New 4.8KW installation in San Diego just finished

[jackycheong]

Thank you very much for sharing the info.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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]

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.

[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.

[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?

[thejq]

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

I believe he said WiFi extender. So yeah ethernet to WiFi bridge is what it is.

[gvl]

I believe he said WiFi extender. So yeah ethernet to WiFi bridge is what it is.

I always thought a Wi-Fi extender is another name for signal booster/repeater, might be wrong.

[makarowski]

I'll chime in and say my zigbee has been less than reliable on my solaredge system... Its within 25 feet ( no easy way to get a lan cable), and I have had to reboot the gateway 3 times to get it reconnected (poor auto retry mechanism?).

I am thinking of putting in a powerline solution and see if that is any better...

My eagle gateway (also zigbee) is on the other side of the house (over 50 feet and a few walls inbetween) and is not having the problems of the solaredge setup.

YMMV

BMak

[thejq]

I'll chime in and say my zigbee has been less than reliable on my solaredge system... Its within 25 feet ( no easy way to get a lan cable), and I have had to reboot the gateway 3 times to get it reconnected (poor auto retry mechanism?).

I am thinking of putting in a powerline solution and see if that is any better...

My eagle gateway (also zigbee) is on the other side of the house (over 50 feet and a few walls inbetween) and is not having the problems of the solaredge setup.

YMMV

BMak

Have you tried the WiFi bridge like what sensij did? They are relatively inexpensive and frequently on sale at Frys.

[sensij]

This is what I used:

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-9_TL-WR710N.html

I put it in "client" mode, which is what I always understood a bridge to be, although the terminology for network topography is not my strength.

Ignore the picture showing the european power connector, mine had normal 120 V blades. I didn't have an outlet there so I tapped the voltage coming from (going to) the inverter, which is surely not to code, although I put in fuses to protect it. A single port version would be maybe $10 less.

I would have stayed with the Zigbee if I wasn't installing the meter that needed ethernet access... it wasn't perfect, but worked well enough that the hassle of re-wiring wasn't worth the difference in cost of the Wifi solution.

[makarowski]

Have you tried the WiFi bridge like what sensij did? They are relatively inexpensive and frequently on sale at Frys.

That is an option as well, as I have a bunch of both lying around (I used to be a product manger at netgear, so had access to stuff like that for "testing"). The benefit of using powerline is it will allow me to put the unit inside a metal box.. I was thinking of putting it in my outdoor CPE box that has a power outlet in it (might be rough for 2.4 MHz wi-fi) and it is sitting next to my SE inverter.

Cheers
BMak

[gvl]

That is an option as well, as I have a bunch of both lying around (I used to be a product manger at netgear, so had access to stuff like that for "testing"). The benefit of using powerline is it will allow me to put the unit inside a metal box.. I was thinking of putting it in my outdoor CPE box that has a power outlet in it (might be rough for 2.4 MHz wi-fi) and it is sitting next to my SE inverter.

Cheers
BMak

The downside of powerline is that you're sending high-frequency noise on your power lines. This has long been considered a bad thing but apparently is okay now because of market needs. I know in my previous home the garage door opener started to work less reliably since I added a powerline adapter in the garage for my car charger.