At Long Last: Enphase Taking Aussie Orders for IQ8 Microinverters

Last April, we wrote that the long, long-awaited Enphase IQ8 microinverter was due to land in Australia – by the second quarter of this year.

Enphase’s promised delivery down under hasn’t happened, but in May the company posted a banner on its Website saying the microinverter, and the IQ Battery 5P, are available for pre-order, with shipping to installers due in July.

It’s been a long wait for the device. Launched in October 2021, it’s been shipping in the US since December 2021.

As we noted in our microinverter explainer, Enphase is both the most popular and arguably the best microinverter available, so the long wait for the IQ8 is frustrating for the industry.

Enphase says there will be three variants offered here: the IQ8HC, IQ8AC, and the IQ8MC-ACM, which is for exclusive use with SunPower-Maxeon AC Solar Panels.

The IQ8 Microinverters come with a standard 15-year limited warranty, extendable to 20 or 25 years.

In comparison to the previous IQ7 series, the IQ8 supports the latest high-current solar modules using M10 wafers with a higher DC current handling capacity of 14 A, versus the 10.2 A supported by the IQ7A Microinverters.

The IQ8HC (High Current) Microinverter has a power output of 380W. If you want to claim STCs (AKA the Solar Rebate), Australia’s rules allow a solar panel size up to 133% larger than the inverter power rating. That makes the IQ8HC microinverter ‘compatible’ with solar panels up to 505 W.

IQ Energy Router on the Way

If you want to mark your calendar, Australia can start waiting for the next key technology from Enphase, with its IQ Energy Router showing up outside the US, in Germany and Austria.

The energy router products integrate Enphase solar and battery systems with EV chargers (IQ Energy Router) and heat pumps (IQ Energy Router+).

The IQ Energy Routers monitor and control energy usage of chargers and heat pumps, with the Enphase Energy System providing solar production forecasting and consumption forecasting, with an ‘optimisation engine’ designed to maximise self-consumption.

Note from Finn: Enphase is cooking up a router that’s going to link their microinverters with EV chargers and heat pumps. It’s likely using Enphase’s own APIs. And there’s the worry. Enphase’s track record on open API access is sketchy at best—Good luck syncing up ChargeHQ, Amber or Solar Analytics with Enphase.

The mystery remains: will Enphase play ball with the open OCPP standard for EV chargers, or are they going to keep it in the family with their own stuff? This closed shop, ‘walled garden’ mentality could be a big stumbling block for folks with a home packed full of different solar, battery, and EV charging gear.

Enphase, if you’re listening, take a page from history. Open up, play nice, and let your Energy Router be a beacon of the future, not a relic of the past. The clock’s ticking!

We asked Enphase when the IQ Energy Router will arrive in Australia.

An Enphase spokesperson gave the company a generous amount of leeway: the product is expected here “sometime next year”.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/enphase-iq8-australia/