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LG 280 Watt and Enphase M215 make a great combination

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  • LG 280 Watt and Enphase M215 make a great combination

    I have installed (14) LG 280 Watt and Enphase M215 and have been monitoring the system now for 2 weeks. I'm really pretty happy with the combination. On my highest production days, I have seen the micro inverters produce 224 watts of energy. So far, I have not hit or gone over the 225 Watt maximum that the M215 will produce. I don't know why they rate this micro inverter at 215 watts or why they say they are only good for 60 cell panels, which mine are.

    I live in a Dallas suburb, and my roof is 16 degrees off of true south (asmith is actually 64 degrees). I used PVWatts to find the optimum fixed angle to achieve the highest yearly energy production. I have my panels mounted on my roof, and tilted up on the upper side to achieve the optimum 27 degrees angle to ground. I have been tempted to flatten them out some to see if I can see the 225 watts clipping, but it is just to hot.

    Summer days here are over 100 degrees, sometimes for three months in a row. I have my panels raised to allow maximum air flow, but I can still a small drop in production on hot days.

    According to PVWatts, July should be my highest production month. I have been told by forum members that I will see clipping in the spring. Maybe spring will produce more energy on clear days, but less overall because of more cloudy days. Time will tell.

  • #2
    A 72 cell module may have a too high Vmax. Also, 225W is the most they will do, so on cold spring or winter days, they will clip for quite some time mid-day with the larger modules. 280w modules would be better with one of the newer 250W micro inverters from enphase, PowerOne or SMA. You are already clipping now at 224W, really. Will clip much more when the temperatures cool.
    PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W mono

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    • #3
      Originally posted by bonaire View Post
      Will clip much more when the temperatures cool.
      Yup, there will be a lot of sunny spring days when his power vs time of day curve will look like an Arizona mesa!

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      • #4
        Today, I saw 5 of the micro inverters hit 225 watts. But no flat tops on the graphs. They get up to 225 watts and then head right back down.

        I'm actually looking forward to some clipping. Right now my bell curves look more like spikes, very narrow and pointed on top. A little off the top would not amount to anything, but widening them would make a big difference.

        I'm getting exactly what I had calculated: 280 Watts x .803 Derate factor = 224.84

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        • #5
          Thanks for posting, t58. I'm currently in contract for 16 LG 280s with M215s. Should be installed by early fall. I'm hoping the M250s become available before then, though, so we can substitute those. At $23 additional each, 55% subsidized by federal and state tax credits, it makes sense to spend the extra $165 - the real question is whether to wait to install if the M250s aren't available yet by the time everything else is ready.

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          • #6
            Yea, my calculations kept telling me I would be fine with the M215 inverters, but I was still nervous about it. My upgrade option was to the 250 Watt Power One inverters, and they were more than I wanted to spend. Now I'm very happy with my decision.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by t5800512 View Post
              Yea, my calculations kept telling me I would be fine with the M215 inverters, but I was still nervous about it. My upgrade option was to the 250 Watt Power One inverters, and they were more than I wanted to spend. Now I'm very happy with my decision.
              How much more were the M250s? I found someplace on line that quotes them for just $23 more than M215s. Not sure why it wouldn't make sense to go with M250s?

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              • #8
                The curves look more like spikes now due to a fixed angle array. The sun will rise behind the array and also set behind it. The angle of the sun through the day causes the mid day shorter and sharper curve. In winter, the angles are better and your curve will be wider with me 225w clipping. In June and July, a fixed angle for my location is 12 degrees if I wanted the best production. My arrays are at 35 and 39 degrees and do better in the next three seasons.
                PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W mono

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                • #9
                  Hey Sinc, the M250 micro inverters had not been announced when I was doing my project. I thought enphase was over due for an announce because the other manufactures already had 250 watt inverters. If I had not already purchased mine, I probably would opt the M250 since the price is not that much more.

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                  • #10
                    Hi Bonaire, that is good information. Thank you for your response. My panels are much more flat than yours, so I'm not sure how much better they will be off-summer. Time will tell.

                    I still have 13 panels and inverters to install. It is just too hot now, and I'm not exactly sure where to put them. I have covered all my only south facing roof, and my other roof (besides facing the wrong direction) is all shade challenged. I'm seriously thinking about putting up a carport over my rear driveway for a place to put the second part of my system.

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                    • #11
                      Enphase has announced the 250.
                      I get their announcements
                      The 250's should be starting to become available soon if not at wholesalers already.
                      I can check tomorrow on availability
                      NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

                      [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

                      [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

                      [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

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                      • #12
                        I don't think the clipping your seeing is as pronounced due to the high temperatures. I suspect it will be more obvious spring / fall when you have clear skys but a bit cooler.

                        There is the Power One Micro inverters available in both 250W + 300W versions. For future installs with 280W - 300W panels I'd suggest the 300W versions.

                        There is also the new SMA 240W Micro Inverters. These have a different twist - with the separate Multigate which allows for about 50% fewer components in the panel mounted micro inverters. This should provide higher reliability as fewer components are subjected to the heat under the panel each day.

                        Ken

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                        • #13
                          Enphase 250s are starting to ship. My contractor said I'd be getting them for my installation, which should happen around the end of September.

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                          • #14
                            Cool, your installation is getting really close now! The price on the M215 microinverters has dropped to around $100. And you can now get the LG 290 panels for what I paid for the 280's. Is the price locked in on your contract, or will you see savings of the price drops.

                            I still have not seen any clipping. I have seen days when most of the inverters hit 224 or 225 watts. But no flat topped bell curves (yet). My systems highest output day was 22 KwH's. I have typically been seeing around 20 KwH's per day. My peek A/C wattage is right at 3 KWatts.

                            Enlighten, which used PVWatts, shows me at being 110 percent of expected output. And that is after a 5 hour electrical outage that really dropped that number way down. I think it was 123 percent before the outage. Funny what zeros to to an average calculation.

                            I had read that the LG panels are known for producing higher than their rated wattage. But I sure did not expect those kind of numbers. So, I'm still extremely happy with my system.

                            I'm still waiting for the heat to break so I can install the last half of my system. I'm still not sure where I'm going to put them. I checked on the cheap carport I have been talking about and found it would be $2500+ to have someone put it in. I still have not ruled that out, but I will not call it cheap any more. I can put it up myself for about half of that. I may end up going that direction since I don't mind the work (as long as it is under 100 degrees).

                            I'm starting to like the idea of facing some of my panels west in order to extend my output curve farther into the PM hours. I want to do that because my PV system and my Summer A/C usage are not in sync. My PV output had dropped off while my A/C continues to run long into the late PM hours. According to PVWatts, I will loose about 10 percent of the output facing them West. In the past, I have been reluctant to give up that 10 percent. But I'm starting to believe broadening my PV output curve will be worth the losses.

                            Will all of your panels be south facing? Sorry, I can't remember.

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                            • #15
                              All on one roof facing almost due south, at about a 30 degree angle (latitude near NY city).

                              Do you have the M215s for the rest of your system yet? Or are you going to go for M250s?

                              My contractor told me the LG 280 watt panels are no longer being sold. They are upgrading me to LG 285 watt panels and throwing in M250s, all at no extra charge. Seems reasonable.

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