The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Enphase

Thanks for the image, Matt Hines

Certain products earn a loyal following for a reason, and Enphase, the world’s biggest microinverter maker, is no exception.

While some other microinverters have proven unreliable, Enphase offers a solid product and sound after-sales support. Enphase also offers a comprehensive app, a whole-home energy management system, a brand-new EV charger and a battery solution.

There are use cases for microinverters where nothing else will do, such as the increasing number of small townhouse roofs with single panels scattered all over them. If all you have to work with is a needlessly complex roofline, then I have no hesitation recommending them.

Enphase Advantages

Enphase has always been keen to sell itself as the last word in efficiency, and I can’t argue with long-term results like these published by the inimitable Positronic Solar in Brisbane. Some people have sought to throw some shade at them, but shaded roofs are where Enphase microinverter  based systems really shine.

And, of course, they’re always noted for being beautifully neat and super safe because there are no fire-prone DC isolators or high-voltage DC cables running anywhere. It’s simply an AC circuit up to the roof, much like an air conditioner.

Enphase Problems

Powerline Comms

Having installed Enphase microinverter based systems, I genuinely appreciate what they offer. However, my enthusiasm is dampened by “simple” powerline communications that need filters and ferrite cores to make them work consistently. In theory, it’s perfectly straightforward: hook up all your inverters on the one AC power circuit. But the reality of getting them to talk by superimposing a signal on top can be fraught with problems caused by interference from other random sources.

The grey band is where Enphase transmits all the monitoring and control data down the same wires that power your house. Lots of static on the line will cause problems.

The Frustrating Australian Enphase Website

What’s even more frustrating is Enphase’s poorly maintained Australian website. Outdated tools fail to list the latest micro inverters or redirect users appropriately. Hovering over the “Support” tab conjures a list that vanishes before you can click on it. Using the configurator leads to yet another disappearing menu, making it difficult to reference the Bureau of Meteorology for essential temperature data.

The old configurator doesn’t even agree with the new one, and the answers you get for system design rules are inconsistent. When you enter the details for a new REC Alpha 470 , the IQ7X might get a tick, or it might not.

To give credit where it’s due, the company’s phone support is commendable, and that’s undeniably good news. In under 6 minutes, they emailed me a weblink featuring IQ8. Yet, it was vexing to discover a list that included four different Hanwha – Qcells companies but nothing for the popular Q.MAXX model range.

When the list isn’t updated, you must find the specs and enter 6 numbers, plus the temperature numbers from the BOM where Enphase has another broken hyperlink.

Sunlight Backup: Promised But Not Delivered

In the role I have providing advice and answering questions for the uninitiated punter, Enphase makes life hard because the “backup without a battery” feature they offer in the US hasn’t been released here. But you can find reference to sunlight backup on the Australian website and clicking the link opens an ambiguous 404 error. This should explicitly say that ‘sunlight backup’ is unavailable in Australia.

The blue text is misinformation in Australia, and the “Authorities Having Jurisdiction” is a dead giveaway that a local hasn’t edited this.

Further confusion is created when you look for a battery solution and find one listed on the Australian site, using old model inverters, and a battery that has never been seen here. This is a great way to confuse potential customers. It can be hard to make sense of the options as a consumer, when there’s a buzz about a new battery, but full energy independence returns another broken link.

What is it with tiny 3 kWh batteries?

Finding Current Ratings Is Hard Work

If you click on the various tabs that explain the features of different model microinverters, then scroll to the “Technical Specifications” tab, it lists; the voltage range, peak output power, suitable panel wattage, plus the fairly useless figures for length/width/height/weight.

But what if you want the current rating, a fundamental number for your design? You have to find a different page or download a PDF for that. It makes me want to shout at the clouds.

Enphase Energy Yield Is Great – If Designed Properly

Hidden in the same Enphase website, there’s a treasure trove of valuable information. The back end offers an abundance of in-depth studies on real-world Australian installs. Enphase should be commended for having such great commitment and cultivating a following of really clever installers. Together, they have meticulously explained how to get an extra 0.025kWh per panel per day…

You’d be right if that doesn’t sound like they’re playing for cattle stations, but it shows they’re serious about being billed as the absolute best. And it slightly boggles the mind when some installers don’t deliver on the promise.

Two 6.6 kW Enphase  installations, one clipping, one not. You could argue the installer of the light green system is short-changing the customer, who has likely paid top dollar for Enphase microinverters on the brand’s core promise that they’ll squeeze every last kWh from their panels.

Electronics Hate heat

I’ve always been wary of electronics enduring scorching rooftop temperatures. Enphase microinverter units are completely solid-state and claim superb reliability, but I would rather live in the shade under a fan. If you have to lift parts of a solar array to service inverters, it can be expensive.

Long Cables? Avoid Enphase.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you have long cables to your shed or from the street, a string system running DC at 600 volts has lower losses than an Enphase system at 230V AC,

One of my more memorable jobs was installing 50 metres of cable tray and 200 metres of fat copper cable through the Salisbury Library Building for a 30-odd kilowatt Enphase microinverter based system. It was a lot of work and expense to keep the losses below 1% for solar, cost that could be lowered when DC solar strings run 400% higher voltage than the AC supply in the building.

Enphase Is A Closed Shop

And these days, we are increasingly finding that the Enphase attitude, a closed shop (no accessible APIs for third-party smarts like Solar Analytics or ChargeHQ to work with), is just making things difficult unless you go all in for Enphase everything at the outset.

Enphase App Is Lousy

The laughable part is that many people have an Enphase system with Tesla Powerwall, and while panel level monitoring is a big Enphase selling point, it seems most people forget to look at it because the Tesla app is much prettier, easier to use and intuitive to understand. This old post from Finn details how painful it can be to use the Enphase app.

We can only hope the latest version of the Enphase app has a better user interface.

Enphase’s Latest IQ8 Microinverter: Finally Here

Like the physically enormous Enphase battery, the IQ8 microinverter has been a long time coming. The initial promise of them being “here by Christmas” evolved into an enduring industry joke, mainly because nobody could predict which year Enphase Christmas would arrive. There was a FAQ put out mid-2020, promising 2021, for a product delivered mid-2023.

With the rise of high-current 13 amp panels, IQ8 is needed, but there’s still no Enphase microinverter for a nice high-voltage REC Alpha 470w panel without clipping current or missing out on STC payments.

Enphase Is The Market Leader

We mustn’t forget that Enphase stands as a market leader in microinverters for a reason. They offer a great product with unique capabilities and an outstanding warranty. Being part of a much larger global operation gives them the resources to maintain an excellent technical support line, even though they may have overlooked properly maintaining their Australian website.

I know a lot of really reputable solar installers, successful businesses, and smart people, some whom stake their entire operation on Enphase. They have no doubts about the quality of the systems they deliver, and it’s great to see them passionately explain why.

I Would Like Some Answers Though

There have been some installer-level Enphase design problems drawn to my attention recently. It’s not the end of the earth; it doesn’t threaten your warranty, but when you pay a premium for Enphase microinverters, getting a second-rate yield leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The responses I’ve had trying to raise the issue have been, at best, muted. I’m not keen on throwing bombs, but there seems to be a reluctance to address the embarrassment caused by a savvy customer using Enphase web tools to point out fundamental flaws. Next week, I’ll outline a conflict I’d love to see settled amicably.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/enphase-pros-cons/