sanity check on SolarEdge backup interface install time

[green1]

That's great. I think it's a perfect low cost feature that makes a great backup plan.
batteries are so expensive it's great to have what seems like batteries at least during the day for almost no cost. Assuming they didn't double the price or something.
Can you get near max output out of it as the sun goes up and down?

As with any solar system output will vary by time of day, time of year, weather, etc. Sunrise and sunset are unlikely to be high generation times.

[nomadh]

Correct. As long as the sun shines and you're putting out more power than you're consuming the backup interface allows you to stay running when the grid is down.

That's great. I think it's a perfect low cost feature that makes a great backup plan.
batteries are so expensive it's great to have what seems like batteries at least during the day for almost no cost. Assuming they didn't double the price or something.
Can you get near max output out of it as the sun goes up and down?

[green1]

This unit has the feature where you can get daytime solar power off grid without batteries?

Correct. As long as the sun shines and you're putting out more power than you're consuming the backup interface allows you to stay running when the grid is down.

[Ampster]

SolArk is a US branded Deye inverter which is manufactured in China but has different firmware designed in Texas. That is the only difference from the generic Deye inverter that I am familiar with. Their customer service is reportedly very good.

[nomadh]

Not trying to push ... but

1st: give Sol-Ark a call. I know some DIY friendly companies will actually produce the engineering schematic and specs you need for permits. I'm not sure if Sol-Ark does, but they have a phone number on their site.

2nd: Their system is pretty simple. It's an All-in-One device. You only have one box to hang on the wall. it reduces DIY complexity to almost Plug-n-Play simplicity. And if you choose to use a local installer it reduces their labor time.

You can add batteries later if you want, or not. You can add a generator as back up if you want, or not, you can run off grid if you want, or you can push extra production to the grid. And you can do almost any combination of these things at the same time (ex: use panels to supply your house load, charge batteries, and push to grid at the same time. It's an integrated transfer switch (one of the fastest at 4ms) that will switch you back to grid when panels stop producing, or switch you to batteries if the grid goes down etc. It has the most functionality I've seen from any manufacture.

They are made in Texas. You can talk to a real person, and the person you talk to knows the system - not just some $12/hr help desk person who asks the questions they are told to ask.

They have 5kw, 8kw, and 12kw units right now. A new 15kw unit is due in June.
This is one of those companies that listens to users and installers and actually addresses the points they make. The 12k unit is a good unit, but has one drawback that caused me to hold off. But the new 15kw unit more than solves that issue, so I'm waiting on that unit.

This unit has the feature where you can get daytime solar power off grid without batteries?

[oregon_phil]

panel is surface mounted on a plywood backboard mounted to a concrete wall, all conduit exposed. Plywood backboard has lots of room left on it for additional components. This is in a garage, so visible components are to be expected.

What you're saying is that it took 2 people 8 hours to install the transfer switch. That surprises me, but would appear to be in-line with the 2 people 8 hours that my quote shows for the backup interface as it is in many ways similar to a transfer switch. Not sure I understand why it would take that long, but at least you're saying it's not out of line.

I have main power from the pole going underground to a stepdown transformer , then back underground to my meter breaker panel in my pole barn. Another large conduit goes from my meter breaker panel in the pole barn to my main house breaker panel. Both of these large conduits go through my concrete slab. I also have smaller breaker panel for the pole barn connected to the meter breaker panel.

It took the electrician quite a while to figure out how to draw out the schematic and place all the physical parts before executing on the job. He took pride in his work and didn't want it to look like a piece of crap. Your quote probably isn't too far off. To help things move along, I took a lot of pictures of my panel, transformer, etc. and asked if I could speak with the master electrician directly. Maybe "installation" also includes SE device commissioning too.

During slack time waiting for inspections, I was able to get the electrician to install a solar surge protector.

I know you're specifically asking about transfer switch installation time, but if they made sure you had installer access (and proved it) and threw in a spare optimizer(s), then I would feel a little bit better about the installer.

[green1]

Did you ask the installer why it would take 2 people x 8 hours? If they can't give you a reasonable explanation then it's probably not a good installer regardless of the actual amount of work required.

That conversation is coming as part of finalizing everything, I just wanted to go into that conversation better informed. I'm still waiting on a couple of other details from them before we have that conversation.

I do hope that everything will go well with this company though, because the process of getting quotes has so far been somewhat painful. out of at least 12 companies I asked for quotes from, only 5 got back to me at all. Of those, only 3 ever gave me a quote. Of the 3 quotes, the first one was for a system half the size I asked for, and when I questioned that they stopped replying to me, the second one had a quote so messed up that I couldn't even make heads or tails of it (half the quote talked about a solaredge system, the other half about an enphase system, there were conflicting numerical values on different pages, it was a huge mess) When I questioned him on it he admitted it was a disaster, but his updated quote was only marginally better, and he just couldn't answer any questions about the system at all. And the last company alone is making sense in most of their quoting.

[solardreamer]

Did you ask the installer why it would take 2 people x 8 hours? If they can't give you a reasonable explanation then it's probably not a good installer regardless of the actual amount of work required.

[green1]

panel is surface mounted on a plywood backboard mounted to a concrete wall, all conduit exposed. Plywood backboard has lots of room left on it for additional components. This is in a garage, so visible components are to be expected.

What you're saying is that it took 2 people 8 hours to install the transfer switch. That surprises me, but would appear to be in-line with the 2 people 8 hours that my quote shows for the backup interface as it is in many ways similar to a transfer switch. Not sure I understand why it would take that long, but at least you're saying it's not out of line.

[oregon_phil]

Thank you for the first on topic reply. I did take a look, yes there will be pipe and wire in and out, in my situation I don't believe a sub panel is required as I'm talking whole home backup. My impression of the backup interface is that it can be used as a service entrance, so it should just be a matter of wiring it between the meter feed in and the main panel. I definitely understand that this will require some time to complete, it just doesn't feel like 16 hours worth of time.

Based on my understanding of the install, it should be a matter of redirecting the main service feed that currently goes into the main panel out to this box sitting beside the panel, and then wiring back from that box to feed the main panel. That seems to me that we should be talking replacing the run from the meter to the panel, which is in conduit directly on the other side of the wall from the meter, and then a new run back from this box to the panel. Unless I'm missing something obvious, it feels like something that I could do myself in about 2 hours, maybe three. The question is am I missing something obvious? There's definitely been a temptation to simply do it myself, however it certainly makes more sense to do it at the same time as the utility shut down that is required anyway, instead of having the utility provider come back a second time, which is expensive, to shut off the feed to the house.

My situation is not a direct 1 to 1 comparison, but I had a NG generator installed right next to my main panel with the transfer switch right next to my main panel. I have 2x6 exposed framing in my pole barn.

2 people x 2 hours to review my layout and determine all the piece parts. Wait for generator to arrive.

2 people x 8 hours to install transfer switch, conduit and prep all wiring including generator control wiring.

2 people x 4 hours for power to pull meter, rewire power panel, test generator start up, wait for power company to put the meter back in, wait for county electrical inspection

In the end, I would estimate it took about 2 people x 8 hours to do the electrical panel and transfer switch rewiring. And the master electrician did it in a way I didn't think of doing it because he knew more about my electrical panel and all the line power connectors than I did.

SolarEdge makes two different model numbers for the Backup interface. Make sure you get the service rated interface if that's what you want.

If you included a picture of your main panel area, maybe that would help. Do you have drywall? Framing that needs adjustment? Is your electrical panel flush mount or recessed?

[green1]

I did I quick look seems to be a bit more than just hanging it on the wall Pipe and wire in and out, subpanel, have you looked at a detailed wiring diagram?

Thank you for the first on topic reply. I did take a look, yes there will be pipe and wire in and out, in my situation I don't believe a sub panel is required as I'm talking whole home backup. My impression of the backup interface is that it can be used as a service entrance, so it should just be a matter of wiring it between the meter feed in and the main panel. I definitely understand that this will require some time to complete, it just doesn't feel like 16 hours worth of time.

Based on my understanding of the install, it should be a matter of redirecting the main service feed that currently goes into the main panel out to this box sitting beside the panel, and then wiring back from that box to feed the main panel. That seems to me that we should be talking replacing the run from the meter to the panel, which is in conduit directly on the other side of the wall from the meter, and then a new run back from this box to the panel. Unless I'm missing something obvious, it feels like something that I could do myself in about 2 hours, maybe three. The question is am I missing something obvious? There's definitely been a temptation to simply do it myself, however it certainly makes more sense to do it at the same time as the utility shut down that is required anyway, instead of having the utility provider come back a second time, which is expensive, to shut off the feed to the house.

[green1]

I think you've completely missed the point to the question, at no point did I question the hourly rate, only the number of hours. The question that no one in this thread has even attempted to answer so far is whether or not it takes 16 man hours to install a backup interface in a simple situation. That's the question I posed in this thread, and the only question I want answered in this thread.
Instead the answers I've gotten are that solaredge inverters aren't as good as a competitor, that extra truck rolls are expensive, or that people need to make a living wage. None of those are related in any way to the question I have posed.

Is there anyone reading this thread who has any experience with the solaredge backup interface, and who would be willing to weigh in on the complexity of its install? Is 16 man hours a reasonable amount of time for the install of this component in the most straightforward setup for whole home backup? If so, then the quote I got is perfectly reasonable. If not, then the quote is unreasonable. That's the question.

[Mike 134]

I did I quick look seems to be a bit more than just hanging it on the wall Pipe and wire in and out, subpanel, have you looked at a detailed wiring diagram?

[SunEagle]

The original quote was quite reasonable, I then asked about the possibility of adding the backup interface as it was not in the original quote. The response included a cost for the item, cost for other materials, and then this 16 man hours of labor. The rest of it seems quite reasonable, but the 16 hours has thrown me a back a little bit as it seems excessive.

Is there something I'm missing about the complexity of adding that particular item?

Sounds like two people each with an 8 hour shift. But remember that the owner has to make a living besides paying the help so figure at least 30% of those 16 hours as being profit.

It is also funny when I keep hearing people say they need to create a minimum wage of $15/hour but when they have to pay for labor they get all upset.

So either figure out how you will be able to cover the added labor expense or learn to live with higher costs.

[green1]

I'm sorry that doesn't make any sense, this is a system that has not been installed yet, we're not talking adding it to an existing system, we're talking adding it to a quote for a system. So there should be no extra truck roll at all as the crew will already be here. As for future-proofing that was only part of the reason the other part was so that I can generate some of my own electricity when the sun is shining and the grid is out. The fact that battery tech is a moving Target is why I've not installing batteries at this time, however for the backup interface itself shouldn't have any significant changes going forward.