SolarEdge inverter failure -- fair timeline for repair?

[sd70]

Hi folks,

Looking for a gut check on what is 'industry standard' for repairs to failed inverters. I have a ~2 year old system with 3x SE-7600 inverters. I had an inverter failure last year that took a little bit to diagnose and replace but I think was on the order of a few weeks.

I just had my second failure in late November. My installer was quick to respond when I reached out, and I know they opened a case with SolarEdge. With the holidays etc I expected it might take a little bit, but I hadn't heard anything since then so followed up today and asked for an ETA. Installer said they didn't have one, and blamed solar edge. When I pushed, they got defensive, and are now suggesting it is unreasonable of me to be upset -- saying they aren't the manufacturer, it's solar edge's fault, holidays, etc. Honestly, I'm less excited that it's taking a bit of time (particularly with the holidays), but rather am frustrated that a) I have to chase for followup b) they get defensive c) they point me back to my agreement and blame the manufacturer

Am I unreasonable to expect an ETA? Or that they might chase this themselves and followup?

To add some intrigue, I called SolarEdge and sat on hold for half an hour to get to tech support. They say a case was opened, and the replacement was delivered in early December. FedEx tracking number confirms that, but it looks like perhaps the unit was delivered to the wrong address by FedEx. So, it's plausible that this really is Solar Edge's fault, but IMO if my installer was doing their job they would have figured out something was amiss in the 2nd week or so of December. Solar Edge says their RMA turnaround is 5-7 business days.

[J.P.M.]

Another happy SolarEdge user.

Anyone besides me noticed all the continuing bitches about SolarEdge ?

[SunEagle]

Another happy SolarEdge user.

Anyone besides me noticed all the continuing bitches about SolarEdge ?

They are obviously a bottom level solar equipment supplier. We can only hope they improve their response and reduce equipment failures in the future.

[Ampster]

I had a great turnaround with a recent SolarEdge replacement. It was significantly less than 5-7 days.

[Mike90250]

...... We can only hope they improve their response and reduce equipment failures in the future.

Because getting worse, is not an option !!

[Mrdenial]

They are obviously a bottom level solar equipment supplier. We can only hope they improve their response and reduce equipment failures in the future.

Is their product that bad? I’ve mostly read good things about them. If they are that bad, what are some good alternatives for someone with shade issues?

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

[Mike90250]

.....what are some good alternatives for someone with shade issues? Sorry for hijacking the thread...

1) install shaded area panels on 1 MPPT string, so good panels are not pushing power thru shaded panels.

2) will shaded panels actually provide any usable benefit ?

3) individual panel MPPT does not prevent a partially shaded panel from toasting it's own diodes over time.


Their idea/scheme to be able to remotely shutdown the array at each optimizer is really good, but again, the care of the electronics in a very demanding thermal environment, has to be top notch, or the gear is going to fail. Many automobile makers have their engine CPU located in the passenger compartment in many models, because the cold/heat from the engine is unmanageable.

[SunEagle]

Is their product that bad? I’ve mostly read good things about them. If they are that bad, what are some good alternatives for someone with shade issues?

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

If they could get their equipment to handle the harsh hot environment there would be less failures.

My guess is that someone will develop a micro inverter that can work under the panels even if the ambient gets very very hot. I am not sure who that is yet but the market will grow.

[J.P.M.]

I had a great turnaround with a recent SolarEdge replacement. It was significantly less than 5-7 days.

That's good to hear, but IMO only, and only based on what I read around here, your experience seems to be among the minority of those reporting a good experience with SolarEdge.

I'd also comment that a good experience with replacement doesn't say much about the equipment quality - rather maybe the lack of it - that caused the need for the replacement in the first place.

It just seems to me - and no more than an opinion based on little more than observing what folks are writing around here - that there's a lot of post traffic about problems with respect to SolarEdge equipment from failures that look and read like operational problems, with a lot of those problems and bitches at least partly a result of unnecessary complexity when it comes to configuring, starting up and operating the equipment.

Even though Solar edge does seem to enjoy a large market share just now, the quantity of the negative posts seems to me to be out of proportion to that market share. It also seems to me that - to the degree the posts reflect user's perceptions - SolarEdge equipment is not the easiest to start up and also generally make sense of with respect to day/day operation, although a lot of that may be due to user ignorance.

Based on what I read here and think I might know, I'd not consider SolarEdge products as a possible choice if I were considering solar equipment either for a new application or a replacement for existing equipment.

[J.P.M.]

Is their product that bad? I’ve mostly read good things about them. If they are that bad, what are some good alternatives for someone with shade issues?

Back up a little bit.

Some alternatives:

1.) Be realistic about the limitations imposed by shade.

Reality: If the irradiance on a panel is reduced by 50 % over any period - an hour, day, year, whatever - no micro or optimizer will restore the lost potential. A panel's potential output lost to shading cannot be replaced or improved by micros or optimizers, only mitigated to some degree.

Most all sites have limitations. Often, a lot of those limitations shade. Micros and power optimizers can help but involve more complexity (read more potential failures/down time). The no free lunch thing.

2.) If one goal of having PV is a lower electric bill rather than PV for its own sake, in a somewhat larger context, using less electricity is a pretty sure way to get there and so a possible good alternative.

3.) Horse and barn door thing for those considering PV: Get informed and educate yourself more than the simple hearsay and B.S. from the greenwash media and solar conmen with skin in the game try to, and often successfully, cram down your throat.

4.) Know the site limitations and get some possible design workarounds before you pull the trigger - after the self education and use reduction to the extent your lifestyle permits.

Take what you want of the above. Scrap the rest.

[sd70]

I seem to have struck a nerve about SolarEdge. I'm not actually annoyed at them, though maybe I should be -- I was/am (tbd how it gets handled) by my installer, because it seems like the SolarEdge turnaround would have been 5-7 days, but my installer never followed up with them to find out why they hadn't received my replacement unit.

Regarding the inverters (vs. my installer's service) -- it does seem odd that I've had 2 of 3 fail in 2 years, and that certainly doesn't bode well for the long term. Who are the primary competitors to SolarEdge and are they more reliable?

[emartin00]

When we had a failure we dealt directly with SE because it was a self installed system. It took a couple calls to get everything sorted out, but I think we had the new inverter in about a week.

[pete4]

According to greentechmedia, in US for the first 3 quarters of 2019, Solar Edge was used in 60% of residential installations, Enphase in about 20% and 20% others. Also keep in mind, most of forum postings would be about problems, very rarely would you see a post saying "I have such and such equipment and it's working great, what do I do now?" LOL, so judging equipment reliability by forum postings is not that reliable, especially if it's dominant system ATM. Anyhow, the only solid data on equipment reliability could come from installers etc. do we have any and are they willing to share some insight? I'm interested as well since I have SE system and would like to know what to expect.

[RichardCullip]

According to greentechmedia, in US for the first 3 quarters of 2019, Solar Edge was used in 60% of residential installations, Enphase in about 20% and 20% others. Also keep in mind, most of forum postings would be about problems, very rarely would you see a post saying "I have such and such equipment and it's working great, what do I do now?" LOL, so judging equipment reliability by forum postings is not that reliable, especially if it's dominant system ATM. Anyhow, the only solid data on equipment reliability could come from installers etc. do we have any and are they willing to share some insight? I'm interested as well since I have SE system and would like to know what to expect.

Likewise, as an owner of a SE system I would like to know what the future holds for my inverter. I only have 9 months of operational experience but , so far, the system is running great. Performance has been better that expected based on both the installers estimate and my own PVWatts forecast. So far so good.

[qrper]

I seem to have struck a nerve about SolarEdge. I'm not actually annoyed at them, though maybe I should be -- I was/am (tbd how it gets handled) by my installer, because it seems like the SolarEdge turnaround would have been 5-7 days, but my installer never followed up with them to find out why they hadn't received my replacement unit.

Regarding the inverters (vs. my installer's service) -- it does seem odd that I've had 2 of 3 fail in 2 years, and that certainly doesn't bode well for the long term. Who are the primary competitors to SolarEdge and are they more reliable?

Wondering.... Did Solaredge fix the inverter at no cost? And will the installer replace it at no cost?

How long will the installer do service calls for a bad inverter for?

If I remember, Solaredge has a 25 year warranty. I haven't read it from top to bottom, but in the 23rd year, will they repair the inverter at no cost or prorate it?