Sol-ark 12k hybrid inverter?

[JFinch57]

Asking for an electrician friend, really! He has a 21KW setup with 8 strings into 4 existing Sunny Boy inverters. Wants to add battery backup for a hybrid grid tied system and also include his 14KW generator. I found the SOL-ARK 12K HYBRID INVERTER and it looks interesting. Has anyone used one of these or have anything to say about the company? Is there anything else comparable out there? He has around a $50K budget for the job.

[Ampster]

I know several people on another forum that have used them successfully. In addition there is a Youtube installer that likes them a lot . His handle is Engineer775. He is a licensed contractor working in the Southeast part of the country.
The SolArk is a rebranded Chinese product with apparently very good support from staff in Texas. A user here with the handle of @Bodo has one, Perhaps he will respond with his experience, Another user here also has one, I will ping him when I remember his handle.
I use an Outback Skybox which has less power than what your friend needs.

[Ampster]

@mtasko is the other poster that I believe uses a SolArk. He and I also purchased some commodity LFP cells from the same Alibaba vendor for under $120 per kWh.

[JFinch57]

Thanks for the replies!

[mstasko]

@mtasko is the other poster that I believe uses a SolArk. He and I also purchased some commodity LFP cells from the same Alibaba vendor for under $120 per kWh.

Correct. I have the 12k version of Sol-Ark since April and have been impressed with the overall performance - what they tout for performance improvements is true. As @ampster has noted the Sol-Ark is a rebranded Chinese brand, DEYE. There are a few versions of the inverter out there in the word and overall I believe they work basically the same way with similar performance.

The Sol-Ark is pricey when compared to the other DEYE versions. Up until recently only the Sol-Ark was available for sale in the US but a local distributor started selling the DEYE stateside and the prices are very competitive to the point that if I were to do it over again I would seriously consider the DEYE for a 1-3k savings, it is even UL listed and supports CA and HI requirements (like the Sol-Ark).

Here is a long thread that I started when I discovered the DEYE product was being offered in the US. One warning that a number of folks in the thread incorrectly make the statement that the Sol-Ark is made in the USA since the Sol-Ark co. is located in Texas vs. DEYE being Chinese. The short of it is that they are the same product with just a different wrapper.

https://diysolarforum.com/threads/deye-inverter-ul-listed-available-in-us.13942/

I believe you can't go wrong with either product.

[Ampster]

................
The Sol-Ark is pricey when compared to the other DEYE versions. Up until recently only the Sol-Ark was available for sale in the US but a local distributor started selling the DEYE stateside and the prices are very competitive to the point that if I were to do it over again I would seriously consider the DEYE for a 1-3k savings, it is even UL listed and supports CA and HI requirements (like the Sol-Ark).

Here is a long thread that I started when I discovered the DEYE product was being offered in the US. One warning that a number of folks in the thread incorrectly make the statement that the Sol-Ark is made in the USA since the Sol-Ark co. is located in Texas vs. DEYE being Chinese. The short of it is that they are the same product with just a different wrapper.
https://diysolarforum.com/threads/de...e-in-us.13942/
I believe you can't go wrong with either product.

Thanks for the update. I might be tempted to try the DEYE solution if I ever needed more capacity than my Outback Skybox has. As a DIYer a hybrid inverter would mostly be used for load shifting an AC coupled GT system installed by a professional. It does apparently have a UL rating but the biggest issue is the new NEC 2020 code that requires battery storage to be UL certified. I use safe LFP chemistry but UL has not recognized that difference. It doesn't help that LG Chem has had some recalls for their battery systems and for batteries in GM cars and Hyundai cars. That Chemistry is either NCA or NCM which is more volatile than LFP.