AdvicetotheGraduate
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2021
- Messages
- 10
This will be a grid tied system and will have 32ct 455W panels running 14,560 watts. I have narrowed down my inverter choice to the EG4 18KPV and the Sol-Ark 15k. The difference between the EG4 18KPV and the Sol-Ark is $1,400. My preference is to go with the Sol-Ark.
I was originally planning on going with the EG4-LifePower4 30.72kWh rack for $8,103 ($263.77 per kWh) until I read a thread with lots of recommendations for SOK. I checked out Current Connected and found their base battery rack is $5,751 ($230.07 per kWh) which is a significant price delta of $2,352 in favor of the SOK.
I use an IotaWatt to monitor power consumption and I don't predict the 80amp limitation vs the SOK PRO will be an issue.
The UL cert does not really concern me as long as it does not represent a safety issue.
What I am concerned about is the lack of communication on the batteries. It is my understanding these batteries will not "talk" to the inverter, and so the battery information will not be accessible on the inverter. The SOK Base unit does have Bluetooth functionality so I would be able to monitor the batteries if needed.
My goal is a set it and forget it type of system, and if a battery that cannot communicate means that I will have to be constantly tinkering with the batteries, checking their status all the time and verifying they are balanced, etc, then the extra $2,352 would be worth it to me.
If the communication is just a nice to have bonus but not needed, then I would prefer to save the money and load up on more batteries.
Also, if the choice of inverter I mentioned above factors in I would appreciate a heads up (e.g. the Sol-Ark does great with batteries that do not communicate, etc)
Thanks ahead for any feedback.
I was originally planning on going with the EG4-LifePower4 30.72kWh rack for $8,103 ($263.77 per kWh) until I read a thread with lots of recommendations for SOK. I checked out Current Connected and found their base battery rack is $5,751 ($230.07 per kWh) which is a significant price delta of $2,352 in favor of the SOK.
I use an IotaWatt to monitor power consumption and I don't predict the 80amp limitation vs the SOK PRO will be an issue.
The UL cert does not really concern me as long as it does not represent a safety issue.
What I am concerned about is the lack of communication on the batteries. It is my understanding these batteries will not "talk" to the inverter, and so the battery information will not be accessible on the inverter. The SOK Base unit does have Bluetooth functionality so I would be able to monitor the batteries if needed.
My goal is a set it and forget it type of system, and if a battery that cannot communicate means that I will have to be constantly tinkering with the batteries, checking their status all the time and verifying they are balanced, etc, then the extra $2,352 would be worth it to me.
If the communication is just a nice to have bonus but not needed, then I would prefer to save the money and load up on more batteries.
Also, if the choice of inverter I mentioned above factors in I would appreciate a heads up (e.g. the Sol-Ark does great with batteries that do not communicate, etc)
Thanks ahead for any feedback.