IQ7 AC Coupled to Solark GEN

[ArthurEld]

I am finally getting around to adding 8 320W solar panels to my shed.
I plan to use Enphase IQ7 microinverters AC coupled to the GEN port on my Solark 12K.
I have 30 330W solar panels DC connected to the Solark.

I have a friend who is a solar installer who has a lot of experience with Enphase systems. But he has no experience with Solark
We are planning to use an Envoy board which I have no experience with.

Can someone please tell me if this will work?

Are there any instructions around about AC coupling IQ7s?

 

[DVD]

Are you sure the microinverters will even turn on without an AC source to synchronize with? My experience is very limited, however on the micro inverters I’ve tried, all shut down when AC is removed and will not turn on until AC is restored.

 

[Quattrohead]

It's called AC coupling and the inverter 'tricks' the IQ7 into running by providing the 'grid'

 

[DVD]

Thanks!

 

[CRenner]

If they are on the Gen port they would not see the grid.

 

[nuke]

At least on the 18kpv, there's basically two modes of operation when ac coupling is enabled:

On grid - where the grid and the gen are connected together. The 18kpv cannot control what the iq7s produce, and they either go to loads or back to the grid, sort of naively. This kind of doesn't matter because I never need to limit export below what the IQ7s can produce, and I can always force the 18kpv to use that power to charge the battery if I want.

Off grid - I haven't tested this as much, but ostensibly the 18kpv creates a microgrid on the gen input to trick the iq7s into coupling / providing power, which is entirely diverted to battery or load. Once the battery starts to fill up, it's supposed to start frequency shifting to reduce the output of the IQ7s.

FWIW, if you're getting an envoy, which I had mixed feelings about, you also have a few more options by setting the grid profile of your IQ7s to limit export based on data from the envoy's CTs. I am using my CTs as another data feed against my critical loads panel (kind of re-purposing them for this) because the envoy gives me nice per-second stats which I like.

 

[ArthurEld]

At least on the 18kpv, there's basically two modes of operation when ac coupling is enabled:

On grid - where the grid and the gen are connected together. The 18kpv cannot control what the iq7s produce, and they either go to loads or back to the grid, sort of naively. This kind of doesn't matter because I never need to limit export below what the IQ7s can produce, and I can always force the 18kpv to use that power to charge the battery if I want.

Off grid - I haven't tested this as much, but ostensibly the 18kpv creates a microgrid on the gen input to trick the iq7s into coupling / providing power, which is entirely diverted to battery or load. Once the battery starts to fill up, it's supposed to start frequency shifting to reduce the output of the IQ7s.

FWIW, if you're getting an envoy, which I had mixed feelings about, you also have a few more options by setting the grid profile of your IQ7s to limit export based on data from the envoy's CTs. I am using my CTs as another data feed against my critical loads panel (kind of re-purposing them for this) because the envoy gives me nice per-second stats which I like.

Thanks for the reply nuke.
Your setup sounds like what I was hoping for.

The Enphase setup including Envoy is expensive. But like you say, I will have better ways of monitoring the data.
I see a lot of talk about Hoymiles and I think they are quite a bit cheaper.
But since my friend knows Enphase, I will probably just go with the IQ7s.

There are so many ways to AC couple and of course I want to go the smartest way.
I keep seeing new ways of doing this stuff and eventually I always see a better way than what I did.

 

[Oldphile]

This video explains the Sol-Ark side of AC coupling.

 

[nuke]

Thanks for the reply nuke.
Your setup sounds like what I was hoping for.

The Enphase setup including Envoy is expensive. But like you say, I will have better ways of monitoring the data.
I see a lot of talk about Hoymiles and I think they are quite a bit cheaper.
But since my friend knows Enphase, I will probably just go with the IQ7s.

There are so many ways to AC couple and of course I want to go the smartest way.
I keep seeing new ways of doing this stuff and eventually I always see a better way than what I did.

You can also ignore the envoy, I think, and just literally wire them up to the sol-ark, for what it's worth. But the envoy allows you to change grid profiles and use the CTs etc.

 

[ArthurEld]

I have one Iq7 and I was thinking about just connecting that to a panel and direct to the GEN port to see what happens.

I also heard of people connecting 8 panels to the Hoymiles 4 into 1. That would be really cheap.

 

[Hedges]

If they are on the Gen port they would not see the grid.

What is called "Gen" port can be used for a traditional generator. Or it can be used for loads. Or it can be used for AC coupling GT PV. Different configuration options of SolArk.

One reason they do this is frequency shift takes time, but relay can be opened in milliseconds.

They recommend DC coupled PV being greater than AC coupled, can vary DC power harvesting as needed.

 

[Ampster]

I have IQ7s connected to the Gen port of my SolArk 12K and as @ArthurEld mentioned it is seamless when the grid is up. One of the benefits of doing it that way is that the SolArk will report production of the AC coupled micros.

 

[nuke]

I have IQ7s connected to the Gen port of my SolArk 12K and as @ArthurEld mentioned it is seamless when the grid is up. One of the benefits of doing it that way is that the SolArk will report production of the AC coupled micros.

Note to anyone else - this information is really annoying (impossible?) to derive from the 18kpv telemetry, so with the 18kpv you're almost forced to tap into the envoy telemetry. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough but it's not there in any of the basic feeds, and may be derived implicitly by the 18kpv software for the device LCD

 

[Ampster]

I don't know much about the SolArk telemetry, since I use Solar Assistant for data. I have a 12K and have not yet configured the external CTs. Therefore I use the consumption CTs on the Envoy and detailed data from an Emporia for any monitoring of consumption.

 

[nuke]

I don't know much about the SolArk telemetry, since I use Solar Assistant for data. I have a 12K and have not yet configured the external CTs. Therefore I use the consumption CTs on the Envoy and detailed data from an Emporia for any monitoring of consumption.

home assistant gang here

 

[wheisenburg]

You are on the right track. I have a 100% AC coupled system. I am normally am grid tied, but want to be able to use the system for emergency back up. In my case Enphase is setup as it normally would be for a full grid tied installation. I have the envoy and it is used as a combiner and monitoring box. It is coupled into the loads side. Schneider does not support connecting to the gen input.

Sol Arc uses Gen input is used to better manage PV output. They basically don't allow AC coupling when Off Grid with a high SOC. When configuring Sol Ark for AC coupling there is a screen where you set a low SOC and high SOC. They suggest 80% and 90%. When running in pass through mode the GEN relay is always on. When GRID is turned off Sol Ark manages the GEN relay. The GEN relay won't close until SOC reaches 80%, then it will stay closed until SOC reaches 90%. If you have enough DC coupled power to keep the batteries about 80%, the AC coupled panels will never turn on.

When running in pass through Sol Arc cannot manage the AC coupled power. If it exceeds the loads and batteries are full the power will be exported to the grid.