Loaded question about inverters....

[Scott Off Grid]

Because I have no personal experience with inverters I thought I would pose the question, what are the pros and cons between the SOL-ARK 15K (3 in parallel) and the chinesium 6500 AIO (6 in parallel). PV and batteries will be the same and system will be off grid no grid tie. I am trying to decide which direction to go and it is a tough decision. Any advise will help with my decision.

 

[Adam De Lay]

Well, I have no direct interaction with Sol-Arks so I can only speak to what I have read and heard. I do have a pair of 6500s though which I can relate to. Off the top of my head…

Sol-Ark
Pros

• The have a much larger capacitor bank inside them to help handle potential voltage swings
• Seem to work natively with generators
• You need less hardware for more output
• Built in disconnects
• Less wiring because I believe you can just wire them directly into your MSP without pushing power back to grid (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong)
• 70w idle consumption (each inverter)
• Up to 19kw PV (each inverter)

Cons

• Pricey
• Heavy
• I believe even though they’re rated at 15k, there’s specific criteria that have to be met in order to get that for reading. I believe you can only get 15k of output with PV added in, otherwise you can output only 12k.

6500s
Pros

• Cheaper
• At night you can get more output power from 1 pair of 6500s that you can from 1 Sol-Ark (13kw vs 12kw)

Cons

• Putting 6 in a pair would require a bit of wiring
• Support is sometimes hard to get answers from
• 80w+ idle consumption (each inverter)

 

[400bird]

• 80w+ idle consumption

Each!
So with 6 in use you'll burn 12kWh per day just for power to exist.

 

[Adam De Lay]

Each!
So with 6 in use you'll burn 12kWh per day just for power to exist.

Good call! I updated my original comment.

 

[Adam De Lay]

Can't say I know anyone that would choose 6, 6500s over a couple Sol-Arks. I see more comments about people switching from the 6500s to the Sol-Arks.

 

[RCinFLA]

Both are HF inverters. SolArk is a bit higher quality. It has a large bank of HV DC capacitors that allows for features not possible on 6500 units.

Main feature is load shaving which requires near immediate battery power flow direction shift from charging to AC output supplementing.

If you really want load shaving, and once you have it you will always want it, you are better off with a low frequency inverter that has load shaving. A LF hybrid inverter is inherently bi-directional so it is much easier for it to implement load shaving. It must have some extra AC current sensing points and the firmware to manage the load shaving.

Easiest way to tell if inverter has load shaving is if it has a user setting for maximum AC input current draw. It really is helpful if you run from a generator for AC input by keeping inverter load limit to capability of generator and allowing battery to supplement generator power to get higher peak AC output power from inverter than generator or inverter is capable of individually.

Load shaving also allows available AC input power to be automatically managed between charging battery and AC output pass-through. It backs down charging power when AC output load is greater to stay within max AC input current setting.

Xantrex calls the AC input user setting 'AC breaker amps'. I hate their naming. Victron does the best job on load shaving. The have an added feature called dynamic load shaving which starts inverter supplementing as soon as it sees a sharp rising increase in AC output current. This gives a jump on covering surge loads like AC motor startup surge currents instead of waiting until AC input limit reaches maximum set limit before supplementing with inverter battery power.

 

[Danke]

Because I have no personal experience with inverters I thought I would pose the question, what are the pros and cons between the SOL-ARK 15K (3 in parallel) and the chinesium 6500 AIO (6 in parallel). PV and batteries will be the same and system will be off grid no grid tie. I am trying to decide which direction to go and it is a tough decision. Any advice will help with my decision.

If off grid and you don’t need inspection for UL listed equipment. Might look at Deye 16K as an alternate to the Sol-Ark 15K.

 

[ChrisG]

If off grid and you don’t need inspection for UL listed equipment. Might look at Deye 16K as an alternate to the Sol-Ark 15K.

Isn’t that only 240v, not split phase?

 

[Danke]

Isn’t that only 240v, not split phase?

Correct. Need a transformer like: https://signaturesolar.com/growatt-11-4k-split-phase-transformer-ats-11400t-us/

Here is one member‘s project:

Unboxing of Deye 16K Hybrid Inverter

I've ิbeen busy past few weeks. I haven't had much time to play with the inverter. But with the $5,000 saving, I afforded myself these 30Kwh EG4 batteries with a nice looking rack. I attached the inverter to the rack, making it a mobile unit. Everything seems to work so far, haven't tested AC...

diysolarforum.com

 

[Scott Off Grid]

Both are HF inverters. SolArk is a bit higher quality. It has a large bank of HV DC capacitors that allows for features not possible on 6500 units.

Main feature is load shaving which requires near immediate battery power flow direction shift from charging to AC output supplementing.

If you really want load shaving, and once you have it you will always want it, you are better off with a low frequency inverter that has load shaving. A LF hybrid inverter is inherently bi-directional so it is much easier for it to implement load shaving. It must have some extra AC current sensing points and the firmware to manage the load shaving.

Easiest way to tell if inverter has load shaving is if it has a user setting for maximum AC input current draw. It really is helpful if you run from a generator for AC input by keeping inverter load limit to capability of generator and allowing battery to supplement generator power to get higher peak AC output power from inverter than generator or inverter is capable of individually.

Load shaving also allows available AC input power to be automatically managed between charging battery and AC output pass-through. It backs down charging power when AC output load is greater to stay within max AC input current setting.

Xantrex calls the AC input user setting 'AC breaker amps'. I hate their naming. Victron does the best job on load shaving. The have an added feature called dynamic load shaving which starts inverter supplementing as soon as it sees a sharp rising increase in AC output current. This gives a jump on covering surge loads like AC motor startup surge currents instead of waiting until AC input limit reaches maximum set limit before supplementing with inverter battery power.

I've never heard of load shaving, does that happen when connected to the grid?

 

[RCinFLA]

I've never heard of load shaving, does that happen when connected to the grid?

Yes it can. Very useful when an RV park only has 20A or 30A outlets and you need more peak power to run all the RV stuff like air conditioner plus other loads.

 

[Batronca]

Luxpower 12k = sol ark 15k but a lot of cheaper .

​

 

[houseofancients]

Luxpower 12k = sol ark 15k but a lot of cheaper .

​

it is certainly NOT

Deye = Sunsynk = Sol-Ark

Luxpower, EG4 8k and Megarevo are different devices with a very different level of maturity