diy solar

diy solar

SolArk15k vs Eg4 18k

SolarSamAK said:
You appear to be in Finland. May I ask if your panels are covered with snow through the winter months? Also do you use micro inverters?
Click to expand...
My panels don't get snow covered. Here they are in blizzard and at that same time they produced ~8kW (I have four inverters, so 2kWx4=8kW), which is ~20% of my nominal peak (44,1kW). No micros, just two hybrid Deye 12/15Ks (which are about identical to Sol-Ark 15K) and two grid tied Bluesun 15Ks.
Blizzard2.jpg Blizzard2 production.jpg

Here's one picture of the installation. Each set between two poles is 2,1kWp/1,5kWp (frontside/backside) and weights 150kg.
first panels.jpg

But this is getting off topic. There's a link in my signature if you want to know more about my setup.
 
Wow,

You are way ahead of me. That is impressive! Do you suffer much production loss in summer from the steep angle?

Your are a pro man. My install was by a professional though I may solar up my shed. POCO will not allow it to be grid tied though. Are you using super strut between posts?

Seriously you inspire me to do more.

Sam
 
SolarSamAK said:
Wow,

You are way ahead of me. That is impressive! Do you suffer much production loss in summer from the steep angle?

Your are a pro man. My install was by a professional though I may solar up my shed. POCO will not allow it to be grid tied though. Are you using super strut between posts?

Seriously you inspire me to do more.

Sam
Click to expand...
Certainly not a pro. Only just over half year experience on solar so far. I did go straight to the deep end with my unconventional setup and did 99% of all installations myself, but could not have finished without the help of good people here on the forum.

I have only ~one month worth of winter experience so far, but best daily winter yield was 344kWh (actually many days in a row over 340kWh) and best summer yield 284kWh (usually 260-270kWh on a good day because afternoon clouds). Wrong summer angle certainly counts for something, but mainly summer production is down because of higher ambient temperatures and worse albedo. To my surprise albedo seems to have way bigger effect than I expected.

No struts anywhere. I don't want any shadows on either side of my panels. Check my build topic if you want to know how I did it.
ready back.jpg
 
Hey Shadowmaker,
I agree the snows reflection of light and colder temps increase production more than most people account for. My few but growing number of solar friends in Alaska stress that as a big benefit having snow reflect the light . My solar shed dreams will likely involve strut for mounting as I am facing solar south and do not worry too much about shading. Plus the strut is pretty easy to use and affordable.
Do you have any fellow solar enthusiast in Finland using micro inverters? This was a hot topic on my install. I paid an installer as I have limited knowledge on solar and do not like getting up in high roofs. The debate on micro inverters is big in Alaska. Most people use them. Those who have them seem to dislike them long term as they often fail more than predicted. They also seem to way under produce. My theory is the extreme cold climate shortens their life greatly. Any insight on the topic? I am going without them so my path is set for now. Hope I made the right choice. Will send pictures of it after work today.

Sam
 
Last edited:
SolarSamAK said:
Hey Shadowmaker,
I agree the snows reflection of light and colder temps increase production more than most people account for. My few but growing number of solar friends in Alaska stress that as a big benefit having snow reflect the light . My solar shed dreams will likely involve strut for mounting as I am facing solar south and do not worry too much about shading. Plus the strut is pretty easy to use and affordable.
Do you have any fellow solar enthusiast in Finland using micro inverters? This was a hot topic on my install. I paid an installer as I have limited knowledge on solar and do not like getting up in high roofs. The debate on micro inverters is big in Alaska. Most people use them. Those who have them seem to dislike them long term as they often fail more than predicted. They also seem to way under produce. My theory is the extreme cold climate shortens their life greatly. Any insight on the topic? I am going without them so my path is set for now. Hope I made the right choice. My solar shed remains a work in progress but is set up currently as a mico grid to power my EV. Will send pictures of it after work today.

Sam
Click to expand...
I don't think I'm the right one to say much about micros. There are lots of people here who actually uses those, so they might have more accurate info for you. To my understanding they work really well if you have mandatory shadows from trees etc. every day, or snow over your panels in winter. Also individual panels can be monitored, so it should be easy to detect problems in their early stages. That's solar porn for the real enthusiast. I decided against micros because only shadows for my array are coming from clouds and I'm pretty sure snow isn't going to be a problem for me.

Shadows (snow too) have huge impact on production so try to avoid them. If you can't, use micros to get the best out of a bad situation.
 
So to stay with the spirit of the thread title, is anyone yet ready to make a head to head comparison of the two units?
I’m probably biased so I know which I would choose, but has the lux/eg4 yet been in enough hands to make a logical pro/con of the two?
 
Hi Guys, so whats the Conclusion between Solark and EG4 18k?

can both do Peak Shaving and UPS functions?
 
nbtesh said:
Hi Guys, so whats the Conclusion between Solark and EG4 18k?

can both do Peak Shaving and UPS functions?
Click to expand...
Sol-ark is better currently. Hopefully any lingering issues with the 18kPV can be fixed in future updates.
 
niktak11 said:
Sol-ark is better currently. Hopefully any lingering issues with the 18kPV can be fixed in future updates.
Click to expand...
What issues have you come across with Peak shaving and the UPS functions of the Sol-Ark?
I was not aware of any.
 
Farm Boy said:
They use a Low Freq., Toroidal transformer. Proven in different applications to be robust as also used in another fine brand name of inverters. The Schneider brag about many still in use 15-20 years later but only offer a 5 yr warranty. You should do some research of your own first from people who had problems and tried to contact Schneider for warranty issues before you decide. That is why I my self decided to pass on this fine unit that will do more than it is rated.
Click to expand...
I found this one day while looking around Schneider’s web site

Support - Schneider Electric Solar America - Register to get 5 more Years of Warranty

on this link:


Click the drop down at right to download the below file

10-Year-Contractual-Warranty_XW-Pro6848-NA_CL60A_CL125A_USA_PuertoRico_Mariana-Islands.pdf
 
niktak11 said:
Is the sol-ark actually limited to 15kW DC solar? I thought it was 18-19kW.
Click to expand...
The Sol-Ark can accept up to 17K of solar, but only 15K is usable. The EG4 can accept up to 21K of solar, but only 18K is usable.

In grid tied standards the Sol-Ark is a 15K and the EG4 is a 12K inverter, based on their max output current on-grid.

In off grid standards, they are both 12K inverters if the sun is not shining and they are pulling from the batteries only. If the sun is shining the Sol-Ark can get the additional 3K boost up to 15K off-grid.

If you are using them for AC coupling a large existing system that is where the Sol-Ark really out shines the EG4. Sol-Ark has up to 19,200 of AC coupling capacity while EG4 only has 12K.

I will be creating a comparison video within the next 30 days on my new YouTube channel. Check me out. Rocky Broad Solar LLC
 
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