New 4.8KW installation in San Diego just finished

[gvl]

My zigbee worked well for the month that i used it, but i just switched to Wi-Fi with an extender and have been happy with that.

Does SE support Wi-Fi (I thought it didn't) or you used a Wi-Fi to wired Ethernet bridge at the inverter?

[gvl]

If there is an outlet nearby a powerline Ethernet adapter may be another option. Wired Ethernet would work nicely in my case but I unexpectedly got a "free" ZigBee from my installer, will probably use it for some time and then put it for sale on ebay when I get to running a cable to my switch, can't comment on reliability yet.

[sensij]

If you have Zigbee why did you switch to WiFi instead?

Sold the zigbee on eBay and used the proceeds to pay for the Wi-Fi and still chip in $150 toward the revenue grade meter i installed.

Edit: that meter required an Ethernet connection, so i used a two port Ethernet bridge and knocked out two birds with one stone.

[thejq]

My zigbee worked well for the month that i used it, but i just switched to Wi-Fi with an extender and have been happy with that.

If you have Zigbee why did you switch to WiFi instead?

[sensij]

My zigbee worked well for the month that i used it, but i just switched to Wi-Fi with an extender and have been happy with that.

[thejq]

@thejq

Thanks to your recommendation, I'm able to negotiate a 5.4KW system with LG and SolarEdge for $3.55/W. Now I need to decide if I really need the Zigbee ($200) setup. You installer told me there has been some isolated performance issues (eg. losing connections). He can run LAN cables along the wall and drill a hole, or use WiFi extender/bridge since my WiFi router is quite close. Do you have any problem with your Zigbee? I'm leaning towards the WiFi solution, since it's much cleaner and cheaper. Sorry I can't PM you yet.

Good to know that you're getting the quotes you wanted. I have not had any problem with Zigbee but if you can save $200 and you have other ways to connect to your router, why not. The most reliable way is LAN cable, but with cable along the wall it might not look good. I agree with you that WiFi is probably the cleanest solution. If you have range issue, just get a more powerful router. Good luck.

[SolarRB]

@thejq

Thanks to your recommendation, I'm able to negotiate a 5.4KW system with LG and SolarEdge for $3.55/W. Now I need to decide if I really need the Zigbee ($200) setup. You installer told me there has been some isolated performance issues (eg. losing connections). He can run LAN cables along the wall and drill a hole, or use WiFi extender/bridge since my WiFi router is quite close. Do you have any problem with your Zigbee? I'm leaning towards the WiFi solution, since it's much cleaner and cheaper. Sorry I can't PM you yet.

[jackycheong]

Thank you very much for sharing the info.

[makarowski]

I didn't get on the roof.. and yes 11+13 in my array. The bad optimizer is on my upper roof... don't feel like going up there. The install looked pretty good on the lower roof and the optimizer worked for about 2 days before it crapped out.

So possible a bad connection, but when the tech came today and checked it out with SolarEdge (I was on a conf call at the time and couldn't watch), they confirmed a bad optimizer and ordered a new one...

BMak

[thejq]

if you look at the front panel of the inverter, it can't even see the optimizer (only 23/23 showing on the display, should be 24 up on my roof)...

so if it can't even talk to the optimizer (guessing only one physical channel to some uP on the optimizer), then not sure why one logical link would work and not the other...

So it could be a connection problem, since SE doesn't even see your optimizer? Did it work at the very beginning? Did you climb up the roof and check how the connections are made. I remember reading HX_guy's thread that his installer used a pliers instead of proper clamping tools. The wires could be pull out by hand. Not saying your installer did the same, but if there's a problem, it's better to be thorough.

I thought you had 12 and 12 strings, but apparently it's 11 and 13, maybe it's mislabeled as sensij said?

[makarowski]

if you look at the front panel of the inverter, it can't even see the optimizer (only 23/23 showing on the display, should be 24 up on my roof)...

so if it can't even talk to the optimizer (guessing only one physical channel to some uP on the optimizer), then not sure why one logical link would work and not the other...

[sensij]

Yes it does look like the optimizer could be contributing... especially when you look at the average power / panel on each string.
the two strings are on different roof elevations, but same orientation/az

but even with that one panel contributing.. its only one out of 24 panels... maybe it is throwing off some of the calculations/reporting.. I have seen some wierd numbers / differences between SE and the SDGE meter...

Also, if solaredge is really supposed to "control" the optimizers, why would the optimizer turn on without being told (system was reset a few times)? I thought they only turned on and put out about a volt until instructed by the central inverter... not a robust design for fault tolerance...unless I am misunderstand.

I wish I had more time to dig into, but too much travel going on for me...

Cheers
BMak

I think the control communication protocol is different than the reporting protocol. It looks like only the reporting functionality is what went out.

SE reporting vs SDG&E reporting, SDG&E wins every time. SE reporting has some inaccuracies, apparently by design, since every one of our systems overreports energy by the same percent on a clear day. On a cloudy day, forget it... SE doesn't monitor quickly enough to prevent sampling error from creeping in.

[sensij]

Interesting, it's the last one on that string. I guess you're lucky (being the first) .

It is not clear. There is a panel numbered 1.2.13 in the middle of the other row, and 1.2.12 is the one not reporting. I wonder if the installer mislabeled them? The 1.1.X string only has 11 panels.

[makarowski]

Yes it does look like the optimizer could be contributing... especially when you look at the average power / panel on each string.
the two strings are on different roof elevations, but same orientation/az

but even with that one panel contributing.. its only one out of 24 panels... maybe it is throwing off some of the calculations/reporting.. I have seen some wierd numbers / differences between SE and the SDGE meter...

Also, if solaredge is really supposed to "control" the optimizers, why would the optimizer turn on without being told (system was reset a few times)? I thought they only turned on and put out about a volt until instructed by the central inverter... not a robust design for fault tolerance...unless I am misunderstand.

I wish I had more time to dig into, but too much travel going on for me...

Cheers
BMak

[thejq]

I'll confirm one SolarEdge optimizer defect on a P400 ... failed on day 2, so infant mortality... bummer.. but at least only one panel was down...

you can see my site here: the last optimizer on one string went out...

https://monitoring.solaredge.com/solaredge-web/p/public?name=La%20Costa%20Oaks%20-%20Sitio%20Corazon#/dashboard

failure confirmed with solaredge and a replacement on the way ... should get fixed next week..

BMak

Interesting, it's the last one on that string. I guess you're lucky (being the first) .