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  • EnPhase Envoy Comms Gateway failure?

    I was wondering if anyone knows about failures of the Enphase Envoy. From the Enphase website I see that it has but a 2 year warranty. It's a $400-500 part. Having experienced 3 wireless router failures personally in my home, is that a cause for concern? Does anyone have an Enphase system in which the vendor is covering the Envoy for a longer period of time?

  • #2
    Originally posted by subdriver97 View Post
    I was wondering if anyone knows about failures of the Enphase Envoy. From the Enphase website I see that it has but a 2 year warranty. It's a $400-500 part. Having experienced 3 wireless router failures personally in my home, is that a cause for concern? Does anyone have an Enphase system in which the vendor is covering the Envoy for a longer period of time?
    Link to amazon review (2.5 stars overall, 7 one star reviews!):
    http://www.amazon.com/Enphase-Commun.../dp/B008MAEBIC

    Link to Enphase Envoy 2-year warranty pdf:
    http://enphase.com/global/files/Envoy_Warranty_NA.pdf

    Horror Story on Enphase failure and warranty claim:
    http://www.solartown.com/blog/2011/0...ses-heartburn/

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    • #3
      Hi Subdriver,

      My take on micro inverters is that we will use them if we have to, that is if you have significant shade issues or you have an awkwardly shaped roof that doesnt allow for the panel strings you need to get a traditional string inverter to run properly. We have had several issues with micro-inverter monortoring software, to be blunt they can be a pain. The other thing is that they are reletivly new so no one can tell you how they will be going in 10 years time, where as there are string inverters out there that are over 10 years old and still going strong.

      I am sure there will be others with different opionions, and thats fine too.

      P.S I work for the company that runs solar panel talk and solar reviews, and no I dont have shares in an inverter manufacturer, cheers.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by solar pete View Post
        Hi Subdriver,

        We have had several issues with micro-inverter monortoring software, to be blunt they can be a pain.
        I just wanted to clarify when you say micro-inverter monitoring software, do you mean the Envoy Comms Gateway as a whole or the actual software of the Comms Gateway? What I'm more concerned about is the Comms Gateway as a piece of hardware. Typically software in devices like these may need to be reconfigured or reloaded but the device as a whole is still usable. A hardware failure would result in an unusable device.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by subdriver97 View Post
          I just wanted to clarify when you say micro-inverter monitoring software, do you mean the Envoy Comms Gateway as a whole or the actual software of the Comms Gateway? What I'm more concerned about is the Comms Gateway as a piece of hardware. Typically software in devices like these may need to be reconfigured or reloaded but the device as a whole is still usable. A hardware failure would result in an unusable device.
          Hi Subdriver,

          We have had problems with both the hardware and software, all fixable stuff but has lead to some angst and aggravation with customers so there pain becomes my pain so I am just not a big fan.

          P.S I work for the Australian part of the company that run this site and solar reviews, some models of equipment are different here compared to what you get in the states (well model numbers are different anyway) and rules and regulations I believe vary a bit to what we have here, so any advise you get from locals will be better than what I can give, cheers.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by solar pete View Post
            We have had problems with both the hardware and software, all fixable stuff but has lead to some angst and aggravation with customers so there pain becomes my pain so I am just not a big fan.
            From the horse's mouth - problems mean extra work and loss of profits - no customer/supplier/installer wants or needs that!
            [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

            Comment


            • #7
              Does anyone know what to do about an Enphase Envoy error message "Envoy Failure", and the event (from the events log), "Flash memory filled over the threshold limit, 94%".

              We have a system of Enphase M215 micro-inverters and the Envoy monitor. Our system has been running since November 2012. I connect the Envoy to my network at least a few times a week in the evenings, except during a 3 month period between Oct 2015 to Dec 2015, just to check (locally, not in Enlighten) the system daily production. The reason for not connecting the Envoy to the network (and thus to the internet) 24/7 is because I'm worried our solar system (and network) being hacked into.

              Then last week when I made my daily check on the Envoy monitor screen I saw the aforementioned error message. I rebooted the Envoy by recycling the power to it and thereafter it would operate normally for a few hours. I called Enphase support and the rep suggested he would run some background scripts to clear some files in Envoy. Also, that I leave it connected to the network for a few days in hopes that the Envoy uploads data to Enlighten and thus clear some memory space. The rep thought that by not having the Envoy connected to the network all the time was a cause to the memory filling up. But that would mean that homes without an internet connection or owners that decide not to share their pv data would have memory space problems. I thought that connecting the Envoy to the internet was an option, not a requirement unless software updates or grid profiles changes were needed. Anyways I worked with the rep, but the Envoy could only run for a few hours before it fails and need to be rebooted so not much uploading to Enlighten happened.

              Then it got worst, where recycling power to it would not help to boot it up. In the last call to Enphase support, a different rep said that they now would not be able to remotely log in and troubleshoot the Envoy in failure mode. Therefore, he suggested I get a new Envoy (cost $500+) and then have it connected to the network 24/7. I am hoping to not go this route for a solution.

              I have seen a youtube video of the Envoy circuit board which has a removable flash memory card (possibly used for data logging). Would a possible fix be to clear or replace and reformat that memory card. I would also need to figure out how to disassemble the Envoy without breaking it.

              I have been assured by Enphase support and also have verified that the PV panels and microinverters can function normally without the Envoy. But as a system owner the monitoring system is needed. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

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