Do be aware that according to the National Electric Code EVERY hard wired in device in your electric system MUST BE UL listed by UL or listed by any NRTL (nationally recognized testing laboratory) to UL standards for the PURPOSE INTENDED (that is the purpose stated in the UL or NRTL application category). A building inspector can and will red tag a building for this violation of the building and electric code. Additionally if you should have an electrical fire your insurance company has an automatic out. Your insurance policy will have in clear writing that all revenant building, fire and electric codes must be met, if not they have no obligation to settle with you as you are in violation of the code. Chinese hardware in no way will pass UL, or any NRTL . CE certification is worthless in the USA, it’s not a standard here. CE certification is valid in other countries but not in the USA.
All of my equipment is certified by UL (Underwriters Laboratory) or ETL (Electrical Testing Laboratory) I know I’m safe!
The exact reason that Growatt etc. is a no-no for grid tie grid feed in is that does require a building permit and no building inspector will sign off on non-UL devices. Some off shore manufacturers do get UL/ETL certification to sell their products in the USA, Samlex has a whole line of inverters that are UL listed and will pass code, I have installed Samlex N+1 inverter systems for government agencies, in law enforcement networks.....they have all the bucks they need to do it right, pay very good too! AFAIK Samlex does not do grid tie but their N+1 system is one of the best, along with Exeltech they own the field (mission critical network). Samlex , Taiwan design, China built, USA UL listed
It's the type of UL (ETL) listing that is important for grid tie. While Samlex and a few others such as Aims and Gaiandel, etc. possess a UL certification, those certifications were intended for mobile applications and are not the same as the UL1741, Rule 21 or Heco. To drill down on this a bit more, the grid tie compliance extends to the batteries as well. Any Net metering system here in California that is set up as a hybrid must use compliant batteries. There are only a few of those as well when you look at the utility approved vendors. Simpli-Phi, Discover, Darfon and possibly Fortress now.
The statements about Growatt not having certifications is incorrect. They have introduced a line of hybrids for the US that is fully certified for every state including California and Hawaii. Here is a link
https://www.growatt-america.com/show-9-634.html . The downside is that for these models they have opted for high voltage batteries like Tesla or Pica(Generac).
The Colorist has listed here about Deye inverters. I have installed and use one of those and can attest to its compliance. The 7.6 or 8kw is virtually the same as the Sol-Ark. Not a knock off, the same engineers designed it and it's sold for a lot less. The downside is that there is no stateside tech support.
The way around Using some of the better built overseas inverters such as Growatt, MPP and others that only carry the CE certification is to make the setup portable, or plug in. If a permit is acquired for a critical load panel that has a standard 30 to 50 amp gen plug then the entire inverter system can be plugged in or unplugged making it a portable system. I normally use a Square D 100 amp or 200 amp outdoor rated sub panel with one of their interlock devices to shift from grid to inverter.
In our county here in California off grid PV panel installations are fairly easy if you keep them ground mount and under 7' high. There is not a consideration as to what they are connected to because they plug in as well.
The utility company (PGE) here wants us to be completely tied to them with any system. But there are many legal ways around that. I run a two acre property that is grid tied with one system. The only purpose of that system is to feed power to the grid and the only purpose of the grid is to supply charging when needed.
The home and shop are run off of the other system with an emergency grid backup charger and generator should the sun not shine for extended periods. That system is hardwired however because the Deye has the UL approval that the Colorist was talking about.