Sol-Ark response to reports of Deye inverters shutting down

[SolarPowerSimon]

Good day everyone, my name is Simon McLean and I work as VP of Marketing at Sol-Ark. I have the following response to the reports which came up over the week-end.

Sol-Ark has learned of the situation caused by the unauthorized sales of Deye-branded inverters within Puerto Rico and the USA. Though Sol-Ark has no control over Deye’s actions, we recognize that the messaging conveyed through the Deye-branded inverter’s screen suggests Sol-Ark can provide warranty or service for these cases, which we cannot. Though we are not responsible for Deye-branded inverters or any inverters that are not branded and sold by Sol-Ark or through an authorized Sol-Ark distributor or reseller, Sol-Ark has determined to offer a possible solution to those consumer households that have purchased Deye-branded inverters.

Sol-Ark’s mission, as a veteran-owned company created 12 years ago, is to enable the most reliable, innovative, and affordable energy storage solutions to power families and businesses. Because of this mission and the direct effect that Deye’s actions may have on individual families, for the period from November 15, 2024 through December 31, 2024, Sol-Ark will permit each consumer household that has installed a Deye-branded inverter and has had that inverter’s functions disabled by Deye, to purchase a new Sol-Ark inverter of equivalent performance at a substantially discounted price. If you purchase a Sol-Ark inverter under this limited program, Sol-Ark will pay to have the Sol-Ark unit shipped to your address in Puerto Rico. Sol-Ark will not make this offer available to any person after December 31, 2024. The offer is limited to consumer households and is not being made available to commercial entities or for installation at commercial facilities (only residential locations). Sol-Ark will not be responsible, and will not pay, for any costs related to installation of the Sol-Ark inverter, removal of any Deye inverter or for any damage that may have been caused by the Deye inverter or Deye’s actions.

To take advantage of this offer, the homeowner should take a photo of the serial number and model number of their Deye inverter and then contact Adriana Navarro of Sol-Ark at +1 (214) 919-1632 to initiate the process during normal business hours between 8 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time Monday through Friday. Sol-Ark will retain the full right and discretion to make final determinations regarding the availability of this program and the terms under which it operates.

 

[SeaGal]

Well, that sorts out everyone's problems then!

 

[timselectric]

And now, we have the second part of the plan.

 

[wpns]

Puerto Rico

Why only PR?

 

[timselectric]

Why only PR?

It's just phase one of the master plan.

 

[wpns]

Good day everyone, my name is Simon McLean and I work as VP of Marketing at Sol-Ark.

Hi Simon,

Can you speak to how this happened? Can you tell us if, for instance, Sol-Ark's actions or legal threats forced Deye to disable inverters in areas they were not officially sold into?

There's just enough wiggle room in the statements I've seen attributed to Sol-Ark that it's unclear what happened here, between two businesses that apparently have a close relationship.

[Note: I don't have a dog in this fight, but I find the whole thing disconcerting and mysterious enough to make me avoid (recommending) hardware from either of your companies until there's a lot more clarity about what happened, how it happened, and what solutions you both have implemented to prevent a recurrence.]

 

[42OhmsPA]

Thinking out loud here, feel free to tell me if I'm wrong and/or nuke this post.

If Sol-Ark actually wrote the firmware for their Deye labeled inverters wouldn't they have coders and engineers with a deep and thorough understanding of it?
With that understanding shouldn't they be able to help the customers that are without power now get their units back online until a replacement unit that isn't "territory locked" is purchased, delivered and installed?

 

[wpns]

Thinking out loud here, feel free to tell me if I'm wrong and/or nuke this post.

If Sol-Ark actually wrote the firmware for their Deye labeled inverters wouldn't they have coders and engineers with a deep and thorough understanding of it?
With that understanding shouldn't they be able to help the customers that are without power now get their units back online until a replacement unit that isn't "territory locked" is purchased, delivered and installed?

Just curious: Why do you think Sol-Ark wrote their own firmware? AFAICT Sol-Ark is just rebadged Deye, with possibly some firmware branding customization.

 

[van-traveler86]

https://signaturesolar.com/TRADE-IN this is a better option for anyone affected with this situation, what deye/solark did to these customers is the same thing solark can do to you simply shut down your system for any internal fight they have with their supplier or whatever reason they want, this is crazy.

 

[Q-Dog]

I'm glad that's all cleared up. Now we can go back to whatever it is we normally do.

 

[timselectric]

Thinking out loud here, feel free to tell me if I'm wrong and/or nuke this post.

If Sol-Ark actually wrote the firmware for their Deye labeled inverters wouldn't they have coders and engineers with a deep and thorough understanding of it?
With that understanding shouldn't they be able to help the customers that are without power now get their units back online until a replacement unit that isn't "territory locked" is purchased, delivered and installed?

They didn't, and they can't.
But even if they could, they wouldn't.

 

[myles]

This just keeps getting more fun!! I can only imagine the strained relationship between Deye and solark and all the other brand names. I'm surprised no one has blamed Trump yet!

Also Simon, I own a solark 15k, my trust in your brand names is severely tarnished, and although my product has been reliable and i;ve installed others reliably, it leads me to believe that I won't recommend your brand in the future unless we get some SERIOUS transparency here. My dongle port is going to get a sticker that says never plug anything in here

 

[42OhmsPA]

Just curious: Why do you think Sol-Ark wrote their own firmware? AFAICT Sol-Ark is just rebadged Deye, with possibly some firmware branding customization.

Honestly I don't but it sure sounds like a complex energy solution that requires some innovation to resolve.

 

[cs1234]

This just keeps getting more fun!! I can only imagine the strained relationship between Deye and solark and all the other brand names. I'm surprised no one has blamed Trump yet!

Trump has emboldened them all, bigly!

 

[rogerheflin]

I don't know about this specific case.

But typically "OEM"'s in other markets (think HPE/Dell) who sell their own branded boards/parts/disks under their brand (that are say made by Seagate/Broadcom/WesternDigital and such) do not get the tools, documentation and training to adjust the firmware (much less make serious changes) from the real manufacturer. All firmware adjustments are done by the actual manufacturer at the distributors requests. And often the distributor's "experts" have zero idea what the manufacturer is doing, nor has a even a basic understanding of how the board acts and/or should act. I know I have talked to those "experts" at several OEM and spent weeks, and eventually got them to escalate to the manufacturer who solved the issue in under an hour. I would not expect any actual manufacturer to deliver the programming/firmware tools to anyone that has not put a significant amount of cash/partnership into their business.

Now most of the "OEM"'s want you to believe that they are the originator of everything and that they are the expert, but often I have found that is not the case.

I would expect Deye to have customized the firmware for Sol-Ark and Sol-Ark to have never seen the actual code that creates the firmware. I would expect the exact same thing between EG4 and Luxpower.

 

[chicagoandy]

Good day everyone, my name is Simon McLean and I work as VP of Marketing at Sol-Ark. I have the following response to the reports which came up over the week-end.

I own a SolArk 15K. I feel like I'm watching a slow-moving train-wreck. Ya'll are a bunch of clowns.

 

[Praisethesun]

Good day everyone, my name is Simon McLean and I work as VP of Marketing at Sol-Ark. I have the following response to the reports which came up over the week-end.

Sol-Ark has learned of the situation caused by the unauthorized sales of Deye-branded inverters within Puerto Rico and the USA. Though Sol-Ark has no control over Deye’s actions, we recognize that the messaging conveyed through the Deye-branded inverter’s screen suggests Sol-Ark can provide warranty or service for these cases, which we cannot. Though we are not responsible for Deye-branded inverters or any inverters that are not branded and sold by Sol-Ark or through an authorized Sol-Ark distributor or reseller, Sol-Ark has determined to offer a possible solution to those consumer households that have purchased Deye-branded inverters.

Sol-Ark’s mission, as a veteran-owned company created 12 years ago, is to enable the most reliable, innovative, and affordable energy storage solutions to power families and businesses. Because of this mission and the direct effect that Deye’s actions may have on individual families, for the period from November 15, 2024 through December 31, 2024, Sol-Ark will permit each consumer household that has installed a Deye-branded inverter and has had that inverter’s functions disabled by Deye, to purchase a new Sol-Ark inverter of equivalent performance at a substantially discounted price. If you purchase a Sol-Ark inverter under this limited program, Sol-Ark will pay to have the Sol-Ark unit shipped to your address in Puerto Rico. Sol-Ark will not make this offer available to any person after December 31, 2024. The offer is limited to consumer households and is not being made available to commercial entities or for installation at commercial facilities (only residential locations). Sol-Ark will not be responsible, and will not pay, for any costs related to installation of the Sol-Ark inverter, removal of any Deye inverter or for any damage that may have been caused by the Deye inverter or Deye’s actions.

To take advantage of this offer, the homeowner should take a photo of the serial number and model number of their Deye inverter and then contact Adriana Navarro of Sol-Ark at +1 (214) 919-1632 to initiate the process during normal business hours between 8 AM and 5 PM Eastern Standard Time Monday through Friday. Sol-Ark will retain the full right and discretion to make final determinations regarding the availability of this program and the terms under which it operates.

 

[cs1234]

I own a SolArk 15K. I feel like I'm watching a slow-moving train-wreck. Ya'll are a bunch of clowns.

That's a well crafted message, are you in politics? I'm not sure if you're insulting those of us that are outraged by what Deye did, or if you are insulting Sol-Ark and Deye.

edit.. leaning towards the latter.. but I've been hurt before.

 

[Bluedog225]

This just keeps getting more fun!! I can only imagine the strained relationship between Deye and solark and all the other brand names. I'm surprised no one has blamed Trump yet!

Also Simon, I own a solark 15k, my trust in your brand names is severely tarnished, and although my product has been reliable and i;ve installed others reliably, it leads me to believe that I won't recommend your brand in the future unless we get some SERIOUS transparency here. My dongle port is going to get a sticker that says never plug anything in here

Maybe a tattoo?

 

[myles]

 

[chicagoandy]

That's a well crafted message, are you in politics? I'm not sure if you're insulting those of us that are outraged by what Deye did, or if you are insulting Sol-Ark and Deye.

edit.. leaning towards the latter.. but I've been hurt before.

My reply was to Simon, and the categorization includes their supplier.

 

[marionw]

I don't know about this specific case.

But typically "OEM"'s in other markets (think HPE/Dell) who sell their own branded boards/parts/disks under their brand (that are say made by Seagate/Broadcom/WesternDigital and such) do not get the tools, documentation and training to adjust the firmware (much less make serious changes) from the real manufacturer. All firmware adjustments are done by the actual manufacturer at the distributors requests. And often the distributor's "experts" have zero idea what the manufacturer is doing, nor has a even a basic understanding of how the board acts and/or should act. I know I have talked to those "experts" at several OEM and spent weeks, and eventually got them to escalate to the manufacturer who solved the issue in under an hour. I would not expect any actual manufacturer to deliver the programming/firmware tools to anyone that has not put a significant amount of cash/partnership into their business.

Now most of the "OEM"'s want you to believe that they are the originator of everything and that they are the expert, but often I have found that is not the case.

I would expect Deye to have customized the firmware for Sol-Ark and Sol-Ark to have never seen the actual code that creates the firmware. I would expect the exact same thing between EG4 and Luxpower.

Actually the OEM does. Dell for example purchases hard drives from several manufactures and then "brands" a portion the hard drive firmware so that the Dell server recognizes the hard drive as "Dell" (or not). This does not preclude the hard drive from working in a Dell server however it does allow Dell diagnostics to recognize "non Dell" hardware which can be used to refuse "Dell Warranty Service"

 

[myles]

My reply was to Simon, and the categorization includes their supplier.

I Ditto this response to @SolarPowerSimon

Trainwreck. Clowns. In bed with too many people, or the wrong people....well you reap what you sow

 

[robby]

I am not worried about my Sol-Ark Inverter shutting down, it's connected to their system right now.
We all saw the post with people bragging about how they had gotten a Grey Market Deye Inverter for half the price.
You take your chances when it comes to buying Grey Market products. Sometimes it works out and other times you get screwed.
Personal responsibility for one's actions is sadly no longer a thing. People gotta blame someone and since Deye is all the way in China and does not give a crap, people will blame Sol-Ark.

 

[Partimewages]

That's a well crafted message, are you in politics? I'm not sure if you're insulting those of us that are outraged by what Deye did, or if you are insulting Sol-Ark and Deye.

edit.. leaning towards the latter.. but I've been hurt before.

Marketing! Same thing