SolarHead
50% of people are below average. (Its a statistic)
true
Sol-Ark 15K All in One Inverter Released.
- Thread starter robby
- Start date
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
I am leaning towards keeping my 2 X 12ks since I know them and they are stable BUT I am sucker for bleeding edge stuff.
All that said I still think I will wait and see how the 15ks "get on" in the real world for a while.
Once they revise all the firmware and components to get it down to a stable package then I will probably buy one.
Lets face it, no matter how much you test a system the real world tends to break it or at least offer better solutions..
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Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
With my Sensi Smart Thermostats I can tell the unit to never use the AUX heating mode.
It hasn't really gotten cold enough here yet to get below the Heat Pumps ability to generate heat.
The new MR Cool universal I installed works great.
@RV10flyer What do you think about them going back to low pressure Gas? Getting rid of the 134a?
Probably make the units last longer because of lower coil pressure?
RV10flyer
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2021
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- 1,198
If your hp goes into a defrost cycle, the def board sends 24vac into heat contactor. Does your Sensi's tstats disable that too? My disable switch does not allow any 24vac to reach heater contactor.
RV10flyer
Solar Wizard
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- Mar 8, 2021
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yes, i really like my fujitsu and Ameristar(Gree) too.
All of my mini splits and central systems use R-410A. Its not only the higher pressure destroying mostly indoor coils. I have been installing/repairing these residential systems for 25+ years. The manufacturers use thinner, lower quality copper/aluminum. Distributors, Contractors, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Hardware Stores all push pleated filters which lower air volume (cfm) across the indoor coil. This causes higher than normal pressure/temperatures, reducing coil life further. I use larger area filters like Aprilaire and Skuttle whole house air cleaners. I don't recommend 1" pleated filters unless you have 200 sqin per ton minimum.
The industry is switching to another refrigerant or two very soon, but I doubt they will have lower pressures. Its a headache and high expense for recyclers, reclaimers, us contractors and customers. Now they say R-410A was just a temporary ref while they worked on a better one. One thing we liked a lot about R-22. It was easy to find leaks with the chlorine in it.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
No it doesn't do anything for defrost as far as I know. Just keeps it from going into AUX heat.
If you come into a room and the temp is say 60 and you crank it up to 70 then the AUX heat will kick in to make it heat faster.
I can tell it not to do that.
Isn't defrost mode just reversing the valve to put heat into the coil?
Does it use the AUX heat to offset the cooling from the defrost?
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
Yup my Unit has R-410a also.
I just saw something the other day about them replacing the 134a and 410A.
I have the typical 400SQin filter on the one I just replaced. It was a 2 ton unit and the MR cool universal is a 2-3 ton unit(Switchable on the control board) of the condenser.
The 3 ton unit down stair has 2 cold air returns each 400SQin.
It makes sense now that you say it.
The less air that goes across the coil the more heat the gas has in it therefore higher pressure.
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Why not just add a third 12k? The 15k doesn't really have new features except more power and a larger pass through current.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
If I needed more power that would make perfect sense.
Those of us that have 12ks already are more than likely just to add more 12ks instead of changing them out.
However, those of us who like to tinker might swap them out just for S&G..
Wait
I have a customer using sensi and is having a heck of a time with aux usage.
How did you set them not to use aux?
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
Not in front of it right now but when I get home tonight I can look.
Its in the menu.
Had something to do with BOOST feature if remember correctly..
Did they wire the thermostat themselves?
If not wired correctly it will do funny things. Ask me how I know.
You can change all kinds of things in the menu.
Type of Reversing valve, signaling, ect.
I had to get in touch with Sensi but they told me how to do it.
My units have not used AUX heat since I made the change..
Sensi keeps logs of what mode its in and for how long..
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At the very least, sol ark does everything in the bottom portion of the inverter. I think they design (but deye manufactures) the top portion as well.
jasonhc73
Cat herder, and dog toy tosser.
I have a set of 6548's. They are not capable of continuous use over 10k, they heat up way too much.
However, 4 6548's would be able to run 10k with barely a nudge up from the baseline temps.
MPP Solar really needs to release an updated 6548 with a 600V PV input, at least 100A of passthrough, and limit to home exporting.
jasonhc73
Cat herder, and dog toy tosser.
There is no redundancy in parallel systems. One goes kaput, the entire setup is kaput.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
Not even close.
Each Sol-Ark will run independent or stacked.
If one goes down just unplug cat 6 cable and good one will take off.
Just won’t get as much power.
RayofSunshine
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2021
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- 98
Some background:
I'm going solar, as my 38 year old asphalt shingle roof needs replacing. My current 80 gal gas WH (in the basement of my 2 story Colonial) is about 14 yrs old, so it is on borrowed time. Since I already have a high efficiency (gas) furnace (next to the WH in the basement), the WH is the only thing using the (~6" round metal) chimney. I want to get rid of the chimney poking through the roof (so I don't have to interrupt PV panel layout), so I was thinking to install a high efficiency gas on demand WH. I could hook up the (low temp) exhaust to the PVC already in place for the furnace. I can cut off the now redundant chimney in the attic, remove the rest of it poking through the roof, and replacing the sheathing. I could then use the now unused chimney to route electrical cables from the PV panels on the roof, through the 2 floors of living space, down to the basement (where the main breaker panel resides, and where I want to locate the inverter and LFP ESS). So no ugly conduit on the exterior siding of the house or through any walls. Just whatever code (or common sense) requires for (possibly high DC voltage) cables on the interior of the house. I'm thinking some Schedule 40 PVC should do the trick, but I'll ask the perspective solar installers when they come to assess my situation.
Now, to the point:
I then considered a regular HPWH, or a hybrid gas/HPWH (which uses a gas burner instead of an electrical heating element to help the heat pump if it is struggling to keep up). My question is this: Did you consider an on-demand WH (gas or electric), and/or do you have any comments on the subject?
Also, I realize the "air conditioning" side benefits of the heat pump in the *summer*, but in the *winter* I'm transferring heat from the basement air - which has been heated (solely via conduction/convection) by the gas furnace - to the water in the storage tank; cooling and dehumidifying the basement air (which then cools the floor of the 1st floor via conduction). Seems pretty inefficient - holistically speaking. At least here in NJ, where it does get a bit nippy from time to time. And that got me thinking about better use of available thermal energy. Like having a heat pump that had the capability to select from at least 2 (and maybe 3) different input air sources. In the summer, I could select the ambient basement air, or even better: have PVC or other ducting run from the attic, garage, or even garage attic, which would have beaucoup thermal energy available for transfer. This would reduce the time that the heat pump would have to run. In the winter, maybe the attic would still have enough excess energy to heat the water more efficiently (at least on sunny days). Or maybe you could use the exhaust of the furnace - which should still contain more thermal energy than the ambient basement air. Of course this source/exhaust would have to be isolated completely from other paths due to the noxious gasses contained in the furnace exhaust. Then *those* ideas led me to another idea: since heat is an enemy of efficient PV generation, why hasn't anyone designed a device/structure that would serve as both an air/water heat exchanger AND a structure to which PV solar panels could be mounted? Obviously made of aluminum, it doesn't have to have fins like a radiator, but rather a series of very thin/shallow but wide compartments through which water would pass, transferring heat from the air behind the PV panels to the water, back down to the storage tank. The frame of the exchanger could mount directly to/through either an existing roof (just like a rack system currently does), or - if for new construction or roof replacement - the decking (like GAF's Decotech or Timberline Solar "integrated" systems). No exposed underside for critters to use as a nest or chew toy. You could plumb them in any combination of series & parallel and monitor the input & output water pressure of each exchanger to detect leaks. Use insulated Pex for connections and transmission to storage tank. You could also employ a larger storage tank and/or store the water at a much higher temperature (by continually circulating water from tank to roof until the highest "safe" temperature is reached). You would then need a mixing valve to mix in a cold water supply to bring the output of the storage tank to the usual safe (~130-150 deg F) level. With this idea you'd have a low profile system that cools the PV panels (making them more efficient) and gives you all the hot water you can use at the same time (for *FREE*). You can even have supplemental gas/electric heat at/near the storage tank for extended stormy times in cold northern climates. I will admit this lends itself more to new construction or roof replacement, but it sure seems to make things a *lot* more efficient...
This seems to be an obvious efficiency gain with a seemingly reasonable increase in expense. Have I missed something here? Did I just give away a big opportunistic idea?
Anyways, for your consideration... My immediate interest is with the on-demand gas WH vs HPWH comparison (& the side issue of running the HPWH in the winter in the basement). The rest is just a lot of "Why hasn't anybody produced something like this?".
robby
Photon Vampire
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- May 1, 2021
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They design them in the USA and they write all the firmware. Then they have Deye manufacturer the upper half in China and they do the Lower half in the USA. In return Deye is allowed to use the design on their own inverters so long as they are not manufactored as Split phase units for use in the USA.
Oh, that’s definitely legit (and smart). I feel a bit better giving my money to a US firm, even if it costs a bit more..
robby
Photon Vampire
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I will also spend my money with a US company even if it costs more! Especially one that is offering great product and provides excellent service for their customers. Sol-Ark will literally walk you through a setting or setup issue and if your still having problems with the settings they will ask your permission to log in and they will fix it.
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SolarHead
50% of people are below average. (Its a statistic)
Sol-Ark has some of the best customer service that I have experienced any where with any product period.
That’s fantastic. As a business owner, I know how hard it is to provide good customer support. Finding and retaining people who are both knowledgeable and personable and patient is so rare (and expensive) People are so demanding and rude sometimes, customer support can be brutal…
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