Hi - I have been recommended to look at Solaredge panels and inverter in NQ as they give individual panel monitoring (similar to Enphase, which seems less available here) albeit they are not microinverters.
I don’t think they are in your “top 10” so interested in your thoughts please.
Thanks Jim
Hi @Jim1, welcome and good question.
The question I think is more around the inverter rather than panel, so I updated the topic title to reflect that. It is a bit confusing because Solaredge is an inverter brand, but there are Solaredge branded panels that have the optimisers built in - however the panels are actually another brand. See our best inverter list here, Solaredge is number 2. We haven’t considered micro inverters on the list though, Enphase would be right up there if we did:
I would be surprised if you were not able to find Enphase supplied where you are. It is worth reading this forum topic below. We have a lot of forum members that strongly believe Enphase is the best choice.
Do you have much shade where you are?
Cheers
Marty
Thank you to both of your very considered responses - shading will have minimal impact - it is more an issue of being able to see individual panel performance and thereby problem solve. So if I understand correctly, shading or dirty panels will negatively impact solaredge performance but I would be able to see each panel’s performance so I could address that?
Hi Jim,
There have been some reports of unusually high failures from SolarEdge optimisers in area’s of very high humidity. North Queensland will have extreme humidity being in the tropics so I would probably avoid SolarEdge in your situation and go with Tigo or Enphase if you want panel level monitoring.
Thank you very much Svarky - good to get that input. The enphase seems more expensive here and not so many offering it. I wonder what your thoughts would be of someone installing them for a first time - they are qualified sparkies. Thanks Jim
Hi Jim,
It’s probably not ideal if they have not installed Enphase before, but you have to start somewhere. Are they experienced solar installers as well as electricians?
The alternative is Tigo optimisers, they can be used with any inverter and offer panel level monitoring. They work well with SMA inverters, as noted in our SMA review:
Thank you Marty – seems they are pretty experienced installers – 40 reviews and 4.5 average in Townsville. I think I need now to go back to the drawing board and re-specify my needs and start over – my main preference for the individual panel reporting is just that, rather than overcoming shading. The enphases I have at another house are fantastic from that point of view. Jim
Ah ok, well do look into Tigo, because they are modular and actually allow panel reporting without paying additional for optimisation, which is an optional extra on each panel (as I understand it).