SunGoldPower and EG4 Inverters made by the same company??

[Dave911]

I was watching one of many Youtube videos regarding solar power. There is a lot to learn about all of the equipment and I am trying to pick out a decent Hybrid Inverter. The guy in the video mentioned that he believed that the SunGoldPower and EG4 units were made by the same company and some of them do look similar.

Is this true? They both look like a decent balance between cost and features. They seem to be a cut above Growatt. Or am I wrong. My wife says I'm frequently wrong. ;-)

Dave

 

[42OhmsPA]

Most of them are all made by Voltronic, others SRNE, Lux Power and Megarevo.
I'm sure I'm missing some.

No Faith Or Trust In the EG4 6500 EX. Looking For Recommendations.

Go with Schneider. A single 6848 is superior to a Sol-Ark 12k. My XW+ has been on for 6 years now, with one single planned shutdown when I laid tile on the utility room floor. That was three years ago.

diysolarforum.com

Luxpower, EG4, and Solark Inverters: A Curious Price & Feature Comparison?

Hey Solar Buffs! ? I've been peeking into different inverters and noticed something curious about Luxpower, EG4, and Solark inverters. Luxpower and EG4 seem quite similar in features and design - almost like they could be the same product! ? Has anyone else noticed these similarities? ?...

diysolarforum.com

 

[timselectric]

There's only a handful of manufacturers.
And if a distributor agrees to buy enough units, they can have their name on them.

 

[Dave911]

Do any of the actual manufacturers have real repair and support facilities in the US, or is it all China, Taiwan, etc
Like where they answer the phone, provide tech support, provide local stock of boards and components for their inverters?
Or is that handled by the distributor? I mean actual repairs, diagnostics, etc.

Tim, how do you like your Growatt SPF-5000's ??

 

[Dave911]

I just watched a Youtube video on the Growatt SPF 5000-ES here:

The guy gave a 18 month review and in the comments this was said:
>>say, "It's not Signature Solar's fault. It's EG4...." But there are two problems with this. First, Signature Solar and EG4 are effectively the same company, founded and owned by the same guy. Second, Signature Solar's customer "support" is spotty at best and usually inaccurate. Their go-to "support" is to blame your cabling or configuration until you can prove to them that these are not the problem, at which point, in my months of experience, they just go dark. In short, they are churning out product with massive problems, they are not adequately supporting this churn, and as a result customers are spending (often) TENS of thousands of dollars to have systems that are NOT reliable and NOT suitable for whole-house usage.Frankly, I've come to despise SS/EG4 at this point, and I would STRONGLY recommend against them (well, really, "it").I'm glad you're happy with your setup, but that's a credit to Growatt rather than SS/EG4.<<

I was wondering if Signature Solar and EG4 was connected. Apparently so? Their support doesn't seem very good from what I have read. Well, it seems to be ok up to a point, and then they oftentimes go dark from what I have read.
Can Growatt unit be purchased direct from Growatt ?? Also, I have heard that PowMr is a different Growatt brand. Any reason to buy one or the other? The SunPowerGold seems to be ok as well. But I haven't found any brand that is "stand out excellent" unless you want to pay 2x the Growatt price. If I can go with multiple inverters and keep one as a spare for swap out, or simply oversize the system so one failure doesn't create a mess, that seems to be better than waiting for weeks for something to be repaired. I have yet to see anyone say that their inverter broke, they sent it back, and it was fixed and returned in 7 days. Repairs seem to take weeks.

 

[timselectric]

Or is that handled by the distributor?

Mostly

Tim, how do you like your Growatt SPF-5000's ??

Very satisfied.
And haven't seen anything else, yet.
That could do what I wanted. For anywhere close to the price.
But, my system is not for the novice diy'er. (In North America)
You have to know what you are doing.

 

[SignatureSolarJames]

I just watched a Youtube video on the Growatt SPF 5000-ES here:

The guy gave a 18 month review and in the comments this was said:
>>say, "It's not Signature Solar's fault. It's EG4...." But there are two problems with this. First, Signature Solar and EG4 are effectively the same company, founded and owned by the same guy. Second, Signature Solar's customer "support" is spotty at best and usually inaccurate. Their go-to "support" is to blame your cabling or configuration until you can prove to them that these are not the problem, at which point, in my months of experience, they just go dark. In short, they are churning out product with massive problems, they are not adequately supporting this churn, and as a result customers are spending (often) TENS of thousands of dollars to have systems that are NOT reliable and NOT suitable for whole-house usage.Frankly, I've come to despise SS/EG4 at this point, and I would STRONGLY recommend against them (well, really, "it").I'm glad you're happy with your setup, but that's a credit to Growatt rather than SS/EG4.<<

I was wondering if Signature Solar and EG4 was connected. Apparently so? Their support doesn't seem very good from what I have read. Well, it seems to be ok up to a point, and then they oftentimes go dark from what I have read.
Can Growatt unit be purchased direct from Growatt ?? Also, I have heard that PowMr is a different Growatt brand. Any reason to buy one or the other? The SunPowerGold seems to be ok as well. But I haven't found any brand that is "stand out excellent" unless you want to pay 2x the Growatt price. If I can go with multiple inverters and keep one as a spare for swap out, or simply oversize the system so one failure doesn't create a mess, that seems to be better than waiting for weeks for something to be repaired. I have yet to see anyone say that their inverter broke, they sent it back, and it was fixed and returned in 7 days. Repairs seem to take weeks.

SS provides tech support for both, It is why Growatt has any service on their off grid line in the first place for DIYers.

we service over 400 customers a day, mostly just reading manuals and helping them get the resources and support to run their systems

Here is a report from an 18kpv customer over the last few months

My 18K PV Experience (Part 1)

Before I get into my experience of the 18K PV inverter, I owe this community a debt of gratitude. I started this DIY solar journey back in Jan of 2022. At the time, I didn’t even know what an ampere hour, KWh or BMS was. It was because of this community and some persons on YT like Will, Andy...

diysolarforum.com

 

[timselectric]

18k pv

 

[Dave911]

SS provides tech support for both, It is why Growatt has any service on their off grid line in the first place for DIYers.

we service over 400 customers a day, mostly just reading manuals and helping them get the resources and support to run their systems

Here is a report from an 18kpv customer over the last few months

My 18K PV Experience (Part 1)

Before I get into my experience of the 18K PV inverter, I owe this community a debt of gratitude. I started this DIY solar journey back in Jan of 2022. At the time, I didn’t even know what an ampere hour, KWh or BMS was. It was because of this community and some persons on YT like Will, Andy...

diysolarforum.com

Hi James,
As mentioned, I have read about several "blackeyes" Signature Solar has collected. How do you account for these reports? Growing pains, or uneducated or unreasonable customers? (I know they exist!) I've been involved in the sales and purchase of industrial and commercial electrical equipment for 30+ years, having worked in in the technical support and sales end of the business. Now I am mostly an advisor, buyer and installer/programmer.
Tech support and sales can be very challenging. I was very good at both, buy my stress level is much lower in my current role.

 

[G00SE]

SS provides tech support for both, It is why Growatt has any service on their off grid line in the first place for DIYers.

we service over 400 customers a day, mostly just reading manuals and helping them get the resources and support to run their systems

Here is a report from an 18kpv customer over the last few months

My 18K PV Experience (Part 1)

Before I get into my experience of the 18K PV inverter, I owe this community a debt of gratitude. I started this DIY solar journey back in Jan of 2022. At the time, I didn’t even know what an ampere hour, KWh or BMS was. It was because of this community and some persons on YT like Will, Andy...

diysolarforum.com

Don’t forget the company’s poor opinion of Growatt that has been publicly posted here, and yet you still choose to sell them

 

[Crowz]

Rule 37

 

[Dave911]

Don’t forget the company’s poor opinion of Growatt that has been publicly posted here, and yet you still choose to sell them

Say it ain't so! :-/ Can you supply a link?

 

[G00SE]

Say it ain't so! :-/ Can you supply a link?

Post in thread 'Ian's YT on inverters with autotransformers'
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/ians-yt-on-inverters-with-autotransformers.66844/post-841787

 

[sunsurfer]

I have been arguing these cheap AIO are a bad idea for a while now.

 

[timselectric]

I love mine.
And haven't found anything yet, to compare against them.

 

[42OhmsPA]

I love mine.
And haven't found anything yet, to compare against them.

X 2

 

[Dave911]

I love mine.
And haven't found anything yet, to compare against them.

Are you using an Autotransformer on the output of your inverters to establish a Neutral?

 

[timselectric]

Are you using an Autotransformer on the output of your inverters to establish a Neutral?

Yes
Will be 2 or 3, by the time I finish the system.