fromport
Solar Addict
LF with transformer or HF transformer-less?
Sol-Ark 12K + Enphase IQ8 microinverters
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timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
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I like HF. Less weight and usually more efficient.
Parallel several together, to handle starting surges.
This also provides redundancy.
Parallel several together, to handle starting surges.
This also provides redundancy.
If you invest in the heat pump, be sure to get a “soft start” option on it. Otherwise, Those heat pumps have very large locked rotor in rush at start up.
Good advice
Hey everyone!
I just wanted to introduce myself as I’m new to the forum! I’m a solar enthusiast up in Canada and am needing some assistance with my Enphase IQ8+ /Sol-Ark 12K system.
Summary of my system: 24 x Enphase IQ8+ microinverters paired with Qcells 400W G10+ modules which is AC coupled into the gen breaker on a Sol-Ark 12K. 48V storage system using 16 x Rolls 460aH AGM batteries for critical loads back up.
My issue: getting all 24 micros to consistently produce power when in off-grid mode. With the loss of grid power the gen breaker opens until the battery bank drains down to 93% which then the Sol-Ark will provide a 60Hz + 240V signal to turn the microinverters back on. Now my grid voltage is 237 volts and the Sol-Ark provides a 243-244V signal which I thought was a bit high. The Enphase micros set the grid profile to all 24 and struggle to turn on. It will repeat this cycle many times and is inconsistent with turning on the micros. I’m using the Enphase default grid profile IEEE1547 2015. I’ve been on the phone with both Sol-Ark and Enphase numerous times and they both claim it should work but also somewhat blame each other. When I switch back over to grid power, the micros turn on within 5 minutes no problem. For some reason it’s like they know the difference between grid and the Sol-Ark but the only thing I can see is the difference in voltage but this is still within the operating range of what Enphase claims to be fine. Is there another grid profile which is a bit more flexible from anyone’s experience? The Enphase techs see the error codes island detected, AC frequency out of range as well as AC voltage out of range. It’s all over the place and nothing is consistent. I’ve also tried ac coupling into the critical loads panel to test that way and same results. I prefer to use the gen breaker as it open up as an additional measure. An interesting test I’ve done to get the micros to all turn on one was starting up the micros when the battery bank is already below 93% and the Sol-Ark is providing its signal to my Enphase combiner box. Now this is obviously not a realistic situation but a test that shows they have all produced and charged the battery bank while off grid. I’m thinking it could be an Enphase grid profile issue but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
I just wanted to introduce myself as I’m new to the forum! I’m a solar enthusiast up in Canada and am needing some assistance with my Enphase IQ8+ /Sol-Ark 12K system.
Summary of my system: 24 x Enphase IQ8+ microinverters paired with Qcells 400W G10+ modules which is AC coupled into the gen breaker on a Sol-Ark 12K. 48V storage system using 16 x Rolls 460aH AGM batteries for critical loads back up.
My issue: getting all 24 micros to consistently produce power when in off-grid mode. With the loss of grid power the gen breaker opens until the battery bank drains down to 93% which then the Sol-Ark will provide a 60Hz + 240V signal to turn the microinverters back on. Now my grid voltage is 237 volts and the Sol-Ark provides a 243-244V signal which I thought was a bit high. The Enphase micros set the grid profile to all 24 and struggle to turn on. It will repeat this cycle many times and is inconsistent with turning on the micros. I’m using the Enphase default grid profile IEEE1547 2015. I’ve been on the phone with both Sol-Ark and Enphase numerous times and they both claim it should work but also somewhat blame each other. When I switch back over to grid power, the micros turn on within 5 minutes no problem. For some reason it’s like they know the difference between grid and the Sol-Ark but the only thing I can see is the difference in voltage but this is still within the operating range of what Enphase claims to be fine. Is there another grid profile which is a bit more flexible from anyone’s experience? The Enphase techs see the error codes island detected, AC frequency out of range as well as AC voltage out of range. It’s all over the place and nothing is consistent. I’ve also tried ac coupling into the critical loads panel to test that way and same results. I prefer to use the gen breaker as it open up as an additional measure. An interesting test I’ve done to get the micros to all turn on one was starting up the micros when the battery bank is already below 93% and the Sol-Ark is providing its signal to my Enphase combiner box. Now this is obviously not a realistic situation but a test that shows they have all produced and charged the battery bank while off grid. I’m thinking it could be an Enphase grid profile issue but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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Try DC coupling panels to Sol-Ark. Disable enough AC coupled microinverters that DC coupled PV output is greater than AC coupled at all times.
Would like it to work as you've configured, but maybe Sol-Ark doesn't work well as just an AC coupled battery. Other brands excel at that, but this is a hybrid inverter which also supports AC coupling. People have said that high-frequency inverters have difficult dealing with AC coupled PV, because they have to switch from sourcing to sinking power.
Try turning on enough AC loads to consume all AC coupled PV power, so SolArk always has to deliver some power.
Tell us how those two experiments go.
Would like it to work as you've configured, but maybe Sol-Ark doesn't work well as just an AC coupled battery. Other brands excel at that, but this is a hybrid inverter which also supports AC coupling. People have said that high-frequency inverters have difficult dealing with AC coupled PV, because they have to switch from sourcing to sinking power.
Try turning on enough AC loads to consume all AC coupled PV power, so SolArk always has to deliver some power.
Tell us how those two experiments go.
Good suggestions, I’ve had it where the full ac coupled array has been producing much less than the current consumption ex. 1kW of production, 5kW of consumption. Almost just considering adding some more modules and DC coupling those for the purpose of charging the battery bank and moving the AC coupled solar out of the Sol-Ark and into the main panel.. Like you say could be something to do with the frequency, the Sol-Ark outputs something out of spec of what Enphase is looking for even though the Sol-Ark says it’s at 60Hz. Not sure if it’s worth mentioning but Sol-Ark told me they’re sending out a new motherboard to replace in my 12K, essentially they said try it out and see what happens. Hmm.
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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You should be able to keep AC coupled on sol-ark. The DC coupled would be more than just charging battery, could also supply AC to loads and to grid. With enough DC, it may work with the AC coupled as well.
Places like SanTan sometimes have irresistible prices for PV panels.
You probably need RSD for them, unless ground-mount.
Places like SanTan sometimes have irresistible prices for PV panels.
You probably need RSD for them, unless ground-mount.
I assume SolArk frequency shifts the output as well as "Generator" to throttle the microinverters in the grid-down scenario. Has anybody had issues with UPSs downstream? I'm specifically looking at 33 Enphase M215's with a 15k, but this thread seems to be the best spot to ask.
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Transition is occurring at this very moment so soon you will have one less complaint.
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
My understanding is M215s are mostly plain vanilla UL1741 and only capable of on or off function. What that means is they cannot modulate with frequency like 1741SA compliant GT inverters can. I do not know if some M215s were upgradable to UL1741SA. If they are not upgradeable, my only advice is to have some DC coupled solar to allow some flexibility for the algorithm to modulate power during grid down situations when loads fluctuate.
I think I get that. I guess functionally it really comes down to how tight I can get the V/F settings on the Enphase to be and still be functional without constantly tripping the UPSs offline.
The enphase profile to use is CA Rule21 201902 VV VW FW (1.2.8)
See this support page from enphase: https://www4.enphase.com/en-us/ca-r...04.624524305.1672386169-1814365819.1671431640
See this support page from enphase: https://www4.enphase.com/en-us/ca-r...04.624524305.1672386169-1814365819.1671431640
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
Good suggestion if his M215 are UL1741SA compliant. If not, the only thing I can think of to keep his UPSs from tripping is some DC coupled solar to allow his SolArk to ride through a significant event and to continue to power the UPSs without interruption..One thing some people have tried is to raise the frequency in which the UPS trips but not all UPSs are programmable. Lots of batteries may also help but no guarantees..
fromport
Solar Addict
From that page:
Certified hardware
All IQ 7-series microinverters are certified for Rule 21 requirements taking effect on June 22, 2020. New IQ 6-series microinverter installations will not be compliant under June 22, 2020 requirements, but existing IQ 6-series systems are compliant under the previous ruling. (Similarly, new S-series microinverter installations will not be compliant under June 22, 2020 requirements, but existing S-series systems are compliant under the previous ruling.) Visit the CEC website here for a simplified listing of compliant products. Certificates of compliance can be found at the following links:
UL Certification (1741 SA): IQ 7, IQ 7+, IQ 7X, IQ 7A and IQ 7PD
UL Certification (1741 SA): IQ 6 and IQ 6+
They are not, only IQ* series are.
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Performed a couple more tests with no success. While leaving the micro inverters completely AC coupled to the Sol-Ark and had sufficient amount of AC load (between 3-4kW), the micro inverters still struggled to turn on. I have attached a photo of the Enphase high res data. Using an Enphase grid profile that allowed the micros to come back on quickly (5 or 10s compared to 300s, I believe it was off-grid fw83 or something like that) you can see the production spikes up to between 1-2kW and then the micros turn off instantly, there was more than enough consumption so the solar had enough load to go to if need be. At this point the batteries were drained down to about 80% and could easily take a charge from the solar. There was only one time where the solar production was holding steady and was charging the batteries as well as supplying the loads but only for a few minutes, while it was doing this the solar production was low 600-800W and I had most of the loads turned off to verify if the solar would charge the batteries and it did..briefly. As solar production increased (upwards of 2kW) it had an even harder time turning on and I did not witness any solar production charging the batteries steadily, it would still blip on and off on and off. It seems Enphase does not like something such as the frequency from the Sol-Ark which I know has been discussed (free running frequency or wobble) but on the Sol-Ark and Enphase data it shows 60hz and acceptable voltage on both line 1 and 2. I think my next course of action will be removing one string of micro's and dc coupling that string I just need some decent weather to do that. As of right now I would not suggest pairing these two. Enphase may look into getting a grid profile developed but I don't even know if that would work as the grid profile I tried the other day had pretty wide open parameters for frequency, voltage, islanding etc... It sucks because I'm sure many people will want to try this setup as it just doesn't make sense to use Enphase batteries for all types of situations...
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Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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I think people successfully couple Enphase with some other battery inverters. Schneider (low frequency), Skybox (high frequency).
Here's one who used Skybox before and SolArk now, so it appears SolArk works too.
diysolarforum.com
Don't know the differences, but it seems some configurations are working and some aren't.
Here's one who used Skybox before and SolArk now, so it appears SolArk works too.
My SolArk 12k install with Enphase Micros
I had previously reported on my Outback Skybox install with a 7kW Enphase micro GT system.. I recently evaluated my needs and the easiest way for me to add incremental capacity is with micros on my west facing roof pitches. For a couple of reasons I decided to upgrade to a SolArk 12k which in...
diysolarforum.com
Don't know the differences, but it seems some configurations are working and some aren't.
Yes very inconsistent, it would be great to see if his AC coupled solar and DC coupled would charge the batteries at the same time such as 4-5kW of solar going into the batteries as well as feeding some loads.I think people successfully couple Enphase with some other battery inverters. Schneider (low frequency), Skybox (high frequency).
Here's one who used Skybox before and SolArk now, so it appears SolArk works too.
My SolArk 12k install with Enphase Micros
I had previously reported on my Outback Skybox install with a 7kW Enphase micro GT system.. I recently evaluated my needs and the easiest way for me to add incremental capacity is with micros on my west facing roof pitches. For a couple of reasons I decided to upgrade to a SolArk 12k which in...
Don't know the differences, but it seems some configurations are working and some aren't.
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