SolarEdge users: What's your inverter temp during high production?

[TAZ427]

If the inverter is still pumping out a constant 7.6 kW under high temps, I do think it is pretty safe to say the it is not de-rating much or at all. It is probably putting a huge stress on my inverter, but I don't care. I have the 25 year warranty and I have two companies standing behind the install.

Not adding a larger inverter was done for a few reasons. The first is I would have to spend a few thousand to modify my panel for the larger breaker needed. I also have three separate arrays. The clipping is bad, but it probably is not as much as bad as it looks. I am probably averaging a little over 8 kW during the clipping time, which means that I am missing out on about 4 kWh max on a good solar day. The two thousand dollars to modify my panel at this point wouldn't be a smart financial decision.

When my panels degrade I will not see the same losses as most people do because of the clipping. Plus my output is higher so far than what was expected, even with the crazy clipping. I produced 2,180 kWh in May with the 7600 inverter.

That makes a bit more sense when you're not peaking out on all the panels at the same time. Looks like my two roofs peak out about just over any hour apart, but yours I with the 3 roofs probably has a flatter profile mid day than mine does, and in your circumstances the $2000 cost to upgrade the panel makes the decision that much easier to make. I only had a double breaker spot left in my panel. That's one thing that I have to take into consideration if I get an EV, as I don't have another spot for a breaker and no 240v line in the garage. I'm thinking I'll relocate the laundry rooms 240v plug to the garage side, luckily it's on a wall shared with the garage. If I'm not allowed to do that, then I'll put some conduit in place have the plug plugged in the inside, and the charger sitting on the garage side wall.

[discodanman45]

That's one thing that I have to take into consideration if I get an EV, as I don't have another spot for a breaker and no 240v line in the garage.

I saw in your post about your system that you have the same inverter as me, the SolarEdge 7600H. You do know they are making an EV charger for that inverter that you can connect directly to the inverter. No additional breaker needed and you can charge your EV directly from your solar panels.

https://www.solaredge.com/us/products/ev-charger#/

[TAZ427]

I saw in your post about your system that you have the same inverter as me, the SolarEdge 7600H. You do know they are making an EV charger for that inverter that you can connect directly to the inverter. No additional breaker needed and you can charge your EV directly from your solar panels.

https://www.solaredge.com/us/products/ev-charger#/

Wasn't sure if that would could be retrofitted or would have to replace it with a new HD-Wave with the charger built in. It does look interesting. Especially if there's an occasion that I really want to charge it during daylight hours.

[Kendalf]

No additional breaker needed and you can charge your EV directly from your solar panels.

Technically any EVSE that is pulling less power than that being produced by the panels at that moment is charging your EV directly from solar.

The full integration and no need for extra breaker and wiring is really nice, however.

[ButchDeal]

Technically any EVSE that is pulling less power than that being produced by the panels at that moment is charging your EV directly from solar.

The full integration and no need for extra breaker and wiring is really nice, however.

It can charge at higher rate than other similar chargers as it does not have to limit to the breaker
it can also be monitored and controlled. By smart phone and browser

[bcroe]

Technically any EVSE that is pulling less power than that being produced by the panels at that moment is charging
your EV directly from solar. The full integration and no need for extra breaker and wiring is really nice, however.

That is all around more efficient. Except, you can only drive at night. Bruce Roe

[Kendalf]

Finally had a clear day when I was home to run the experiment to see if there is any production benefit from cooling down the inverter temp with fans. As expected, there was no noticeable impact, at least within the conditions that I could test. What I did was leave my fans off until right about the peak production point of the day, when the panel power production just started to decrease. I then plugged the fans back in to see if there was visible production gain (either increase or longer plateau) when the inverter temperature dropped.

Here's the production and temp chart for the test. Ambient temperatures were around 90 F, and inverter hit a peak temp of 160.5 F @ 1PM before the fans were plugged in, and temp was down to 142.5 F by 1:20PM:
chart.png

For comparison, here is the chart for the day before, with pretty much similar conditions, with my normal fan profile (peak temp about 139 F):
chart (2).png

If you're interested in seeing the raw data, here is the Sheet with side by side comparison: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Basically, if there is any production benefit, it is too slight to be visible within my control conditions.

[JakeTrilla]

So how cool is this! My buddy took that SolarEdge API, added in an API from Weather.com and turned it into this...

Ehhhh
guess I had better get on the wagon and install a external fan...
I've not gone through a summer with my panels installed, but if you are getting to 119F on 70F days, us folks in Las Vegas are in for trouble. Our typical summer day ambient temperature hovers around 110F!

[JakeTrilla]

If the inverter is still pumping out a constant 7.6 kW under high temps, I do think it is pretty safe to say the it is not de-rating much or at all. It is probably putting a huge stress on my inverter, but I don't care. I have the 25 year warranty and I have two companies standing behind the install.

Not adding a larger inverter was done for a few reasons. The first is I would have to spend a few thousand to modify my panel for the larger breaker needed. I also have three separate arrays. The clipping is bad, but it probably is not as much as bad as it looks. I am probably averaging a little over 8 kW during the clipping time, which means that I am missing out on about 4 kWh max on a good solar day. The two thousand dollars to modify my panel at this point wouldn't be a smart financial decision.

When my panels degrade I will not see the same losses as most people do because of the clipping. Plus my output is higher so far than what was expected, even with the crazy clipping. I produced 2,180 kWh in May with the 7600 inverter.

Question on the 25 year warranty part of your comment... Is that an option to by from SolarEdge, or do they all have that benefit? Is there a registration process or something?
I've got one of their HD wave 10K units hooked to an 8.3KW panel system...

[ButchDeal]

Question on the 25 year warranty part of your comment... Is that an option to by from SolarEdge, or do they all have that benefit? Is there a registration process or something?
I've got one of their HD wave 10K units hooked to an 8.3KW panel system...

It is from solaredge direct and most inverter manufaturers do not offer it.

https://www.solaredge.com/us/warranty

[TAZ427]

Question on the 25 year warranty part of your comment... Is that an option to by from SolarEdge, or do they all have that benefit? Is there a registration process or something?
I've got one of their HD wave 10K units hooked to an 8.3KW panel system...

Solar Edge Inverters default warranty is 12yrs - https://www.solaredge.com/sites/defa...-july-2018.pdf. I recall reading about the ability to buy a longer one.

As for the inverter temps, as long as it's not in direct sunlight or in something enclosed that's going to heat up a lot, 110F isn't a big deal. And you may even be a bit overkill with the 10k inverter over the 7.6k inverter for that size of system. I'd be interested to see where you peak out for production in the summer.

[discodanman45]

I think the SolarEdge10000 inverters are cheaper than the newer SE7600H inverters. The SE7600H have EV charging and battery storage capabilities. I was told by my contractor that the SE10000 will be available the third quarter this year with EV charging and battery storage.

[JakeTrilla]

Solar Edge Inverters default warranty is 12yrs - https://www.solaredge.com/sites/defa...-july-2018.pdf. I recall reading about the ability to buy a longer one.

As for the inverter temps, as long as it's not in direct sunlight or in something enclosed that's going to heat up a lot, 110F isn't a big deal. And you may even be a bit overkill with the 10k inverter over the 7.6k inverter for that size of system. I'd be interested to see where you peak out for production in the summer.

good to hear about the heat. The inverter is on a north facing wall, so I'm imagining it won't ever see direct sunlight.

Yeah, the installer tried to tell me that a 5k inverter would be fine for my system, but (as expected) there was a great deal of "clipping" going on. The installer didn't understand that the 150% INPUT rating was different from the nameplate OUTPUT rating.

I bought the 10k on my own and installed it; poof! getting 8KW peaks without issue... miracles right?

[TAZ427]

I think the SolarEdge10000 inverters are cheaper than the newer SE7600H inverters. The SE7600H have EV charging and battery storage capabilities. I was told by my contractor that the SE10000 will be available the third quarter this year with EV charging and battery storage.

The SE7600H HD Wave is a stand alone inverter. The SE7600H HD Wave w/ EV charger is a premium, and to my knowledge has no battery storage/charging capabilities, but is about $500 more.

As far as I can tell they still make and sell the SE7600H HD Wave w/o the built in EV charger. And the SE10000H is actually slightly more expensive than the SE7600H HD Wave w/ EV charger as far as I've been able to find pricing.

FWIW, when I had mine installed (June 2018), the SE7600H HD Wave w/ EV charger was announced, and I was told by my installer they were shipping them, but w/o the charger enabled at that time (not sure if it was a UL thing or what.) For $500 more, I didn't want to pay for it. When I get an EV, I can install a NEMA 14-50 myself and buy whatever charger I want to plug into it for about the same price today (and likely a lower price when I do.) Or possible hardwire a faster rate charger to the mains if I decide to.

[JakeTrilla]

It is from solaredge direct and most inverter manufaturers do not offer it.

https://www.solaredge.com/us/warranty

Thanks ButchDeal!
Probably a dumb question, but is the extended warranty worth the $350? I've been told these units are pretty robust, but I'm admittedly very new to the game...