Emphase upgrade program

[solarix]

Here is the email I just received:

Announcing the Enphase Upgrade Program

We are launching a program for owners of legacy Enphase systems, offering to replace their second-generation microinverters with newer, more reliable technology.

I've been harping on the reliability risks of microinverters for years, and here we are with Enphase admitting their product is so unreliable that they are offering to replace the old ones. I'm sure glad I never sold any of them and are not obligated to be going out to pull up arrays and replace any on-the-roof electronics.....

[J.P.M.]

Any details on what Enphase may consider to be a "legacy" micro ? The old M190's/earlier ? The M215's ?

Also, any word on whether or not "offer" means a replacement with no charges for material/labor, or some incurred expense on the part of the owner ?

If some charges are involved, I smell a marketing ploy.

Or maybe they've gotten their tit in the ringer with some gov. watchdog and this is an attempt at preemptive placation.

[solarix]

Emphase is on generation 7 now. The offer is for gen 2 - I'm not up on what exactly that is. There are three options. 1) replace with Gen 7 microinverters (but you have to pay the installer to do the work). 2) Replace the whole array with their AC panels (you pay $469 ea for the new panels 3) wait for Gen 8 to replace your old gen 2's.

I remember when Enphase first came out, reading their white papers on how super-reliable they were going to be and how they had done a lot of "accelerated life cycle" testing. I believed that about as much as I believe the latest claim:
"In the nearly ten years since we introduced our very first microinverters, we have made unprecedented advancements in microinverter design and manufacturing. Many millions of test-cycle hours, and analysis of thousands of terabytes of product data, have allowed us to massively improve product performance and reliability. As part of our commitment to quality and service, we are making these product advancements available to our very first customers. "

[J.P.M.]

Emphase is on generation 7 now. The offer is for gen 2 - I'm not up on what exactly that is. There are three options. 1) replace with Gen 7 microinverters (but you have to pay the installer to do the work). 2) Replace the whole array with their AC panels (you pay $469 ea for the new panels 3) wait for Gen 8 to replace your old gen 2's.

I remember when Enphase first came out, reading their white papers on how super-reliable they were going to be and how they had done a lot of "accelerated life cycle" testing. I believed that about as much as I believe the latest claim:
"In the nearly ten years since we introduced our very first microinverters, we have made unprecedented advancements in microinverter design and manufacturing. Many millions of test-cycle hours, and analysis of thousands of terabytes of product data, have allowed us to massively improve product performance and reliability. As part of our commitment to quality and service, we are making these product advancements available to our very first customers. "

Thank you. Their hype sounds like B.S. and excuses to me. Kind of like folks who bought their product were treated like beta testers but didn't know it making Enphase's "commitment" look a bit after the fact or newly acquired. Makes me wonder where their conscience came from.

[jflorey2]

Emphase is on generation 7 now. The offer is for gen 2 - I'm not up on what exactly that is. There are three options. 1) replace with Gen 7 microinverters (but you have to pay the installer to do the work). 2) Replace the whole array with their AC panels (you pay $469 ea for the new panels 3) wait for Gen 8 to replace your old gen 2's.

Might be worth waiting for the Gen 8's, with their islanding capability. (For people who need backup, that is.)

[sdold]

I believed that about as much as I believe the latest claim:
"In the nearly ten years since we introduced our very first microinverters, we have made unprecedented advancements in microinverter design and manufacturing.

Technically they may be right, when you start out with something really bad, even a small improvement is an "unprecedented advancement."

[J.P.M.]

Technically they may be right, when you start out with something really bad, even a small improvement is an "unprecedented advancement."

Yea, situational ethics and relative good at its finest: "We're so much better now than when we sucked (now we're only unreliable)."

[Mike90250]

Trust us, pay for the free replacements

[gene1138]

Does sound like this is free replacements. Found this on the Enphase website. https://enphase.com/en-us/upgrade/option-1/next-steps

"We will be reaching out to legacy system owners about the the Enphase Upgrade Program for Early Adopters. We are giving system owners the option to work with their existing installer on the upgrade. Or, if they do not have an existing installer, we will put them in touch with an existing Enphase installer that can help them with the upgrade.

Once the system owner has chosen to move forward with the Microinverter Upgrade, we then coordinate with you, their installer, to confirm what equipment is needed. Regardless of how the system is set up or what accessories are required, we will be charging the system owners a flat price of $67.50/panel for all system equipment. As the installer, you will quote the labor costs with the homeowner separately and collect payment from them for the labor them directly."

On another page at https://go.enphase.com/upgrade/installers they mention 2nd generation so that should be just the M190 and M210.

[coconutman351]

I have the M250s currently so I contacted Enphase and they said the M250s will be available for the legacy upgrade to IQ7 in October.

[solar pete]

This made me laugh over my my morning coffee....it reminds me of a line from Solarrix a while a go, that went something like "Enphase we take a inherently reliable product (solar panel) and make it unreliable"...cheers peeps

[oliidx]

Did anyone has experience with using this upgrade program, espercially for M190 style microinverters?
Did you find it worth it over warranty claim?

[MGE]

Boy I must have been the lucky one. I installed my 8.84KW DC, 7.6KW AC system back in March of 2013. Went online the first of April 2013 and just pulled up my Enphase production report. To present day I have generated 107.06 MW hrs. I have never had even one issue with this system. The only thing I do is rinse them off occasionally, like tomorrow morning actually to get rid of the raccoon tracks.
34- Suniva 260w panels with Enphase M215 Micros and they have been plugging away for almost 8 1/2 yrs. You know the old saying "If it's not broke don't fix it"
Taken a wild guess the moderators on this site are not Enphase fans, Way to be impartial.

[solarix]

Your one anecdotal experience of an Enphase system that has lasted 8+ years is what is impartial. There is no way the microinverters are going to last the 25 years their warranty claims and your dealer or whoever is going to be out there replacing them one by one as they fail.

[J.P.M.]

Boy I must have been the lucky one. I installed my 8.84KW DC, 7.6KW AC system back in March of 2013. Went online the first of April 2013 and just pulled up my Enphase production report. To present day I have generated 107.06 MW hrs. I have never had even one issue with this system. The only thing I do is rinse them off occasionally, like tomorrow morning actually to get rid of the raccoon tracks.
34- Suniva 260w panels with Enphase M215 Micros and they have been plugging away for almost 8 1/2 yrs. You know the old saying "If it's not broke don't fix it"
Taken a wild guess the moderators on this site are not Enphase fans, Way to be impartial.

Impartiality by itself is nothing - no better than unfounded opinion.
Impartiality with experience is hard to achieve.
Someone with subject knowledge has opinions that get in the way of true objectivity - which is not necessarily a bad thing.
With experience comes the knowledge to be discriminating.
Discrimination is the basis of opinion.
Anecdotal experience without knowledge is misleading until put into some context.