diy solar

diy solar

Sol-Ark needs a serious Change!

Out of curiosity has anyone ever seen a hybrid 8k splitphase version listed on deye's website? Ever?
 
Well I am now leaning towards a more simple inverter (non cloud-connected) setup utilizing some of the equipment I already have: 4 x 230W, 24V panels and a 40amp AIMS Power charge controller (model: SCC40MPPT)
I need to at minimum enough power to run the well pump drawing 6 running amps (not startup) @ 240V plus the chest freezer and fridge.
Any suggestions?
 
Well I am now leaning towards a more simple inverter (non cloud-connected) setup utilizing some of the equipment I already have: 4 x 230W, 24V panels and a 40amp AIMS Power charge controller (model: SCC40MPPT)
I need to at minimum enough power to run the well pump drawing 6 running amps (not startup) @ 240V plus the chest freezer and fridge.
Any suggestions?
you dont have to connect the sol-ark/deye/sunsynk to the internet if you choose not to do so.
probably all inverters/manufactorers are now trying to get user data.

if you want to connect to/monitor you inverter throught a local lan, create a vlan, and block internet traffic out from that vlan
 
Yeah, I was on the verge of coughing up the premium for a Sol-Ark (glad I did not), but seeing their deceptive practices it just doesn't make sense and it sounds like I would need to Jerry-rig any sort of clone / equivalent inverter that is available in the US at this point in time. Plus at our current location I am limited to the number of panels I can put up (we are in partially shaded areas) so I wouldn't be getting anywhere near full use of Sol-Ark 12k.

I figure if I can set up a simple off-grid system and just manually switch back and forth from solar when there is plenty of sun and our loads are minimal or when the grid is down. Our main breaker panel has a manual interlock for generator input and I would use that for the solar inverter for now. This is not ideal but this could at least get us started and I can more easily do DYI.

I think Sol-Ark will have to change their ways soon or another product will become available at a more reasonable price before to long and I could upgrade at that time.
 
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i know for a fact is has been there
Sol-Ark must have got wind of it? Until it's available or something better comes out I'm thinking of going with a Magnum. I would think these low frequency inverters would by nature be more EMP resistant? I see that the Schneider Electric Conext SW 4kW 48VDC Inverter/Charger is less expensive or a GrowWatt the cheapo end of the spectrum, do these hold up?
 
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I'm a retired, software development engineer. I will NOT connect to anything outside my home. Any data you 'give away' will be used to track you and be sold. The iComfort on my whole-house heat pump is an example - I refuse to allow it to connect and store my heat/cool stats outside of my home. You might think - who could ever connect my 'annoymous' heat/cool use or SolArk solar stats or X or Y or Z to me - but you'd be wrong. These bits of data can be leveraged thru analysis and often connected together and sold or used to market you or used for nefarious purposes down the road. The way AWES (Amazon Web Services) and Dell (EMC/Vmware services) works is that virtual servers can migrate and/or be replicated and/or backed up anywhere in the world. You can have a primary service here and replicate/backup there. Personally - I just won't buy a product that requires off-site interconnect to be used.
I know Dell EMC VERY well. There is ZERO access to ANY customer data, even if you have ESRS comms to your storage arrays. I cannot say the same for other companies. VMware by design enables mobility of virtual servers, but that has to be initiated by YOU, and your DR strategy for VM failover. NoOne has access to your network unless you let them. Cyber security is one of the main capabilities that Dell provides to help customers protect their information, along with RSA security and secureworks, (used by CIA and others) which are also a Dell owned companies.

I use south africa developed Solar-assistant.io to monitor my systems. As for access by bad actors, have you read the legal acceptance for every app you use on your cell phone? Text? Alexa? Facebook? Instagram? ANY app?
You have no privacy. Its an illusion. Walk down 5th ave. Facial recognition knows you are there. Smart cities AI.
 
I am not going to go over the whole Sol-Ark being designed in the USA and only being manufactured in China like most other product. I spoke to my local dealer who sells and repairs Sol-Ark and the Chinese clones. He has no bone in this fight and does not care which one you buy from him. I was surprised when he told me that contrary to what I had thought, he has pulled apart all of the units and he noticed that the Sol-Ark does not even use the same circuit boards as the others. He also said it has about twice as many boards and components jammed inside the Sol-Ark versus the others. I am not going to argue about this as he said he will send me some pictures of each of the units internals when they come in for repairs. As soon as I get those I will share them on this forum.

As for the servers being in china, that would not be my first choice and I find it far from ideal. Not because I am worried about some Chinese attack but because it means Sol-Ark doe not have direct physical control over them if they go down. The idea that China would start to shutdown Inverters across the USA is ridiculous. It would mean that we where in a full state of war against them! If that time should come I will just pull out my dongle and manage my system as though it is off grid in the middle of nowhere. It's not like you need to mess around with a properly setup Sol-Ark. Mine has been up for 8 days and already I have gotten tired of monitoring it. The system just works and it works flawlessly.
Dude, Sol-Ark is made by DEYE, not the other way around.
 
Dude, Sol-Ark is made by DEYE, not the other way around.
He is trying to say that SolArk came out with its design. That Deye did not come up with the SolArk design.. that might be so. But to me is irrelevant. Deye made hybrid inverters before SolArk was a thing. Wasn’t splitphase and 12k like SolArk later wanted Deye to make for them but Deye still made single phase 8k hybrids before the SolArk splitphase 12k was made by Deye and sold to the public.
 
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I know Dell EMC VERY well. There is ZERO access to ANY customer data, even if you have ESRS comms to your storage arrays. I cannot say the same for other companies. VMware by design enables mobility of virtual servers, but that has to be initiated by YOU, and your DR strategy for VM failover. NoOne has access to your network unless you let them. Cyber security is one of the main capabilities that Dell provides to help customers protect their information, along with RSA security and secureworks, (used by CIA and others) which are also a Dell owned companies.

I use south africa developed Solar-assistant.io to monitor my systems. As for access by bad actors, have you read the legal acceptance for every app you use on your cell phone? Text? Alexa? Facebook? Instagram? ANY app?
You have no privacy. Its an illusion. Walk down 5th ave. Facial recognition knows you are there. Smart cities AI.
I agree that one 'can' use these services in a way that protects things, but customers do not always succeed.
Also - protection doesn't apply when the company just sells the data. :(
 
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I doubt Sol-Ark can legally shutoff an inverter you paid for and own.


I wouldn't know about the legal side but I dont know how they are gonna cut it off remotely since their is no internet and no phone connection or anykind of service.

I have some MPP and some Revo II inverters. Saved a fortune going that route but understand the simplicity of having a split phase system instead of a single 240 and need a transformer. Makes things more complicated. Also the customer support by solark is also something that needs to be counted in the cost.

Many times I needed it and their as noone to call
 
I looked at the video on YouTube again and the comment from Solark. It is now removed from their response on how they would remotely turn off a Deye that is being used in the United States.

I understand where they are coming from and the expense associated with bringing to market. Especially one with customer support.

Screenshot_20210915-210809_YouTube.jpg
 
I wouldn't know about the legal side but I dont know how they are gonna cut it off remotely since their is no internet and no phone connection or anykind of service.
After hearing some Tesla stories who knows! I just get the feeling from talking to Sol-Ark that they would never even attempt something like that. It's very true that you don't need the Internet connection, but it is kind of nice to have all the Data stored and to get push Notification on your phone when there is a problem.
I have some MPP and some Revo II inverters. Saved a fortune going that route but understand the simplicity of having a split phase system instead of a single 240 and need a transformer. Makes things more complicated. Also the customer support by solark is also something that needs to be counted in the cost.

Many times I needed it and their as noone to call
Sol-Ark customer service is really good. I have even called on a Saturday and Sunday and spoke to Tech support.
It is a very rare occasion when I get put on hold for more than 5 minutes. Everyone is friendly and knows the product inside and out.

I also love the Support from Fortress Power, both John and Alex go above and beyond. I had one eFlex battery that seemed to have a cell that was not balanced and John logged into my Laptop which was connected to the bank via Canbus, then updated all my packs firmware using Teamviewer then balanced my cells and spent over and hour testing that one pack with a 2KW+ mini discharge and charging cycles to make sure that it stayed within an insane 5mv pack differential. When he was done he also took a screen snapshot of all my voltages and then asked me for an update phone call in a weeks time so he can see if everything is still in balance.
 
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I'm a retired, software development engineer. I will NOT connect to anything outside my home. Any data you 'give away' will be used to track you and be sold. The iComfort on my whole-house heat pump is an example - I refuse to allow it to connect and store my heat/cool stats outside of my home. You might think - who could ever connect my 'annoymous' heat/cool use or SolArk solar stats or X or Y or Z to me - but you'd be wrong. These bits of data can be leveraged thru analysis and often connected together and sold or used to market you or used for nefarious purposes down the road. The way AWES (Amazon Web Services) and Dell (EMC/Vmware services) works is that virtual servers can migrate and/or be replicated and/or backed up anywhere in the world. You can have a primary service here and replicate/backup there. Personally - I just won't buy a product that requires off-site interconnect to be used.
Ditto, I am an IT security consultant 30 years in the trade ( before security was even a thing building networks/monitoring 1000's of devices ) I showed my Daughter how every thing she types/ loads/looks at / is tracked on her laptop she was stunned. I also would not even consider products the MUST use the internet to function. I have firewalled off our smart tv's stunning that people do not understand that nice remote you talk to is recording and sending back to china what you say and do... Take a moment and READ that LG license agreement ... WOW. But allowing your home power use to be accessed by ANYONE else seems a bit naïve to me. Learn to do without the pretty pictures (dashboard) it comes with a price.
 
Ditto, I am an IT security consultant 30 years in the trade ( before security was even a thing building networks/monitoring 1000's of devices ) I showed my Daughter how every thing she types/ loads/looks at / is tracked on her laptop she was stunned. I also would not even consider products the MUST use the internet to function. I have firewalled off our smart tv's stunning that people do not understand that nice remote you talk to is recording and sending back to china what you say and do... Take a moment and READ that LG license agreement ... WOW. But allowing your home power use to be accessed by ANYONE else seems a bit naïve to me. Learn to do without the pretty pictures (dashboard) it comes with a price.
Almost all those home control audio devices Americans are using are sending your voice info to Amazon and Google. There are not many Chinese companies selling products in America that operate using voice control and those that do typically use the Alexa API to operate. I agree with your overall point. I will not allow one Alexa or google assistant device to be put in my house. (BTW LG is from South Korea and not China. They use google and Alexa for voice control in their remotes)

The Sol-Ark dongle is optional! You do not have to plug it in to use the inverter, unlike Tesla and some of the other companies where internet is mandatory. I personally do not care that they can see my electricity consumption data. The Data Log Keeping and Push notifications of Blackouts and other issues are worth it. Sorry but I have not reached the level of thinking where I see China or some other country sabotaging PV systems across the Globe. As I said before if we ever reach that point your inverter will be the least of your problems.
 
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