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Growatt or Solar edge

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Hello,

Just about to push the button on solar and my favorite quote so far I have a choice between 2 x 6.3kwh Growatt batteries or a 10Kwh Solaredge batteries(the new Energy bank one). My PV system needs optimisers due to multiple roofs and shading.

The Solaredge battery is about £1k more expensive and less capacity 9.7kwh vs 11.7kwh but the Solaredge is more efficient ,better integrated and less boxes on the wall (1 vs 3) so neater .

Has anyone got any thoughts on this choice ?

Cheers
8kw system spread over 6 roofs , surrounded by trees and in a valley.
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Comments

  • 2nd_time_buyer
    2nd_time_buyer Posts: 807 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 25 March 2022 at 9:57AM
    The Solaredge battery is DC coupled. So you are going DC to AC.

    It you go with a Solaredge system and a growatt AC coupled inverter, then you will be going DC to AC to DC to AC.

     It would be interesting to know if anyone has done a comparison of the difference in roundtrip loses. But a finger in the air guess should be around 10-20%.

    I have a Solaredge inverter and optimisers. In hindsight I would have gone with Tigo optimisers and a hybrid inverter - probably Givenergy
  • arty688
    arty688 Posts: 414 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    The Solaredge says >94.5% efficiency I'm guessing that's being charged from solar panels rather than the grid.
    The Growatt not so sure on the efficiency I'm guessing not as good.



    8kw system spread over 6 roofs , surrounded by trees and in a valley.
  • Screwdriva
    Screwdriva Posts: 1,516 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 25 March 2022 at 11:41AM
    100% Solar Edge. 
    -  10 x 400w LG + 6 x 550W SHARP BiFacial Panels + SE 3680 HD Wave Inverter + SE Optimizers. SE London.
    -  Triple aspect. (22% ENE/ 33% SSE/ 45% WSW)
    -  Viessmann 200-W on Advanced Weather Comp. (the most efficient gas boiler sold)

    Feel free to DM me if I can help with any energy saving!
  • JKenH
    JKenH Posts: 5,117 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    100% Solar Edge. 
    I hear very good things about SolarEdge and wish I had gone with that for my solar panels/inverters. Batteries may however be another story. 

    It is very easy to say 100% SolarEdge but without a little more substance to the comment that can sometimes come across as, shall we say kindly, brand loyalty. 

    Here there is a significant cost penalty/kWh with SolarEdge and the OP may be looking for advice, perhaps based on experience, as to whether the additional cost is justified (beyond the benefits they already identified). 
    Northern Lincolnshire. 7.8 kWp system, (4.2 kw west facing panels , 3.6 kw east facing), Solis inverters, Solar IBoost water heater, Mitsubishi SRK35ZS-S and SRK20ZS-S Wall Mounted Inverter Heat Pumps, ex Nissan Leaf owner)
  • Choosing solely on brand name, it'd be SolarEdge for me.

    I replaced my inverter with a Growatt recently - good price, painless install etc. The documentation and software is poorly translated - with the inverter web software appearing quite stale. I fired off a support query which went unanswered. I'd certainly not want to tackle a warranty claim.
    Central Beds, 2.02kWp (9 x 225W) south facing with some morning shade, installed 2011 (£7.16/Wp). Tigo monitoring/optimisers on all panels, Growatt MIC 2000 TL-X Inverter and Solar iBoost installed 2022. (4 x 415W + 6 x 405W garden experiment connected to SunSynk 3.6 hybrid inverter & 2 x 5.3kWh SynSynk batteries) (4 x 405W panels queued to go somewhere)
  • 100% Solar Edge. 
    Sorry after your comments on other thread where u said “all Chinese” are bad your 100% here is meaningless.
  • Screwdriva
    Screwdriva Posts: 1,516 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 27 March 2022 at 10:05PM
    Sorry after your comments on other thread where u said “all Chinese” are bad your 100% here is meaningless.
    Makes 0% difference to me. No Chinese inverter company is comparable except on price.
    -  10 x 400w LG + 6 x 550W SHARP BiFacial Panels + SE 3680 HD Wave Inverter + SE Optimizers. SE London.
    -  Triple aspect. (22% ENE/ 33% SSE/ 45% WSW)
    -  Viessmann 200-W on Advanced Weather Comp. (the most efficient gas boiler sold)

    Feel free to DM me if I can help with any energy saving!
  • arty688
    arty688 Posts: 414 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Are we talking Chinese owned or manufactured or both ? As its not unusual for most companies to have a manufacturing facility in China , Solaredge does for example.

    8kw system spread over 6 roofs , surrounded by trees and in a valley.
  • Screwdriva
    Screwdriva Posts: 1,516 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 28 March 2022 at 10:32PM
    arty688 said:
    Are we talking Chinese owned or manufactured or both ? As its not unusual for most companies to have a manufacturing facility in China , Solaredge does for example.

    Chinese owned brands typically demonstrate massively inferior customer service experiences, quality standards and industrial ethics. Examples in non-energy industries would be Huawei, Xiaomi etc.

    While I'm not a fan of products that are made in China, I realize that these are a more pragmatic, often unavoidable middle ground. When so, always go by the brand's reputation. That said, I would pick a component made in Japan or Korea, every single day of the week, if the option existed. 
    -  10 x 400w LG + 6 x 550W SHARP BiFacial Panels + SE 3680 HD Wave Inverter + SE Optimizers. SE London.
    -  Triple aspect. (22% ENE/ 33% SSE/ 45% WSW)
    -  Viessmann 200-W on Advanced Weather Comp. (the most efficient gas boiler sold)

    Feel free to DM me if I can help with any energy saving!
  • Solarchaser
    Solarchaser Posts: 1,758 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
     Not had solaredge,  have had growatt. Would advise against growatt 
    West central Scotland
    4kw sse since 2014 and 6.6kw wsw / ene split since 2019
    24kwh leaf, 75Kwh Tesla and Lux 3600 with 60Kwh storage
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