Which Inverter?

[Countrypaul]

I am starting a new thread as the lest ended up being diverted to diverters! Then dried up

Can people say if they have had problems with any brands/warranties. Do any manufacturers have parts and labour?
Looking for an established supplier, gives a decent 10 - 15 year warranty as standard, a company that looks like they will be around for 10-15 years to honour it. I am looking to install a 9kw system.

Thanks

Snuggy,

You might want to take a look at the new stable of offerings from Duracell https://www.duracell.co.uk/productsev/ I haven't used then, I haven't heard of anyone who has and I haven't any affiliation to them BUT they seem to have an exceptional battery stacking capacity, complete interconnectivity and remote monitoring and operation and as Duracell have been around since Noah was a lad there should be some confidence that they wont disappear in two years time, as can sometimes be the case with other offerings, leaving you with a warranty that's not worth the paper its printed on.

I came across them yesterday while looking at the everything electric sight on the "U tube"

Moxi

Out of curiosity I had a look at the Duracell link to the batteries. The first picture you see shows 5 batteries and an inverter mounted on an outside wall, but the datasheet apears to indicate the batteries are only suitable for indoors?

[AGT]

Model 5 indoors


Model 5+ outdoors

[Moxi]

Yeah, I also saw that but how many of these web sites have we seen in the past where the artists impression doesn't stack up with the product portfolio, as I said I'm not recommending them, just putting them out there as a consideration in case the OP wants a recognisable brand name, UK based and prefers to get a one stop shop for all their renewables.

If you look at the shadows cast on the glossy photo you will see that there are several potential sun (light) point sources as the shadows do not all corroborate a single point - this shouldn't necessarily detract from the products as long as we apply our own due diligence and research correctly.

I should also have told Snuggy that I have a Solis hybrid AC connected inverter which takes any excess AC power from the SB 3600 in the attic and charges the batteries (pylontechs) in a shed outside the house, I added the pylontechs and the Solis myself and (as many here will attest to ) I'm a mechanical troglodyte and managed. The solis works and is sufficient for what I need, the monitoring is a bit limited but again because I don't currently do any charging from time of use tariff's (mine is all free from the sun) because I don't trust smart meters (my inner troglodyte again) then this limited interface with the inverter is manageable - I can use my phone all day every day to monitor whats being generated and stored and I can switch stuff on and off with smart plugs.

Maybe the message is dont get too hung up on what inverter brand maybe consider after sales service as a delineator? Here I would say that after a slow start the Solis team in my experience have been good, SB less so but both from a purely monitoring perspective only though.

Moxi

[Countrypaul]

Model 5 indoors


Model 5+ outdoors

Didn't spot that earlier, thanks for pointing it out.

Model 5 (indoors) upto 32 units linked
Model 5+ (outdoors/indoors) up to 5 units linked

[Snuggy]

Maybe the message is dont get too hung up on what inverter brand maybe consider after sales service as a delineator? Here I would say that after a slow start the Solis team in my experience have been good, SB less so but both from a purely monitoring perspective only though.

Moxi

Still grasping at understanding the different offerings on quotes:
I have had one quote on Duracell, but most installers are talking up sunsynk, fox and solaredge. Solaredge I think mught be pricey and just seen a you tuber saying the low light start up takes ages as all the optimisers and other kit pulls the juice.
Any body experience that?

[nowty]

Maybe the message is dont get too hung up on what inverter brand maybe consider after sales service as a delineator? Here I would say that after a slow start the Solis team in my experience have been good, SB less so but both from a purely monitoring perspective only though.

Moxi

Still grasping at understanding the different offerings on quotes:
I have had one quote on Duracell, but most installers are talking up sunsynk, fox and solaredge. Solaredge I think mught be pricey and just seen a you tuber saying the low light start up takes ages as all the optimisers and other kit pulls the juice.
Any body experience that?

Solar edge users individual power optimisers which themselves use some energy so at very low outputs that is correct but they may more than make up for it overall. I say may as unless you have shading, differing orientations or other panel mismatches there is little advantage going solar edge apart from having the individual panel monitoring which some folk like.

Duracell, well their original offerings a few years ago was re-badged out of date kit. Their new kit looks good on paper, might still be re-badged and batteries look overpriced.

Sunsynk are relatively new but people seem to like them, if its a simple install and your looking for a cheaper price I'd be inclined for that.

Fox is another new kid on the bloc I think, not really looked at them.

I've got SMA and Victron all round but they are reassuringly expensive and you'll have difficulty finding an installer.

[Snuggy]

Maybe the message is dont get too hung up on what inverter brand maybe consider after sales service as a delineator? Here I would say that after a slow start the Solis team in my experience have been good, SB less so but both from a purely monitoring perspective only though.

Moxi

Still grasping at understanding the different offerings on quotes:
I have had one quote on Duracell, but most installers are talking up sunsynk, fox and solaredge. Solaredge I think mught be pricey and just seen a you tuber saying the low light start up takes ages as all the optimisers and other kit pulls the juice.
Any body experience that?

Solar edge users individual power optimisers which themselves use some energy so at very low outputs that is correct but they may more than make up for it overall. I say may as unless you have shading, differing orientations or other panel mismatches there is little advantage going solar edge apart from having the individual panel monitoring which some folk like.

Duracell, well their original offerings a few years ago was re-badged out of date kit. Their new kit looks good on paper, might still be re-badged and batteries look overpriced.

Sunsynk are relatively new but people seem to like them, if its a simple install and your looking for a cheaper price I'd be inclined for that.

Fox is another new kid on the bloc I think, not really looked at them.

I've got SMA and Victron all round but they are reassuringly expensive and you'll have difficulty finding an installer.

Fox is another new kid on the bloc I think, not really looked at them.

I've got SMA and Victron all round but they are reassuringly expensive and you'll have difficulty finding an installer.

Thanks for the round up.
Yes no one has mentioned SMA or Victron. That seems to be a techie DIY off gridder type thing where you guys have a lot of knowledge.

I just want something of good quality whacked on the roof, an inverter and battery (that will see me out or at least into a an OPH) by a reliable installer at a competitive price. Cake and eat it?

[Snuggy]

OMG not sure what I did there!

Prob not to be trusted to generate my own electricity if I cant shorten a post!

[Moxi]

Snuggy

SMA = sunnyboy.

It really sounds like you are after the warranty side of things more than anything else, a common occurrence, on here at least to my recollection over the years, has been that the guys that fit the hardware seem to go out of business within 5 years and you struggle to get another installer interested in doing anything to the existing system and the Chinese manufacturers are happy to help sending things out through the post and technical assistance at the end of the phone but they don't yet have a boots on the ground service model that I am aware of.

If you are looking for longevity of system then as Nowty says you cant go far wrong with Victron and SMA but you will pay a premium, either of the two companies should have recommended (qualified) installers that will fit in your area.

Moxi

[resybaby]

Seems to be a fair few of us 'original FITties' on here mentioning SMA invertors that are still going 12-13 years down the line. Which imv says something about the excellent reliability.

From a sensible point of view, i personally should possibly change my SMA to a similar Sunsynk to wahtni have on my other system. I could then 'pair' them up so i can take more peak load from my batteries - but i wont be, because i recon the SMA will outlive the much newer sunsynk