SE1000-WIFI01 Zigbee Kit

[Hillsider]

I am putting together the plans for a 7.32KW ground-mount system, using LG Panels & Solaredge optimizers & inverter, & I am down to the "minor details" on the component pricing spread-sheet. The only item on my list, for which I can find no U.S pricing, is the SE1000-WIFI01 Zigbee wireless kit ( to be installed inside the inverter ). there is nothing in the kit data-sheet, or another Solaredge internal communications, that indicate it is not available in the U.S, but a Google search produces only foreign ( UK, DE, NL ) vendors of the kit. There is no point in opting for the Solaredge Gateway ( SE1000-ZBGWK ) setup, as there is no practical way to wire ( Ethernet ) the unit to my router inside the house. My router is a Motorola 90090 wireless unit, through which all appliances & PC's in the house communicate, so the SE Gateway is not needed.

Has anyone on this forum included the subject WIFI kit in their design? If so, where did you ( or your installer ) purchase the item. Thanks for any info/advice.

[Mike90250]

Consumer ZigBee kits are hard to find in the US because the data rate is too slow for DVD playback. So everything is wi-fi.

I chose gear that has integral servers and I can plug into a conventional wi-firouter and get my data that way.

Morningstar MPPT 60
Xantrex/Schneider combox
Midnight Classic

[sensij]

The Wifi system is not sold in the US, I emailed SolarEdge about it at one point. What you want is the Zigbee gateway.

You install the slave in the inverter, and put the receiver somewhere it can hardwire into your network (perhaps physically co-located with your router). The communication between the slave and receiver is wireless.

If you cannot physically wire into your router, I guess you would need to buy a wireless bridge that extends your wifi network to a hardwired port. Something like this, for around $20, should work.

[thejq]

My router is a Motorola 90090 wireless unit, through which all appliances & PC's in the house communicate, so the SE Gateway is not needed.

Has anyone on this forum included the subject WIFI kit in their design? If so, where did you ( or your installer ) purchase the item. Thanks for any info/advice.

If you look at the back of your router or modem, there should be at least one LAN port to which you can connect a Zigbee gateway. If you have to go with WiFi, the WiFi extender suggested by sensij should work also. But on paper, Zigbee is designed for longer range and low data rate, whereas WiFi's normal coverage is a house. Also the extender requires to be plugged in, so you need to find a outlet near the inverter. The Zigbee gateway is close to the router, so power is not a problem. Price wise, using WiFi is much cheaper.

[sensij]

The suggestion I made does not require anything to be plugged into an outlet near the inverter. The Zigbee card is installed in the inverter, and the rest of the equipment is located remotely.

The Zigbee gateway needs a hardwire ethernet connection. That hardwire connection can be into a wireless bridge like the one I linked, which then uses Wifi to talk to the network router. The hardwire connection could also be into the router directly through the LAN port, or into a switch that is connected to the router. Lots of networking options if you want to get creative.

The inverter itself can not be accessed directly by Wifi in the US. This is what SolarEdge had replied with when I responded:

The Wi-Fi product was released and is available in Europe and APAC. It is not available in North America.

[thejq]

The suggestion I made does not require anything to be plugged into an outlet near the inverter. The Zigbee card is installed in the inverter, and the rest of the equipment is located remotely.

The Zigbee gateway needs a hardwire ethernet connection. That hardwire connection can be into a wireless bridge like the one I linked, which then uses Wifi to talk to the network router. The hardwire connection could also be into the router directly through the LAN port, or into a switch that is connected to the router. Lots of networking options if you want to get creative.

The inverter itself can not be accessed directly by Wifi in the US. This is what SolarEdge had replied with when I responded:

Now I understood your topology. But that's incredibly waste of resources and redundant. If you're going to use WiFi, just plug in the WiFi bridge or extender you suggested near the inverter, and connect a LAN cable from the invert's ethernet port to the WiFi bridge (it can operate as a client as well as a router) and you're done. No need for Zigbee kit if the WiFi range is good. This solution is the cheapest ($22).

[sensij]

Now I understood your topology. But that's incredibly waste of resources and redundant. If you're going to use WiFi, just plug in the WiFi bridge or extender you suggested near the inverter, and connect a LAN cable from the invert's ethernet port to the WiFi bridge (it can operate as a client as well as a router) and you're done. No need for Zigbee kit if the WiFi range is good. This solution is the cheapest ($22).

Yes, if a power outlet is available near the inverter and a way to mount the bridge exists, skipping Zigbee completely is cheapest. The suggestions I made assumed that a user wants to access the inverter wirelessly, truly, with no other device in its vicinity. For example, in some installations in which the inverter is installed outdoors, with no nearby outlet, properly hardened network equipment for that exposure would be more expensive.

[Hillsider]

Not Available in the U.S.

The Wifi system is not sold in the US, I emailed SolarEdge about it at one point. What you want is the Zigbee gateway.

You install the slave in the inverter, and put the receiver somewhere it can hardwire into your network (perhaps physically co-located with your router). The communication between the slave and receiver is wireless.

If you cannot physically wire into your router, I guess you would need to buy a wireless bridge that extends your wifi network to a hardwired port. Something like this, for around $20, should work.

Too bad SolarEdge didn't make it clear that the kit would not be available in the U.S. in their 4-24-14 announcement of the product. I can wire directly ( via Ethernet cable ) to my router, just not within the house.

[Hillsider]

Lan Solution to SolarEdge Data Communication

If you look at the back of your router or modem, there should be at least one LAN port to which you can connect a Zigbee gateway. If you have to go with WiFi, the WiFi extender suggested by sensij should work also. But on paper, Zigbee is designed for longer range and low data rate, whereas WiFi's normal coverage is a house. Also the extender requires to be plugged in, so you need to find a outlet near the inverter. The Zigbee gateway is close to the router, so power is not a problem. Price wise, using WiFi is much cheaper.

My Moto Wireless Router has 4 Lan ports available ( two are currently unused ), so I can wire directly to the router from the inverter. The devil is in the details. My interest in "going WIFI", is that the out-door distance is only 36' (air), with only a rear bedroom window between the router and the back walk. As I noted above, I cannot wire from the Gateway to the router INDOORS, due to the "unusual" construction of most of the house. The guy who built the original 2/3 of the house in 1947, was an Easterner who was extremely afraid of earthquakes, so he built the walls of the house of reinforced concrete --- both indoors & out, not "just" cinder-block, but 8x8x16 with steel in every cell, & all cells poured solid. It took me two tries to punch through the wall to add a new circuit for my Microwave. When the Broadband internet was installed, the installer bored a hole through the steel window frame of the bedroom where the router is located. All Wifi communication inside the building ( PC's, Kindle, Roku, TV's, Blu-ray ) are facilitated via strategically placed 802.11/n Netgear Wifi extenders. The best price I could find for the SolarEdge SE1000-ZBGW-K Gateway, was $232.40, so it looks like my cheapest option, is to bore another hole through the bedroom window frame, and connect directly to the router from the SE7600 inverter, with a 50' Cat5e outdoor-rated Lan cable ( $19.59, Amazon ). The biggest problem, is getting a large enough rectangular hole in the frame, to accommodate the RJ45 connector.

[easye]

My installer wired my two inverters together and hooked it up via cat 5 to this wireless bridge. Works like a champ. WPS button..done. Only extra work was to have the electrician install a GFCI plug next to the inverter. Both are within a foot of the main panel. I think it cost me $20.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Netgear-IEEE-802.11n-300-Mbps-Wireless-Bridge-ISM-Band-1-x-Network-RJ-45-1-Pack/40808067

[foo1bar]

The biggest problem, is getting a large enough rectangular hole in the frame, to accommodate the RJ45 connector.

$15 for a RJ45 crimp tool.

And then you can make your cables of custom length.


BTW - I'd probably look at going up and over the wall - through the attic and out the eves of the roof. I wouldn't want to try drilling through 8" of concrete either.

[Ben25]

We typically hardwire them whenever possible, but often use either a powerline communicator, or a wireless bridge.

Ben

[Bikerscum]

I have the Zigbee setup in my SE system, the "slave" is in the inverter, the gateway is next to my AT&T u-verse router & plugged in there. It works fine, and coexists with my Zigbee Rainforest unit with no problems.

They certainly are available in the US, my installer had a stack of them.

They did have a waiting time for the gateway which was out of stock for a while.

=edit=

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're looking for. The part number of my Zigbee "slave", or transmitting unit that plugs in inside the inverter is SE1000-ZB03-SLV-NA. Comes with antenna & is completely self contained.

[kickass]

The Wifi system is not sold in the US, I emailed SolarEdge about it at one point. What you want is the Zigbee gateway.

You install the slave in the inverter, and put the receiver somewhere it can hardwire into your network (perhaps physically co-located with your router). The communication between the slave and receiver is wireless.

If you cannot physically wire into your router, I guess you would need to buy a wireless bridge that extends your wifi network to a hardwired port. Something like this, for around $20, should work.

This is exactly what my installer did for me and it works great. Initially, we tried the power-line Ethernet solution which allowed pseudo-hard-wire all the way to the router, but it had reliability issues and kept going out often. I even lost data for a few days since the inverter memory was full and no place to write data. Eventually, we did the ethernet to wifi solution and it has been very reliable, not a single drop in 6 months.

[kickass]

I have the Zigbee setup in my SE system, the "slave" is in the inverter, the gateway is next to my AT&T u-verse router & plugged in there. It works fine, and coexists with my Zigbee Rainforest unit with no problems.

They certainly are available in the US, my installer had a stack of them.

They did have a waiting time for the gateway which was out of stock for a while.

=edit=

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're looking for. The part number of my Zigbee "slave", or transmitting unit that plugs in inside the inverter is SE1000-ZB03-SLV-NA. Comes with antenna & is completely self contained.

Yeah, the part they are talking about doesn't need the gateway. Its basically a wifi-adapter in itself.