I have a enphase IQ7+ based installation. I wanted to add a SolArk in order to provide off line backup capability and to tie in some LiFePo4 generic batteries. (also doubling my solar at the same time) At nearly $1,000 per KWHr the Enphase battery products are just out of the ball park especially if you are looking for backup for several days. i.e. 70 KWHr. Its $70,000 compared to $10,000. So if you do that comparison the cost savings are not in "just" replacing the Enphase smart switch.I do not have a SolArk and have always been confused why SolArk recommends to wire AC coupled inverters directly to the Generator port. That is inconsistent with how my Outback Skybox uses the bidirectional AC out port to the Critical Load panel and the AC coupled inverter(s) to the CLP. I recently saw an explanation that was purely anecdotal that said the reason the SolArk prefers to AC couple through the Generator port is that allows them to use the Generator port relay to open the connection if the SolArk cannot ramp down the AC coupled inverter(s} fast enough. That seems like a klunky solution.
If that is the case, it would be a limitation of the SolArk in terms of being able to AC couple and use a generator, More importantly is suggests to me that the algorithm that SolArk uses for AC coupling is limited in functionality.
I spent a lot of time on the phone with SolArk customer support as well as a lot of emails. Here is what I learned. The SolArk solution to the AC coupled microinverters is all on or all off. There is NO throttling of the output even though the micro-inverters are capable of doing so. Therfor they HIGHLY advise that the DC coupled solar be approximately equal to or greater than the AC coupled solar. That way they can use the DC coupled solar to throttle up and down since it runs through the MPPT in the SolArk. If they run out of that flexibility or do not have it, under numerous scenarios, they will just turn off the AC coupled micro-inverters. That can mean a lot of lost solar power.
Regarding the AC coupling, based on their manual, that can be done through the generator port or can be done through the Aux panel. The problem with that is if you do run your AC coupling through the Aux port then, according to them, you CAN NOT use the generator! So that really sucks, so I spent some time pushing back trying to figure out why they would not allow this. At the end of all the conversations they just said that due to the internal electronics and actions in the SolArk there are conditions where current can be fed back into the generator resulting in catastrophic failure of the generator and/or the SolArk.
The only7 alternative that I could see was if you want to run a generator AND your AC coupled solar you may have to buy a separate charger that runs exclusively off your generator to charge your batteries. This does not help running your house directly from the generator energy but if you look at the system it is not a bad option. The big problem is that it adds money to the solution when you have a perfectly capable charger going to waste in the SolArk.
For my case this may actually work out well but for others maybe not so much.