumption (07:54) of power - I think he really means Production. Given the age of this Vid - I'm sure he will now be using the correct terms.

[@ebrahimumarji6823]

I would like the same system in my home. What is the name of this company?

[@ebrahimumarji6823]

Oval Renewable?

[@efixx]

Yes

[@michaelcostello6991]

You are putting these solar panels up in the wrong location. You need to ship them to Sydney Australia where you can see the sun every day.

[@efixx]

The cable to get the power back would be a bit heavy

[@ICEJosh1987]

A fire proof board on a brick wall..........................

[@hamidbazmi7948]

Annoying music really.

[@bosz4222]

Excellent video content, however, very poor audio. The background music almost masks the speech. Using microphones and lowering background music should help tremendously.

[@oldmanonamission8055]

Stupid music playing?

[@pavelbaidurov228]

What is the point to waste so much money just to reduce the fraction of your whole energy consumption(electricity), just for a fraction of this summ you can do: 1) use solar panels as summer sun windows shield, it will reduce overheating(AC use) 2) connect solar panels directly into a heating element of the boiler, boiler with 200 liters of the how water is 14 kwh($150) = 1 tesla power wall($3000)(and dead in 15 years) and you don't need any $6k invertors/controllecs for that 3) buy a washing machine/dishwasher with a hot water feed and actually get cheap electricity from it,(80% of washing machine/dishwasher power use is heating) 4) insulate ceiling for additional 200mm of the insulation and install heat recovery ventilation(it alone will provide x3 more saving than a chemical battery for your TV and gaming PC 5) renovate your electronics and refregerator for A+++ class 6) buy a good road bicycle for a work/study commute, it is more about your health than about driving costs, doctors does not have cheap cure for a chronical health problems So, for the same money you can reduce 30-50% of your whole energy spending instead of the 2-7% for the electricity, yeah, let's buy a lot of chemicals just to run the old tools in a poorly insulated houses!

[@etfresearch4383]

Who uses AC in the UK?

[@edc1569]

You presume these things haven’t already been done, also why not just run appliances during peak production? I also understand PV is cheaper in the UK than US due to tariffs.

[@aspudkicker]

Stupid music. I want to hear that which they are talking about not stupid back ground tat noise.