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EG4s are too pricey. Alternatives?

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slayer666

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I'm sure I'll get some Flack for this out of the rich guys but, here goes.
I had my mind all made up to go ahead and blow the money on an eg4 6000 XP but after I started adding up my loads, I think I'm going to need at least 10 or 12 KW. The 12,000 XP is $2,500 before tax! That is just more than I can handle. I'm trying to figure out a cheaper way to do this and still wind up with the something that will power my house and be reliable. The p o w m r is an alternative but, I don't know anything about them and I don't see that they have the reputation that eg4 does. I just think to myself that before eg4s came along, there had to be some way that people were doing it. I don't mind if I get an all-in-one or if I have to put together some parts and pieces or whatever. I would just like to get my needs met and be relatively worry-free. What have you guys done? I'm thinking about building my own batteries and I already have quite a few 540 watt solar panels and I have an opportunity to buy more relatively cheap. It's just the inverter or inverters if, I did it with two or more and the batteries are putting a temporary stop to my project. Any suggestions? Any deals that anybody knows of? Anything used that you guys might know works good and make me a good deal on? Just need some help. Thanks.
 
You dont want to go chinese garbage if its powering your fridge and freezer, computer ect

Space heaters, dc/dc chargers like laptops, wall worts ect all good with a garbage inverter.

EG4 is middle of the road. Back in the day people used middle of the road stuff.
 
Yeah, who'd have thought a device capable of powering your whole house for years, possibly decades, would be expensive. Definitely something you want to go as cheap and poor QA as possible on. Worst case scenario is it stops working? Nah, it burns your house down.

If you can't afford it, you should start modular and build it out over time.

Clearance – GROWATT LVM-ES SPF 3000TL 3kW 120V, 120 to 250V Solar Voltage, 48V Battery OPTIONAL (batteryless), up to 6 in parallel for single , split or 3 phase output -COLOR DISPLAY – Watts247 Affordable DIY Solar Power

watts247.com watts247.com
 
I paid ~$2300 for 2 ASPs delivered, 20kW AC output, 22kW PV input. I have just over 7MWh PV through the pair with 0 issues; they power my entire house.

SRNE and Growatt are 2 OEMs that come to mind quick.
I know SRNE has been around a bit longer than Lux Power and I think Growatt beats them both.
 
The E-W 5kW AIOs are stackable and you can occasionally get 2 on special for $1,000-$1,100. That would give you 10,000W split phase.
They are an SRNE re-badge, same as the PowMr.
 
BrianVeg said:
One of the nice things about the 6000XP is that you can scale it. Maybe plan for 2, but start with 1.

Just a thought
Click to expand...
I thought about that and liked the idea of it too until I looked at the XP 12 KW and it has more PV input and a couple of other features that the 6 KW ones don't and in the end you would wind up paying about 500 more dollars for the two 6 KW EG4s.
It might be something I'll have to do though (for the budget) and I don't know if I need all of the PV input the 12kw is capable of, anyway.
 
I don't know if I need all of the PV input the 12kw is capable of, anyway.
Click to expand...
24kW is quite a bit of PV. I’m doing okay with a 9.6kW array and still have room to add more to get to the 16kW that my dual 6000XP’s can handle.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to fill up 24kW worth of PV, I just don’t think I have the space for it.
 
I am not into the cheap stuff but if you can't afford better equipment then at least make sure you are buying from someone that will support the product. Worst thing you could do is buy a no name brand on Alibaba or eBay and have zero support.
I suggest you look at other sources like watts247.
Ian does not like headaches, so I am pretty sure that whatever he sells has a reasonable level of reliability.
He sells stuff at all the price levels.
 
robby said:
I am not into the cheap stuff but if you can't afford better equipment then at least make sure you are buying from someone that will support the product. Worst thing you could do is buy a no name brand on Alibaba or eBay and have zero support.
I suggest you look at other sources like watts247.
Ian does not like headaches, so I am pretty sure that whatever he sells has a reasonable level of reliability.
He sells stuff at all the price levels.
Click to expand...
Please don't construe this as argumentative, it's a question I'd like perspective on. I see on the daily the comments about having support, and it's something I don't understand. I've not needed any support with my equipment outside of what could be found on here or Google. Even the Victron kit I have, no real issues that couldn't be solved with a Google or a quick question to a sunny eggo. Why is support a selling point for people? The only place I see that being of any consequence is a unit that's DOA or fails within warranty. That's where I just elected to buy one extra and keep it for testing or a swap out while the other unit is RMAed or whatever it needs. From what I see on here daily, there's not a lot of vendor support that blows my kilt up.
 
SomethingAppropriate said:
You dont want to go chinese garbage if its powering your fridge and freezer, computer ect

Space heaters, dc/dc chargers like laptops, wall worts ect all good with a garbage inverter.

EG4 is middle of the road. Back in the day people used middle of the road stuff.
Click to expand...
EG4 is very close to garbage, other Low Frequency is much better.
 
agtcovert said:
Please don't construe this as argumentative, it's a question I'd like perspective on. I see on the daily the comments about having support, and it's something I don't understand. I've not needed any support with my equipment outside of what could be found on here or Google. Even the Victron kit I have, no real issues that couldn't be solved with a Google or a quick question to a sunny eggo. Why is support a selling point for people? The only place I see that being of any consequence is a unit that's DOA or fails within warranty. That's where I just elected to buy one extra and keep it for testing or a swap out while the other unit is RMAed or whatever it needs. From what I see on here daily, there's not a lot of vendor support that blows my kilt up.
Click to expand...
Warranty support by the manufacturer or seller is critical. Chances of getting Manufacturer warranty directly from China are near Zero, so for this kind of thing you can only rely on the Seller.
What happens when you finally hook up the product 3 months after you bought it and the thing does not work.
With Alibaba and eBay you are pretty much at the mercy of the seller a couple of weeks after the package arrives.

The whole buy two for the price of one may work in some situations but not in cases where the product itself is just poorly designed or has shitty firmware which is very common with most low end Chinese Inverters. What is the point of plugging in a second problematic Inverter to fix the first one?

You might have been able to find all of your answers on a Forum, but many people have had problems that require numerous tech support calls and days if not months of waiting. Really good support means that you can get someone competent on the phone that can solve an issue within hours or at the very least recognize within a reasonable time period that the problem is not fixable by the owner and therefore quickly gets an RMA going.
 
You have to remember what you're asking of an inverter. You're asking it to work, 24/7, for years. Not idle for years. actively supply electricity, work as an mppt, charge the battery, pull from the grid, the works. Day in and day out. For as long as you own it.

Are you going to get bored of solar in 2-3 years? Of are you hoping it will last 10+ years? This is a long term investment, not so much a hobby.
 
lets see

$1255 for my 2nd XW Pro 6800 watt 2 months ago (I bought my first one for $3495 3 years ago)
$500+ for conduit cabinet
$1300 for the PDP
$465 for InsightHome - actually the older Gateway
then you need a charge controller $1100 for a 100 amp DC (I bought 4 60 amp CCs for $490 each)


My first house inverter was a Trace SW 4024 - cost was $2400. 4000 watt 120v IN 2000
My MPPT controller was 24v and cost $550
1200 watts of panels was $5400
add in mounts, wire, etc

I did it as I wanted it. I built it over 2 years and then continued to add to it
but I did lay my dollars on the table somehow

you might look on ebay for older inverters for cheaper
 
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