Solis v Solar Edge for 8KwP System 29 October 2022 at 11:48AM in Green & ethical MoneySaving 16 replies 907 views

elrao

Installing a 21 panel ~8KwP system and, for reasons covered on another thread, don't want to consider any form of hybrid inverter.

So far I have a price, from the same company, for 21 400w panels with Solar Edge optimisers and an 8kw Solar Edge Inverter and the same panels with an 8kw Solis Inverter.

The solar edge is about £1500 more (which looks about right based on additional cost of 22 optimisers and the difference in cost between the SE and Solis inverters.

Our roof does not suffer from shading and is a uniform low pitched roof, so all panels facing same direction.  Does get a lot of pigeons sitting on it though.  

We have high power consumption, especially in the summer, and will have a reasonably sized battery storage (13.5-15KwH...possibly 27-30), meaning we should be able to use any extra power generated, reducing the amount of peak rate power we have to take from the grid.

Am not sure there will be sufficient benefit from Solar Edge to warrant the additional £1500.  Have heard people say 10-15% increase, but that's for shady areas, for us I imagine it will maybe be 5%?

Any thoughts on value of a solar edge over Solis?

P.S.  Waiting on confirmation of an Enphase quote, but a different company with different panels (possibly only 385w).

ABrass

Without shading it won't pay for itself. If you want an extra 10% performance then add another two panels.

Screwdriva

I've just had to deal with my first inverter failure (my uncle's home, not mine) this past week. SolarEdge inverter failed the day after installation. SolarEdge were suspicious of incorrect installation but once that was proven not to be the case, they dispatched a spare inverter to us (despite having a national backorder of several hundred units) via Fedex from their factory in the EU. Installation takes place next week at no cost to us. 

I have never received any semblance of customer service from Chinese brands when it comes to warranty replacements, so thought I'd share this example for your consideration. I only recommend Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius, Fimer or SMA inverters. 

Exiled_Tyke

Screwdriva said:

I've just had to deal with my first inverter failure (my uncle's home, not mine) this past week. SolarEdge inverter failed the day after installation. SolarEdge were suspicious of incorrect installation but once that was proven not to be the case, they dispatched a spare inverter to us (despite having a national backorder of several hundred units) via Fedex from their factory in the EU. Installation takes place next week at no cost to us. 

I have never received any semblance of customer service from Chinese brands when it comes to warranty replacements, so thought I'd share this example for your consideration. I only recommend Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius, Fimer or SMA inverters. 

I too had problems convincing SE that their component had failed.  A lot of wasted time and hassle replacing a panel before they eventually conceded that the optimiser had failed.

Screwdriva

Exiled_Tyke said:

I too had problems convincing SE that their component had failed.  A lot of wasted time and hassle replacing a panel before they eventually conceded that the optimiser had failed.

I wouldn't say we experienced problems. My installer simply had to show up for a warranty call, contact SolarEdge while on location and demonstrate that it was not their negligence that had caused a failure. Not the most convenient of experiences but I'm grateful they honoured their warranty. 

elrao

Thanks.  Installer said they no longer do Solax due to poor warranty support, another has stopped GivEnergy for the same reason

QrizB

elrao said:

Our roof does not suffer from shading and is a uniform low pitched roof, so all panels facing same direction.  Does get a lot of pigeons sitting on it though.  

Am not sure there will be sufficient benefit from Solar Edge to warrant the additional £1500.  Have heard people say 10-15% increase, but that's for shady areas, for us I imagine it will maybe be 5%?

Any thoughts on value of a solar edge over Solis?

If your roof has no shading, optimisers (whether SE or some other brand) will not increase output and might even decrease it - after all, nothing is lossless.

2nd_time_buyer

QrizB said:

elrao said:

Our roof does not suffer from shading and is a uniform low pitched roof, so all panels facing same direction.  Does get a lot of pigeons sitting on it though.  

Am not sure there will be sufficient benefit from Solar Edge to warrant the additional £1500.  Have heard people say 10-15% increase, but that's for shady areas, for us I imagine it will maybe be 5%?

Any thoughts on value of a solar edge over Solis?

If your roof has no shading, optimisers (whether SE or some other brand) will not increase output and might even decrease it - after all, nothing is lossless.

One potential benefit is if the panels experience uneven degradation over time. With a string inverter they will be brought down to the lowest output panel. I guess it will only make a marginal difference unless there is a faulty panel or a massive pigeon poo on one panel.

In our case, there is no nearby shading on any of our panels. However, in the winter in particular, it can take a couple hours for all the panels to be equally in the sun/shade during sunrise/sunset due to the surrounding rooflines. By comparing the output of the top panels with the bottom panels, I calculated that the optimisers increased output by around 20% between November and February.

We probably could have not bothered with the optimisers. The main reason we got then was in case our neighbors build a loft dormer which otherwise would upset our output significantly. So it was peace of mind insurance.

RealtimeBlues

QrizB said:

elrao said:

Our roof does not suffer from shading and is a uniform low pitched roof, so all panels facing same direction.  Does get a lot of pigeons sitting on it though.  

Am not sure there will be sufficient benefit from Solar Edge to warrant the additional £1500.  Have heard people say 10-15% increase, but that's for shady areas, for us I imagine it will maybe be 5%?

Any thoughts on value of a solar edge over Solis?

If your roof has no shading, optimisers (whether SE or some other brand) will not increase output and might even decrease it - after all, nothing is lossless.

Shading occurs with moss, dust, pigeon pooh, leaves and snow etc plus you can see exactly which panel out of your 21 is down or under performing. If you are worried about payback, get the cheapest system you can get and cross your fingers. 

loofer

Screwdriva said:

I've just had to deal with my first inverter failure (my uncle's home, not mine) this past week. SolarEdge inverter failed the day after installation. SolarEdge were suspicious of incorrect installation but once that was proven not to be the case, they dispatched a spare inverter to us (despite having a national backorder of several hundred units) via Fedex from their factory in the EU. Installation takes place next week at no cost to us. 

I have never received any semblance of customer service from Chinese brands when it comes to warranty replacements, so thought I'd share this example for your consideration. I only recommend Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius, Fimer or SMA inverters. 

Apparently they pay favourable rate to their approved installers to go out and reinstall/fix their kit under warranty.
Can see another reason why they push it.

RealtimeBlues

loofer said:

Screwdriva said:

I've just had to deal with my first inverter failure (my uncle's home, not mine) this past week. SolarEdge inverter failed the day after installation. SolarEdge were suspicious of incorrect installation but once that was proven not to be the case, they dispatched a spare inverter to us (despite having a national backorder of several hundred units) via Fedex from their factory in the EU. Installation takes place next week at no cost to us. 

I have never received any semblance of customer service from Chinese brands when it comes to warranty replacements, so thought I'd share this example for your consideration. I only recommend Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius, Fimer or SMA inverters. 

Apparently they pay favourable rate to their approved installers to go out and reinstall/fix their kit under warranty.
Can see another reason why they push it.

Apparently you will have proof of this comment, and care to share this with us?