All of the TIGO MLPE can be made to work with any string inverter except SolarEdge. You just have to engineer a method to turn off the CCA to initiate RSD. Some will argue that the inverter should also shutdown. I don't see why first responders should cut the electricity to your home; leaving you in the dark with a fire.
Do Tigo TS4-A-O optimisers actually work?
- Thread starter SenileOldGit
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AZ Solar Junkie
Maricopa, AZ
It is explicitly for the safety of the firefighters - they use chain saws, etc., to cut into the roof, walls, etc., as needed as part of fighting a fire. If they cut through live wires they can get electrocuted. The first thing they always do when they arrive is to turn off the main breaker in your main panel so there are no live AC lines. If you have an emergency shutdown switch mounted by the panel, that also allows them to shut down your inverter and panel output.
BTW - the CCA has an AUX set of connections that you can wire a rapid shutdown switch to initiate rapid shutdown of the modules only if that is your preference.
DIYrich
Solar Wizard
Water and electricity is a bad combination.
I get the point of wanting a direct before and after, but how do you compare a system when no two days are the same? In the 3 years I've had my system up I've varied by several percent per year with nothing changing.
I have the Tigo Optimizers on my string that's on the roof, and I've got a friend with all 3 of his strings with optimizers. I can promise you they do something, but as pointed out if your inverter will bypass a panel with the diode, all you can really get back is a little bit of power from a shaded panel, which isn't all that significant.
So maybe a good way to look at it is I have bad shading with a tree directly south of my arrays that causes shading 3 months of the year. I already have a CCA and TAP, but still haven't added optimizers to my non-roof array because I don't think the gains would be worth it.
I have the Tigo Optimizers on my string that's on the roof, and I've got a friend with all 3 of his strings with optimizers. I can promise you they do something, but as pointed out if your inverter will bypass a panel with the diode, all you can really get back is a little bit of power from a shaded panel, which isn't all that significant.
So maybe a good way to look at it is I have bad shading with a tree directly south of my arrays that causes shading 3 months of the year. I already have a CCA and TAP, but still haven't added optimizers to my non-roof array because I don't think the gains would be worth it.
I've recently switched from Enphase Microinverters to a DC solution that included the Tigo optimizers. I've been getting more wattage out of the panels, it seems. When the system was brand new about 6 years ago, it would peak at 7.5kw. Now it's peaking at 9kw. Which is what it should have been producing on the Enphase. The climb in generation is clean with no jumps as the front panels come out of my neighbor's shade.
ElectricIslander
Solar Enthusiast
Is this image showing three strings of numbered panels i.e. A, B, C with something like energy harvested by each panel below?
AZ Solar Junkie
Maricopa, AZ
Yep - that’s the Tigo monitoring portal. I just set up mine a few days ago ?
I had one panel bring down my 10s string, but ended running more wire to utilize the second MPPT on my inverter. Now it’s two 5s strings and only the string with the one shaded panel is affected. I purchase one Tigo Optimizer for this panel to test. I’ll report back with results.
AZ Solar Junkie
Maricopa, AZ
I have various panels that get shaded at different times of the day. Overall the Tigo optimizers increase my array output around 15% over the course of the day.
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teal95
Solar Wizard
There does seem to be an issue with the TIGO optimizers and SolArk arcfault detection. I'm getting trips sometimes multiple times in a day. At least I can remote reset it...
I'm also experiencing arc faults. I have a support ticket with TIGO right now waiting for another event for them to look at.
teal95
Solar Wizard
Mine faulted out 3 times today.
Yes and No? What do you mean?
Zapper77
Renaissance Man (EG4 as of Jan 2025)
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They work, but the numbers that TIGO reports as "saved" assumes that you panels don't have bypass diodes.
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timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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The only way to know if they work for your situation. Is to compare your production with and without them.
(Not what they report during use)
(Not what they report during use)
I have some ability to compare with and without them. One roof, with 204 deg. azimuth is 8.1 KW without optimizers. The other 2 roofs are 190 deg. azimuth with 8 KW on one and 6.8 KW on the other. The roof without optimizers consistently outperforms the other 2. However, each roof has different shading issues. All roofs are 6/12 pitch.
Yesterday was mostly a full sun day.
8.1 KW system 37.4 KWH (no optimizers)
8.0 KW system 30.0 KWH (this roof has the worst shading)
6.8 KW system 28.1 KWH (scaling up would be 33.5 KWH)
IMO, optimizers don't do much more than diodes, if anything.
I may see different results in the summer when the tree affecting the worst roof is out of the picture.
Panels with optimizers are 400W Panasonic. Panels w/o optimizers are 370W Sil-Fab.
Yesterday was mostly a full sun day.
8.1 KW system 37.4 KWH (no optimizers)
8.0 KW system 30.0 KWH (this roof has the worst shading)
6.8 KW system 28.1 KWH (scaling up would be 33.5 KWH)
IMO, optimizers don't do much more than diodes, if anything.
I may see different results in the summer when the tree affecting the worst roof is out of the picture.
Panels with optimizers are 400W Panasonic. Panels w/o optimizers are 370W Sil-Fab.
Quattrohead
Emperor Of Solar
Different panels, different angles etc all skew results.
I feel that my Panasonic panels are more efficient than my LG panels, but I can't tell for sure coz they are in different positions, angles and pitches.
So you maybe get a 2-5% gain but can monitor each panel to see if it is working.
I cannot tell with my Tigo 2FA if all panels are producing or dead and bypassing.
I feel that my Panasonic panels are more efficient than my LG panels, but I can't tell for sure coz they are in different positions, angles and pitches.
So you maybe get a 2-5% gain but can monitor each panel to see if it is working.
I cannot tell with my Tigo 2FA if all panels are producing or dead and bypassing.
AZ Solar Junkie
Maricopa, AZ
I’m not sure that’s fair to say since the in simplest terms the optimizer is just measuring the output of the whole panel and allowing some of the current to bypass the panel if the panel is not allowing as much current to flow through as it could when performing optimally. Theoretically it should be measuring the amount of power it is allowing to bypass the panel as the energy saved. That’s the theory, anyway. There’s still a bit of a conflict of interest though eh - Tigo certainly has motivation for those energy saved numbers to be calculated in a way that’s in favor of how well their own system is working
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Zapper77
Renaissance Man (EG4 as of Jan 2025)
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Correct.There’s still a bit of a conflict of interest though eh - Tigo certainly has motivation for those energy saved numbers to be calculated in a way that’s in favor of how well their own system is working
Ersus
New Member
A long time passed, how did the testing go? I am trying to gather some information on the Tigo's.
He doesn't have optimizers. He has basic RSD modules. I don't know why he keeps chiming in about optimizers.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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No idea, I wasn't testing them.
Nobody ever reported back.
Ersus
New Member
Thanks for clearing that up, still would be interesting to know about the bypassing tests.
Ersus
New Member
Its late night.. i should not have replied this late i see... perhaps i re-read tomorrow
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