Solar Edge - an installer's blog

randomsolar · Dec 30, 2022

BlueMarblePA said:
Do others feel that solaredge has this high of a failure rate?

I heard unofficially from my installer that they were seeing a failure rate on HD inverters of 50% or higher on systems they were installing. I don't see how an installer can make money if they're having to eat the cost of installing multiple failed inverters. I personally have had multiple inverters fail in my < 1 year old SE installation.

Given what I've seen with SolarEdge's cavalier attitude towards pushing random firmware updates, not quite ready for production hardware and software, poor quality control, lack of communcating hardware faults to users, and inability to interoperate with LG batteries I won't be recommending SolarEdge to anyone.

400bird · Dec 30, 2022

First, welcome to the forum.

I've got 4 years on my Solar Edge HD wave, original inverter. They've also never pushed a firmware update to the thing.

I'm not sure what the difference is, but it does seem like there's something odd where some installers have so many failures. I definitely agree, if Solar Edge was seeing your failure rate across-the-board, they'd be out of installers and out of business.

Mike 134 · Dec 30, 2022

randomsolar said:
I heard unofficially from my installer that they were seeing a failure rate on HD inverters of 50% or higher on systems they were installing. I don't see how an installer can make money if they're having to eat the cost of installing multiple failed inverters. I personally have had multiple inverters fail in my < 1 year old SE installation.

Given what I've seen with SolarEdge's cavalier attitude towards pushing random firmware updates, not quite ready for production hardware and software, poor quality control, lack of communcating hardware faults to users, and inability to interoperate with LG batteries I won't be recommending SolarEdge to anyone.

As a retired Master electrician, seeing the garbage pipework done on many solar projects I have no doubt poor craftsmanship is the #1 cause of the failures. Plus you heard "unofficially" is that the same as a"rumor"? Sorry data based on ONE voice does not make a trend.

Hedges · Dec 30, 2022

Enough of us have heard similar stories first-hand from an installer, plus those with first-hand experience, and the quantities of bad ones I saw on eBay. In addition to that detailed blog.
Not just one voice, definitely a trend.

I'll accept that installer error was the reason for 50% failure rate of a different brand 20 years ago. You could connect PV backwards half the time. Those inverters with protection diodes survive 100% of the time, but those brands without died half the time.
What poor craftsmanship and error mode do you think explains the apparent higher failure rate of Solar Edge vs. other leading brands?

Mike 134 · Dec 30, 2022

Hedges said:
Enough of us have heard similar stories first-hand from an installer, plus those with first-hand experience, and the quantities of bad ones I saw on eBay. In addition to that detailed blog.
Not just one voice, definitely a trend.

I'll accept that installer error was the reason for 50% failure rate of a different brand 20 years ago. You could connect PV backwards half the time. Those inverters with protection diodes survive 100% of the time, but those brands without died half the time.
What poor craftsmanship and error mode do you think explains the apparent higher failure rate of Solar Edge vs. other leading brands?

This is an internet forum. If you think you can get an accurate picture of various manufactures failure rates from it, I have some land to sell you.

Happy New year.

Hedges · Dec 30, 2022

I'm not just getting it here, I've providing portions of it.
And we compare that with what we know of other tier-1 brands. I've posted my own MTBF for my brand.

Yes I realize it is possible for someone to mount a concerted disinformation campaign to discredit someone/something.
That has been a big topic lately, with the federal government apparently hiring major companies to muzzle freedom of speech on their behalf.

But the sources many of us have come across regarding Solar Edge?
The blogger relates being threatened with legal action and said he took down some things that could have been considered proprietary or under NDA. But much of what he relates, including failure rates, are still up.

Do you have some reason for wanting to say this particular brand does not have an elevated failure rate?
Do you claim it is as reliable as Fronius, SMA, Schneider, Outback?

Mike 134 · Dec 30, 2022

Hedges said:
I'm not just getting it here, I've providing portions of it.
And we compare that with what we know of other tier-1 brands. I've posted my own MTBF for my brand.

Yes I realize it is possible for someone to mount a concerted disinformation campaign to discredit someone/something.
That has been a big topic lately, with the federal government apparently hiring major companies to muzzle freedom of speech on their behalf.

But the sources many of us have come across regarding Solar Edge?
The blogger relates being threatened with legal action and said he took down some things that could have been considered proprietary or under NDA. But much of what he relates, including failure rates, are still up.

Do you have some reason for wanting to say this particular brand does not have an elevated failure rate?
Do you claim it is as reliable as Fronius, SMA, Schneider, Outback?

Just noticed 13,000 posts in 3 years.........whoa.... 11+ posts a day, how do you have time to do any installs?

Hedges · Dec 30, 2022

This thread is not about my installs, and no I rarely get to do any. I dabble here for entertainment and learning. I've learned a few things, debugged some other people's problems, taught people a few things.
I have a full-time day job in tech, sometimes very high tech. I also get my hands dirty as a shade-tree mechanic. Everything I learn crosses over between applications.
I pick up quality stuff at times, and encounter other people in the business. I've bought inverters and other equipment by the pallet, often from someone exiting that particular product/business line. Lets me over-built with the better stuff at affordable prices, and was my "Covid Project".

I'm checking into the possibility of service upgrade to 3-phase at one property, would then install a Tri-Power with rooftop PV, then add Sunny Island.

fromport · Dec 30, 2022

Hedges said:
Enough of us have heard similar stories first-hand from an installer, plus those with first-hand experience, and the quantities of bad ones I saw on eBay. In addition to that detailed blog.
Not just one voice, definitely a trend.

As a registered solar installer, I have done a few replacements of SE inverters as a warranty job for owners that had other installers that installed them and then went bankrupt or stopped doing business. I got paid by SE for doing the warranty replacement job.
As you can imagine, you earn more from a fresh install ofcourse.
This was before the HD line was introduced btw.

Hedges said:
I'll accept that installer error was the reason for 50% failure rate of a different brand 20 years ago. You could connect PV backwards half the time. Those inverters with protection diodes survive 100% of the time, but those brands without died half the time.
What poor craftsmanship and error mode do you think explains the apparent higher failure rate of Solar Edge vs. other leading brands?

I don't know of numbers out there, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that SE has a higher failure rate than eg SMA, Fronius & Enphase installations.

Walleye Hunter · Dec 31, 2022

Walleye Hunter said:
Hi folks, thanks for having me. If I'm in the wrong spot with this, please help me find the right spot. I'm pretty much in the dark on my system but it looks like time for me to figure it out. I have 72 Peimar panels on my garage roof. Each one has a SolarEdge optimizer on it and it appears as though there are four strings that feed into two SolarEdge inverters. System was installed in early 2016 and has worked fairly well, outside of the lightening strike that took out a board or two. Back in the spring, one of the optimizers seems to have quit working but I was clueless on why one panel was dark. It took about six months but the installing company gave me a quote of $1550 to repair it. I declined their offer since I'd never get that back in electricity.

After talking to a couple of more knowledgeable friends and watching a couple of YouTube videos, I decided to give it a go myself. Pulled the panel and optimizer, tested both and the optimizer was not making any power but the panel was. I got two optimizers off of fleabay but I suspect that they may be counterfeits, as they don't have any tags on them but they do have SolarEdge cast into the bodies. The only tags are on the outside of the boxes. I tested one, it was making power and I installed it and paired the inverter. That panel is still showing dark but I'm wondering if it's not making power but the system can't identify it. Any help on what to do with this? Thanks for any help.

Update to this. I have not tried to contact SE on this and as of now, probably won't. I do not know how it does it (way beyond my paygrade) but my system has recognized the new optimizer that I installed, including the serial number. At $40 for it, I'm not too incentivized to harass SE over it. Otherwise, my system has been trouble free for seven years now, outside of a lightning strike that killed the control board and they covered.

Solar Edge - an installer's blog

randomsolar

New Member

400bird

Solar Wizard

Mike 134

Solar Enthusiast

Hedges

I See Electromagnetic Fields!

Mike 134

Solar Enthusiast

Hedges

I See Electromagnetic Fields!

Mike 134

Solar Enthusiast

Hedges

I See Electromagnetic Fields!

fromport

Solar Addict

Walleye Hunter

New Member

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