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SolarPanelTalk (and solar system) virgin here, so please be gentle...
I'm about to pull the trigger on my first home system using 30 LG 335W modules plus a SolarEdge inverter and SolarEdge power optimizers here in Palm Springs, California. I like the fact that I can read the little LCD display on the inverter if I'm so motivated to get info such as system total DC input and AC output for the inverter, plus scroll through displays for individual optimizers showing input voltage from its associated module and its output voltage to the inverter. I'd like to also take advantage of whatever free monitoring services that SolarEdge claims it offers (who doesn't like to look at spiffy graphics every once in a while?) but to do that, the inverter has to be connected to good folks at SolarEdge.
My understanding, admittedly obtained just from reading the literature on the SolarEdge website (so please correct me if I'm totally clueless), is that data from the inverter is sent to SolarEdge via either the owner's existing Internet connection or by cellular transmission. The latter method appears to require some sort of ongoing subscription plan plus the initial cost of a cellular board (CDMA, I believe). I hate subscription plans, so that's a non-starter. The Internet connection approach using the owner's system (i.e., my system) is far more attractive, but the standard method for setting one of these things up is to use a Zigbee network-based home gateway to link the inverter to the owner's router. This seems unnecessarily complicated to me and my installer quoted a pretty shocking price for the additional equipment and implementation. No gracias...
The most straightforward and low cost approach for me is to simply hardwire my router to a standard RJ45 port on the inverter using an Ethernet cable. Piece of cake in theory, but it isn't practical to run a cable from the inverter sitting outside of my garage to my home office where the cable modem\Wi-Fi router sit. Folks in a similar situation appear to opt for the Zigbee approach, which surprises me. Unless I'm simply not getting it, the communication board in the inverter is functionally no different than any other device that is Ethernet-enabled but lacks a WiFi capability, such as an older Blu-ray player. You've got the Blu-ray player in one room, and you've got the router in another, but a direct WiFi connection isn't possible. One answer to the Blu-Ray problem (and I am sure there are others) is to use a pair of "nano adapters" like Netgear makes (or at least used to make) for about $70 for the set. You use an Ethernet cable to connect the player to one of the adapters, which you then plug into a standard electrical outlet on a wall, then take the other adapter and do the same thing with the router in the other room. The link is through the power lines, which I assume is similar to the means for the optimizers to communicate with the inverter. The other solution for the WiFi-less Blu-Ray problem is to use some sort of wireless adapter, similar to those made by Iogear for about 50 bucks I think. Here the wireless adapter you've linked to the player with an Ethernet cable uses its WiFi capability to connect to the router, essentially resulting in a situation no different than if your Blu-Ray player was WiFi-enabled right out of the box.
So why can't a pair of powerline nano adapters or a single wireless adapter work to connect the SolarEdge inverter to the 'Net? I can't seem to find any discussion of this approach on the Web, What am I missing?
Thanks,
Nick in Palm Springs
I'm about to pull the trigger on my first home system using 30 LG 335W modules plus a SolarEdge inverter and SolarEdge power optimizers here in Palm Springs, California. I like the fact that I can read the little LCD display on the inverter if I'm so motivated to get info such as system total DC input and AC output for the inverter, plus scroll through displays for individual optimizers showing input voltage from its associated module and its output voltage to the inverter. I'd like to also take advantage of whatever free monitoring services that SolarEdge claims it offers (who doesn't like to look at spiffy graphics every once in a while?) but to do that, the inverter has to be connected to good folks at SolarEdge.
My understanding, admittedly obtained just from reading the literature on the SolarEdge website (so please correct me if I'm totally clueless), is that data from the inverter is sent to SolarEdge via either the owner's existing Internet connection or by cellular transmission. The latter method appears to require some sort of ongoing subscription plan plus the initial cost of a cellular board (CDMA, I believe). I hate subscription plans, so that's a non-starter. The Internet connection approach using the owner's system (i.e., my system) is far more attractive, but the standard method for setting one of these things up is to use a Zigbee network-based home gateway to link the inverter to the owner's router. This seems unnecessarily complicated to me and my installer quoted a pretty shocking price for the additional equipment and implementation. No gracias...
The most straightforward and low cost approach for me is to simply hardwire my router to a standard RJ45 port on the inverter using an Ethernet cable. Piece of cake in theory, but it isn't practical to run a cable from the inverter sitting outside of my garage to my home office where the cable modem\Wi-Fi router sit. Folks in a similar situation appear to opt for the Zigbee approach, which surprises me. Unless I'm simply not getting it, the communication board in the inverter is functionally no different than any other device that is Ethernet-enabled but lacks a WiFi capability, such as an older Blu-ray player. You've got the Blu-ray player in one room, and you've got the router in another, but a direct WiFi connection isn't possible. One answer to the Blu-Ray problem (and I am sure there are others) is to use a pair of "nano adapters" like Netgear makes (or at least used to make) for about $70 for the set. You use an Ethernet cable to connect the player to one of the adapters, which you then plug into a standard electrical outlet on a wall, then take the other adapter and do the same thing with the router in the other room. The link is through the power lines, which I assume is similar to the means for the optimizers to communicate with the inverter. The other solution for the WiFi-less Blu-Ray problem is to use some sort of wireless adapter, similar to those made by Iogear for about 50 bucks I think. Here the wireless adapter you've linked to the player with an Ethernet cable uses its WiFi capability to connect to the router, essentially resulting in a situation no different than if your Blu-Ray player was WiFi-enabled right out of the box.
So why can't a pair of powerline nano adapters or a single wireless adapter work to connect the SolarEdge inverter to the 'Net? I can't seem to find any discussion of this approach on the Web, What am I missing?
Thanks,
Nick in Palm Springs
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