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Just bought a home that came with a solar panel -- question re: inverter

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  • Just bought a home that came with a solar panel -- question re: inverter

    Greetings. We just bought a home that came with a 3kw pole mount solar array with a Fronius IG 3000 inverter. This thing is almost 10 years old. I've read that these inverters have a life span of about that. I want to get it connected so I can track/monitor via the smartphone app. Im thinking we need to buy a new inverter rather than buying the upgrades for this old one?

  • #2
    I also need recommendations on which inverter to buy. SolarQuotes has some good info/reviews - it looks like Fronius is the BMW of inverters - I'm good with that. How about this one:

    https://www.solarpanelstore.com/sola...alvo_3100.html.

    NOW: here's the main question I have: The pole-mounted array is about 100 yards from my house. Can the inverter be mounted at the house rather than the array? This is because I will likely need to run a network cable down ot the pole as my wireless network won't reach down there.

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    • #3
      Why replace a functioning inverter for this? There are energy monitoring systems you can retrofit for a few hundred dollars that will be more accurate and probably have more interface options too.
      CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

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      • #4
        start it up let it run, fix it when it breaks. duh
        Last edited by drbob; 11-18-2017, 04:47 PM. Reason: it worked before let it buck

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        • #5
          Yes, well, it actually doesn't seem to be working. The original documents from the install estimated about 4900 kwh annually. We got 4kwh last month! And the monitoring would be to ensure that it is working...we are calling the company that installed it to come take a look.

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          • #6
            4 kWh, measured by whom? If that is what your power company says was reported, they are probably reporting net energy.

            Without dedicated metering on the PV circuit, the power company has no idea how much is generated and immediately consumed by active loads, since that power isn't passing through the meter.

            The power company might also be subtracting out the power your are using at night, leaving only a small amount as the net balance.

            3rd party monitoring equipment would give you more information about your power generation and consumption, more accurately than any inverter.

            (And of course, your system will produce different amounts at different times during the year, and usually very little when it is cloudy/rainy)
            CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

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            • #7
              Thank's for that! The power generation estimate was from the original paperwork from the local installer. Our estimate of use was from our power bill which showed a -4kwh for last month adjustment for solar generation. And that monitoring equipment is definitely what I need - so back to the original question - the Fronius IG 3000 serial number is 19431525, and the Fronius website mentions something (I thought) about only being able to upgrade to the Fronius Datamanager Card 2.0 starting about 26xxxxxx series of SN. I'd love to be able to pull this up on solar web, but all I have is the tiny little screen on the inverter, lol. I am going to call the original company out that installed it just to look at it; make sure it's working and see if it's upgradable. If not...

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              • #8
                get the owners manual for that inverter, and learn how to find out what is doing. I have an ig plus 10 kw inverter and it will tell me how much energy it has made daily or annually and that is what you need to know. I bet it is working right, also go out and look at it on a clear bright day and see what it is putting out at that time. if it is close to 3000 watts things are good. 3kw is a small system and you probably using the most of its output in your home. athem froniuses are good machines.

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                • #9
                  So, I read the manual. It was reading 140 watts this AM low light, and later in afternoon (sunny) was reading 700 watts. It apparently does not have a datalogger, much less the datamanager 2.0, so I can't see annual activity. What do those numbers mean for daily production? That number updates every second; so is that 700 watts per second, minute, or what?

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                  • #10
                    that would mean 700 watts per hour. watch it for a few days, 140 watts in low light isn't unreasonable . How many panels do you have. and do you know what size they are? My guess is that you have in the neighborhood of 3000 watts of panels on the roof. There are so many variables with solar, I wouldn't condemn that inverter right now,
                    .

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                    • #11
                      go to page 24 of your owners manual and it will show you how to access the data. open the front blue cover and you can get into the menu of your inverter and get better data on your screen using the buttons below the screen. it will tell you daily, monthly, annual, and total kw delivered.

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                      • #12
                        Yes I did that but it will not give anything except current and total. THere is no datasomething or other.

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                        • #13
                          how much do you want to know? its a 3 kw machine. on a good day it will make 40 cents an hour of power. tops... is it worth a lot of money to have a datalogger? let it buck

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                          • #14
                            Spending money on monitoring equipment is relatively useless if you don't know what the numbers mean or what to expect.

                            Watts is power, and is instantaneous. If the system was producing 700 W for one hour, the energy production would be 700 Wh. If it sustained that for two hours, the energy production would be 1400 Wh, or 1.4 kWh.

                            Free modeling tools like PVWatts (Google it) can give you a good idea of how much power you should be producing given your location, array orientation, and the time of year.

                            CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

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                            • #15
                              If you call the guy who installed it to come over he is in the business to sell you something. For fans of Futurama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfSzgV1q5g

                              Realistically PV becomes an appliance quickly and with a small system anything you spend improving it will far exceed the potential revenue. I have three inverters of various ages including a 15 year old one. Its only display is a blinking LED. The other two newer ones have displays but all I really do is look at the blinking LEDs when I walk by and on rare occasion look at the output when I walk by.

                              Maybe having PV gave geek cred years ago but realistically no one else will really care if you can monitor them remotely. As a coworker commented once "PV aint gonna get you laid"

                              If you do want to improve the life of the inverter and the system in general is put an good quality surge suppressor on the incoming utility power line. I recommend a midnight solar SPD. If there is none or its a Delta install one as the best likelihood of system damage is a line surge from the utility. When the inverter inevitably dies, replace it. Odds are is that you end up with different most likely smaller chassis and can get one off the shelf in a few days.

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