Enphase IQ8 Reviews/experiences

Hi Guys,

New to the forum here.

Anybody here have or have some indirect experiences with the new Enphase IQ8 controllers? I have an interest in upgrading my older Enphase inverters for the sun light backup feature (IQ8s), but the reviews I am seeing are abysmal (Reddit/Amazon).

Cheers,
G

Welcome to the forum!

Not familiar, sorry. Perhaps start your analysis with what features and benefits you want to solve then find the right equipment to best deliver value for years to come. If something is easier up front, the unreliable aspect may outweigh the upfront savings of time and investment.

I've had IQ8s in my IQ batteries for a couple of years now, no issues with them and they work rock-solid. Different application, but I guess it depends on what bad things you saw on reddit.

I looked at the 5 amazon comments, It was either 1 star or 5 stars. The 1 stars were all Dead-On-Arrivals and shipped in unmarked boxes (Guessing they got a discounted price from a guy in China where they were sent to be recycled ; -). Buy from the Enphase store directly or a reputable seller and you shouldn't have those issues.

With the 25-year warranty, I don't see how you can go wrong.

JCSchwarb said:

Welcome to the forum!

Not familiar, sorry. Perhaps start your analysis with what features and benefits you want to solve then find the right equipment to best deliver value for years to come. If something is easier up front, the unreliable aspect may outweigh the upfront savings of time and investment.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your comment.

Here's what I am looking for:

Possible battery backup upgrade (hybrid system) to an existing grid-tied system. ~and/or~
Upgrade system to this sun light backup technology.

To my knowledge, the only company offering sun light back up features is Enphase through their IQ8 inverters. Hence, my query.

svetz said:

I've had IQ8s in my IQ batteries for a couple of years now, no issues with them and they work rock-solid. Different application, but I guess it depends on what bad things you saw on reddit.

I looked at the 5 amazon comments, It was either 1 star or 5 stars. The 1 stars were all Dead-On-Arrivals and shipped in unmarked boxes (Guessing they got a discounted price from a guy in China where they were sent to be recycled ; -). Buy from the Enphase store directly or a reputable seller and you shouldn't have those issues.

With the 25-year warranty, I don't see how you can go wrong.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your experience review.

If I go this route; will definitely use Enphase directly. Assuming, they're still in business; there is a platinum level Enphase installer near my address, so would use these guys.

Did you say you have Enphase batteries? If so, have you had any issues?

Please don't buy into the solar-only backup hype!
It is a clever marketing ploy by Enphase to lock you into their under-powered and overpriced batteries later.
You'll pay a lot of money for all the components, the installation and rewiring and what do you get?

No backup at night when you need it most and no backup during low solar radiation!

Checkout other backup solutions that can AC couple with IQ8 inverters.
Quite a few Enphase die-hards spread the misinformation that you need IQ8 inverters to form a microgrid. Not true!
You need IQ8's only for sunlight-only backup.
And there are PV On/Off AC coupled backup solution with stackable batteries available that work with all grid-tied inverters, even old Enphase gen 1 inverters.

Oof. Old thread.

If you read Enphase’s technical descriptions of what sunlight backup ought to be used for, you will get a really weaksauce vibe from it.

You can also look at what SMA/Fronius version was limited to.

Definitely, it is more convenient to have power during the day than not to have it. But swapping in IQ8 is a big labor and equipment investment. It’s also not an all or nothing upgrade. If you have micros that are too old to do frequency/watt then you could consider going to IQ8 to increase AC coupling compatibility.

If you want an easy solution that any installer can integrate for you then staying within Enphase ecosystem has value. But it’s a big cost premium to do so.

Ya, I agree with a lot of above. How often will the grid fail and it be sunny? Not at night. Not during a storm so..... And as noted, once you go for this very limited in practice functionality, big increase in cost. For those sunny day outages. Ok...... IQ7A. Cheap, highly productive. Very uptime friendly. Just a couple less panels per string.

I am debating whether I need IQ8 or IQ7+ to go with Qcell 360-365W solar panels. Enpase has IQ7+ already integrated with the SP as part of the SP. That was advertised on their website. I don't know whether they have the option to have IQ8 integrated into it or not.

If you go Iq7plus, you will max out at 295 watts per panel. Iq7a or Iq7x will use more of panels space. Iq8 will cost considerably more for the ability to charge when grid is down while sun is up.