Thoughts on our first system install/a bit of a rant and some anxiety

[Six4KilowWatt]

We installed an Enphase 6.4 kw grid tie system. The total cost was 13,000 installed. It was with 20 Canadian Solar panels, 20 M250 inverters and racking. I think at 13k we saved a good amount compared to the solar company, that price is not with the 30 percent tax credit. Price also included the AC cut off switch and additional breakers.

So I hope we did okay. The main reason we chose Enphase and not a string with optimizers, is to idiot proof the installation process. I think our electrician ripped us off charging 1,100$ to hook up two J-boxes and one breaker/combiner with ac shutoff to our main service panel. I was not comfortable doing that work myself. But I can't fathom how such a simple circuit would take a full 8 hours work.

The total conduit run was less than 20 feet and our J-box locations were not on a highly slanted roof top.

Our production seems a bit low...so far we have only hit 5kw once...I think it has to do with seasonal sun exposures. Lately we have peaked about 4.5kw...

I understand winter sun exposures are different, but it seems like a full sun cloud free winter day should yield a bit more. I guess it has to do with solar radiation in the seasons. It does seem that our production is gradually going up and holding longer.

I am nervous about Enphase product life...however, if the company provides service during the rate of return investment period, it will be less of a concern. We had one inverter fail and we got a replacement, which was very quick. It's such a shame to me to see Enphase waste so much capital on the battery pack technology that is not even very practical.

I do like the Enphase Envoy system with on-line monitoring. As the self installer we do in fact have access to the Enlighten webpage. In our first few weeks of operation we discovered one inverter not responding. Oddly enough when the warranty replacement was issued the inverter started working again.

I really hope Enphase can somehow stay afloat long enough. But with millions of M250 units out there, I don't think finding service parts will be too difficult. It's a shame the industry can't create standardized connections and cables.

I think we did good considering after the tax credit, the actually price of the system would have been between 16,000-18,000

[tracksyde]

I think you did good at about $2/watt for a semi self installed system before tax credits. 5kw of power peak sounds OK, although it depends immensely on your location and azimuth. As a comparison, my 5.76kw system in Southern CA peaked at 4.478kw at 1140am yesterday (clear sunny day), but I have 13 panels at 160 azimuth and 5 panels at an unhelpful 340 azimuth.

I also had concerns about Enphase's longevity as a business. But in my case my installer (LA Solar Group) said they would warranty the micros themselves if it came to that. Of course, they have to stick around too, for that to mean anything. I also spoke to a guy who self-installed and he has a good stash of spares (the bulk of his micros are M190s, which almost single-handedly gave Enphase their poor reputation).

[sdold]

Your peak sounds normal to me. I have a 4 kW system with 225 degree orientation in Northern CA and my peaks these days are around 3.2-3.2 kW. that's 78% of STC power, same as yours.

[Six4KilowWatt]

Cool, I'm in Nor Cal also...I hope with summer sun we get a 5kw output...our inverters will clip at 5.5...that's our theoretical max.