DEYE Inverter UL Listed available in US

[svetz]

I'd be worried the DEYE is a cheap knock-off of a superior product. When I look at the images of the two products they're not identical (e.g., Sol-Arc has on/off button on the front, the display is different, different case, the DEYE weights 99 lbs, the Sol-Arc 75 lbs), so it's definitely more than "rebranding".

DEYE	Sol-Arc
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[ArthurEld]

I'd be worried the DEYE is a cheap knock-off of a superior product. When I look at the images of the two products they're not identical (e.g., Sol-Arc has on/off button on the front, the display is different, different case, the DEYE weights 99 lbs, the Sol-Arc 75 lbs), so it's definitely more than "rebranding".

DEYE	Sol-Arc
View attachment 27922​	View attachment 27923​

I'm just weighing my options. The SolArk is supposed to be American made. The Deye owners manual has Chinese writing in the URL when you open the PDF with a browser.
And the SolArk 8K isn't so much more than the Deye either.
I have to keep digging through information.
The rumor is that Deye is the parent company of SolArk.

 

[Alfalfameister]

My understanding is that Deye manufactures for Sol-Ark. Sol-Ark may have requested for other features for the USA (and puerto Rico) markets.

Check out also Sunsynk (also made by Deye). The distributor of Sunsynk made a video of a factory tour, and the factory was... Deye.

Dunno pricing of Deye in the USA, but I know in my area the 8kW Deye is less than US$3k. The 8kW Sol-Ark is about $6k, so if I were looking at Sol-Ark, I'd skip that and go for the 12kW (just a tad more than the 8kW).

Couple of Deye videos on YouTube (and nearly all say its sold as Sol-Ark in the USA). Might as well check out Sunsynk videos, too.

What Sol-Ark would have, and were I in the USA I might look at the Sol-Ark despite the premium, is the superb service, after sales, and support. Haven't heard anything but good, nay, GREAT stuff about them. You can't really put a price on that.

 

[ArthurEld]

Deye is $3500 at the link in the first post.
Sol-Ark 12K is about $7000.
I have to check to see if the Deye can do everything I am looking for.
Sol-Ark 12K has a lot to offer for that $7000. Maybe I should stop being such a cheap ass.

 

[svetz]

My understanding is that Deye manufactures for Sol-Ark. Sol-Ark may have requested for other features for the USA (and puerto Rico) markets.

Considering the weight difference, it would have to be "less" features ;-)

Why you do believe Deye manufactures for Sol-Ark? I know it's common for U.S. companies to hire out production of circuit boards and labor intensive assemblies (and for those companies to violate agreements and make knock-offs based on U.S. tech), but that's different than being a reseller of products. I can see the color screen looks the same (even if the software is different), but that's probably a common component used by a number of products (that is, Deye probably buys that component too).

 

[ArthurEld]

There's some convincing info out on the web. Some of the inverters use the same software as Sol-Ark.
I don't know who makes what but from what I read, the Deye works just like the Sol-Ark

 

[Alfalfameister]

Considering the weight difference, it would have to be "less" features ;-)

Why you do believe Deye manufactures for Sol-Ark? I know it's common for U.S. companies to hire out production of circuit boards and labor intensive assemblies (and for those companies to violate agreements and make knock-offs based on U.S. tech), but that's different than being a reseller of products. I can see the color screen looks the same (even if the software is different), but that's probably a common component used by a number of products (that is, Deye probably buys that component too).

I'm not going to out and out say Deye manufactures for Sol-Ark, but there's lots of indication that they do.

Everything including the interface looks the same.

Lastly, and it may not hold weight, because while Deye doesn't say it directly, their distributors do.

If you try to get Deye from Alibaba and you're in the US, they actually don't want to sell it to you (rare to hear a seller refuse a sale). But then when they say, okay, but keep it quiet and we'll sell it to you, then you start to wonder.

So, while I cannot say definitively that Sol-Ark is made by Deye, i can say that I _believe_ that it is so.

I think we should just ask Sol-Ark directly and see what their answer is?

 

[ArthurEld]

I'd rather be playing with that instead of these power supplies and capacity testers.
Everything should work off just grid power I think.

 

[MurphyGuy]

I would not personally buy either of these inverters. This will be a bit snarky, but I have a point: Inverters are not sold by what features they have or how much energy they can handle.. they are sold by weight... period.. end of story.

The reigning undisputed king of inverters are the SMA Sunny Island units. For 120 volts at 6000 watts, the unit weighs 139 lbs.. for just one of them. You need two of them (278 lbs) to make a 120/240 split phase system at 12kW.

That said, you can make a single unit produce 6kW at 120/240 with a transformer.. at 139 lbs.

The Outback Radian 8048 (8kW unit), in my opinion and many others, would be the next best unit on the market, and it weighs 125 lbs.

I own two Sunny Island units and a Radian as well.

After these two models, the quality goes down hill.. and when I see 6000 to 8000 watt inverters being sold and they only weight 70 lbs and are packed with all kinds of fancy features, I tend to run away..

I think the difference between 70 and 130+ pounds is how much abuse the unit can take and if it will still be running in ten or fifteen years.

You can buy a brand new SMA Sunny Island (with 10yr warranty) on ebay today for $2500..

That's just my opinion.

 

[Alfalfameister]

That would be high frequency inverters vs low frequency inverters. Or toroidal. They each have their own pros and cons.

I used to be a big fan of the heavier ones as well. Still am. But high frequency transformers have come a long way.

Am not an expert on them, so others will have to chime in.

 

[MurphyGuy]

That would be high frequency inverters vs low frequency inverters. Or toroidal. They each have their own pros and cons.

I used to be a big fan of the heavier ones as well. Still am. But high frequency transformers have come a long way.

Am not an expert on them, so others will have to chime in.

While the Sunny Island is a low freq inverter, Outback Radian's are actually high frequency inverters..

 

[ArthurEld]

Seems like you could buy at least one spare Deye for the price of Sunny Island. Probably 3 spares or more actually.
What else needs to be added to give Sunny Island all of the capability of Deye (or Sol-Ark since they are the same)

The Deye can deal with up to 9880W of PV input and can be connected split phase.

Of course I would rather deal with a company that is more commonly used. Tech support and warranty from Deye could be weak.

 

[ArthurEld]

The Deye owners manual has Chinese writing in the URL when you open the PDF with a browser.

Actually it is the tab description that is in Chinese. Deye is a Chinese company.

 

[MurphyGuy]

Seems like you could buy at least one spare Deye for the price of Sunny Island. Probably 3 spares or more actually.
What else needs to be added to give Sunny Island all of the capability of Deye (or Sol-Ark since they are the same)

The Deye can deal with up to 9880W of PV input and can be connected split phase.

Of course I would rather deal with a company that is more commonly used. Tech support and warranty from Deye could be weak.

When I looked up the price of the Deye (Sunsynk) that looked identical to the Solark, it was $39xx bucks.. Did I miss something? Seems like the Sunny Islands on ebay are a better deal.
Granted, the normal $5500 price tag for the Sunny Island is prohibitive, but right now you can get them for $2500.

 

[ArthurEld]

When I looked up the price of the Deye (Sunsynk) that looked identical to the Solark, it was $39xx bucks.. Did I miss something? Seems like the Sunny Islands on ebay are a better deal.
Granted, the normal $5500 price tag for the Sunny Island is prohibitive, but right now you can get them for $2500.

I'll check it out but I thought it would take 2 Sunny Islands + to = Deye

 

[MurphyGuy]

I'll check it out but I thought it would take 2 Sunny Islands + to = Deye

Actually, the split phase 120/240 can be achieved with a single Sunny Island by pumping the 120 into an autoformer.. They sell the autoformers for about $400 or so.
I'm currently doing this with a buddies system. Single SMA SI6048 to power all the 120 loads in the house, then all the 240 loads go through a step up transformer. His well pump and stove are both 240 volts so they get hooked to a small subpanel that's running off the transformer. The rest of the house is connected directly to the 120 at the SI terminals.

We're not actually using the fancy autoformer however, I salvaged a 480 to 240 step down transformer for $50 and just reversed the primary and secondary. Now, instead of stepping down 480 to 240, or 240 to 120 (2:1 ratio), its stepping up 120 to 240. And 240 volt loads don't care if its spit phase on two incoming hot wires or straight 240.

If you're getting the idea that I'm not very enthusiastic about Chinese inverters, you would be spot on. I've had, and have seen, far too many chinese products fail and finally decided I'm not wasting my money on them anymore.

To be blunt about this, I've done a ton of research and have a good deal of experience with this stuff. 2X sunny islands would be better than any 10 chinese inverters..

 

[ArthurEld]

Thanks for your input MurphyGuy. I started looking at Sunny Island.
Since I am doing a new install grid tied with batteries, I thought an all in one unit would be easiest.
It is not likely that I will buy a Deye. But I am still considering the Sol-Ark. I am wondering if it is made in the US now though.

 

[MurphyGuy]

Thanks for your input MurphyGuy. I started looking at Sunny Island.
Since I am doing a new install grid tied with batteries, I thought an all in one unit would be easiest.
It is not likely that I will buy a Deye. But I am still considering the Sol-Ark. I am wondering if it is made in the US now though.

There are a few things I don't like about Sol-Ark.. The first is the way they advertise their inverters as being a certain wattage, but when you look at the fine print in the specs, you quickly realize that's not actually the case. That's a big turn-off for me and a big red flag.

The second thing I'm not crazy about is that Sol-Ark inverters are high frequency units. High freq units are fine for most applications, but they do not handle incoming or outgoing spikes very well, especially the type of spikes generated by the high in-rush currents of motors. It all comes down to heat dissipation.. and the instantaneous dissipation capabilities of a transistor on an aluminum heat sink are no where near the type of thermal capabilities of a large iron core transformer.

This is why I have my own personal attitude of: High freq units are fine for the cabin or the RV, and they're fine for emergency use.. but I would never want to live (depend) on one of them. We start up air compressors here, 3 freezers, air conditioner, sump pump..... and the king of inverter abuse, the well water pump that turns on 20 or 30 times a day.

One other suggestion.. if you're going to be depending on your inverter, whatever it is you get, run that thing at the upper end of its DC voltage input specs. So the Sunny Islands are 41 to 62 volts, I run mine between 49 and 57.4 volts using 14s lithium ion.. wish I could go with a 15s but it would take the pack over the SI's max input.

 

[BobH]

Since Sunny Islands are AC coupled unit, you also need to add the cost of either micro inverters, or if you stick to DC from the panels, another inverter for the solar modules -correct? For micro-inverters the costs can add up quickly.

I have yet to read one complaint on the Sol-ark units & many praises for their customer service. I did a search for sol-ark & china. There are a few hits, but no real details on what exactly is made in China. My guess would be they buy most of the inverter guts from Deye and then assemble them with additional components, their own version of the software, & a different cabinet in their Texas facility giving it an "engineered & assembled in the US with parts sourced globally" pedigree. Or, maybe it's all done at Deye in China to their specs. Someone that physically has one of these could look at the actual label and provide the "Made in XXXXX" info.

 

[rhino]

The box the Sol-Ark comes in says "Made in China". I think they try pretty hard to give the impression they are made in the USA. There is a video review of the Sol-Ark on Youtube (don't have link off-hand) that the guy was upset when he saw that on the box because he assumed otherwise.