April 19, 20242 yr Hi guys. My situation is this one. I'm completely autonomous, off grid and i'm working actually with : - 1 inverter 5kva (Growatt SPF-5000-ES ) - 10Pv 400W TrinarSolar - 4 Pylontech US2000C battery - 1 generator Diesel 10Kva For an unknown reason, my inverter MPPT board has failed (1 diode burned). I replaced my inverter by a another one SPF5000ES. But due to my isolated situation, i need to order a backup inverter. I'm using solar-assistant.io solution to monitor my installation. This last monitoring solution is compatible with a lot's of kind of inverter (Axpert, voltronic, Growatt, Deye, SunSynk/Sol-Ark, EASUN/PowMr/Powland, EG4, Luxpower, Megarevo, MUST, InfiniSolar ....) With yours experiences, please tell me if you recommend me to order another one same Growatt model, or you preconise another mark, but including a similar configuration. They are many and many model. I'm perturbated to take a decision Thank for reading. Edited April 19, 20242 yr by AlexSolar
April 20, 20242 yr It makes a lot of sense to have a cold standby unit in the cupboard, especially if you are isolated and far away from shops and support centres. It also makes sense to have the exact same unit, as some have widely divergent MPPT characteristics, which may necessitate a rewire of your solar panels, and the monitoring software / apps would also be different. The simplest swop-in unit would be one that is exactly the same, you would just need to remember to update the firmware of the standby unit. But if you want to experience a different inverter, in your situation I would consider the Luxpower SNA5000. It is more or less at the same price point of the Growatt, and its MPPTs have similar voltage and amperage requirements.
April 20, 20242 yr 4 hours ago, Yellow Measure said: It makes a lot of sense to have a cold standby unit in the cupboard, especially if you are isolated and far away from shops and support centres. It also makes sense to have the exact same unit, as some have widely divergent MPPT characteristics, which may necessitate a rewire of your solar panels, and the monitoring software / apps would also be different. The simplest swop-in unit would be one that is exactly the same, you would just need to remember to update the firmware of the standby unit. But if you want to experience a different inverter, in your situation I would consider the Luxpower SNA5000. It is more or less at the same price point of the Growatt, and its MPPTs have similar voltage and amperage requirements. 9 hours ago, AlexSolar said: Hi guys. My situation is this one. I'm completely autonomous, off grid and i'm working actually with : - 1 inverter 5kva (Growatt SPF-5000-ES ) - 10Pv 400W TrinarSolar - 4 Pylontech US2000C battery - 1 generator Diesel 10Kva For an unknown reason, my inverter MPPT board has failed (1 diode burned). I replaced my inverter by a another one SPF5000ES. But due to my isolated situation, i need to order a backup inverter. I'm using solar-assistant.io solution to monitor my installation. This last monitoring solution is compatible with a lot's of kind of inverter (Axpert, voltronic, Growatt, Deye, SunSynk/Sol-Ark, EASUN/PowMr/Powland, EG4, Luxpower, Megarevo, MUST, InfiniSolar ....) With yours experiences, please tell me if you recommend me to order another one same Growatt model, or you preconise another mark, but including a similar configuration. They are many and many model. I'm perturbated to take a decision Thank for reading. At the current price point of inverters and the latest firmware on the SNA 5kw I would get this unit. Do all connections to it and perhaps use it and keep the Growatt as the stand by unit. PV connections need not change to it will be a quick change over if 1 fails.
April 20, 20242 yr 9 hours ago, AlexSolar said: Hi guys. My situation is this one. I'm completely autonomous, off grid and i'm working actually with : - 1 inverter 5kva (Growatt SPF-5000-ES ) - 10Pv 400W TrinarSolar - 4 Pylontech US2000C battery - 1 generator Diesel 10Kva For an unknown reason, my inverter MPPT board has failed (1 diode burned). I replaced my inverter by a another one SPF5000ES. But due to my isolated situation, i need to order a backup inverter. I'm using solar-assistant.io solution to monitor my installation. This last monitoring solution is compatible with a lot's of kind of inverter (Axpert, voltronic, Growatt, Deye, SunSynk/Sol-Ark, EASUN/PowMr/Powland, EG4, Luxpower, Megarevo, MUST, InfiniSolar ....) With yours experiences, please tell me if you recommend me to order another one same Growatt model, or you preconise another mark, but including a similar configuration. They are many and many model. I'm perturbated to take a decision Thank for reading. @AlexSolar Consider adding another Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. You will end up with 10 KVA and if one fails you will have redundancy. Just make sure they have the same firmware version, I been running two 5000 ES with 6 X 410 W panels in parallel for close to three years now with no problems Split your PV in two strings of 5 X 400 W Trinarsolar panels. and feed each string to each inverter. Remember max PV voltage on the 5000 ES is 340 V and max MPPT voltage is 430 V at the moment with 10 panels you may be very close to the limit, thus blowing the MPPT board.
April 20, 20242 yr 2 minutes ago, Antonio de Sa said: @AlexSolar Consider adding another Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. You will end up with 10 KVA and if one fails you will have redundancy. Just make sure they have the same firmware version, I been running two 5000 ES with 6 X 410 W panels in parallel for close to three years now with no problems Split your PV in two strings of 5 X 400 W Trinarsolar panels. and feed each string to each inverter. Remember max PV voltage on the 5000 ES is 340 V and max MPPT voltage is 430 V at the moment with 10 panels you may be very close to the limit, thus blowing the MPPT board. This is a great post to indicate the warning of having 10 panels in series.
April 20, 20242 yr 5 minutes ago, Scorp007 said: This is a great post to indicate the warning of having 10 panels in series. @AlexSolar and @Scorp007 herewith my PV voltage in the last three hours. max 250 V ideal for my system max MPPT voltage.
April 20, 20242 yr 2 hours ago, Antonio de Sa said: Consider adding another Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. You will end up with 10 KVA and if one fails you will have redundancy. I once made the same reflection. I started with one 5kW Axpert off grid MKS 5K. That worked well. But then I started to think about what happens if it fails. I was first considering to buy a spare unit and put it on the shelve. But then I sought about what happens if that spare unit after years on the shelve gets into service but fails on early component drop out? It would be out of guarantee. Therefor I installed it in parallel and - would you belief - after a few days it had a failure on the parallel board. That was easy to solve as I happened to have a spare board. And the seller (Herholds) replaced it free of charge. Besides there are the benefits of lowering the stress on the units as the loads are shared. That potentially extends service life. And I have now 10kW peak capacity. No more switching to grid bypass due to overload.
April 20, 20242 yr Author Hi, Really interessant points of views. Just to be clear. If I split my PV in 2 strings of 5 panels. If i resume : Option 1: Invest another Growatt-5000-ES and let it on the shelf (my previous strategie). Avantages : cost : Nothing to change (don't need to walk on the roof, buy wires ...) Inconvenients : Guarantee Replacements need little maintenance. Life duration of the component of the backup inverter needs to be included even if it is not used. Option 2 : Invest another Growatt-5000-ES and plug it in // mode Avantages : grow up from 5Kw Power to 10Kw of output In case of failure, nothing to change (only considere degraded mode) ??? confirm ??? Using real guarantee of material Split my PV into 2 strings of 5 PV panels (200v), and stay far to the limit of my 400v of my inverter. Inconvenience : Need to invest in 2 same kinds of inverter (my first SPF-5000-ES and my second are different, and the communication board works differently). Buy 1 RS485 + XCAN Hub to join the both inverters on the single battery string. (correct ? need confirmation ?) Buy wires and walk on the roof. Cost +++ Did I forget something ? About my actual expérience, and following your advice, I immediately checked my MPPT voltage. I Think that you all said it right ! I'm close to the limit of the MPPT board (120VDC-430VDC). for me, initially I thought that it's correct to be 40-60v under the limit... I fail ! My last 30 days of MPPT voltage. some last things is to take the decision with your excellents advices guys.. - Luxpower SNA5000 is not listed as compatible with Pylontech US2000C-5000. Can you confirm that it can communicate ? - do you think that Luxpower is better than Growatt ? - If you recommend Luxpower, i saw that only Luxpower 5kW and Luxpower 12kW hybrid are supported by solarassistant. https://solar-assistant.io/explore/luxpower#hero Any of yo uhave experience with it ? big thank you guys. With this small questions, I understand myself that my initial choice was not the best way and I made some errors. Best thanks of all of you. Edited April 20, 20242 yr by AlexSolar
April 20, 20242 yr 35 minutes ago, AlexSolar said: Hi, Really interessant points of views. Just to be clear. If I split my PV in 2 strings of 5 panels. If i resume : Option 1: Invest another Growatt-5000-ES and let it on the shelf (my previous strategie). Avantages : cost : Nothing to change (don't need to walk on the roof, buy wires ...) Inconvenients : Guarantee Replacements need little maintenance. Life duration of the component of the backup inverter needs to be included even if it is not used. Option 2 : Invest another Growatt-5000-ES and plug it in // mode Avantages : grow up from 5Kw Power to 10Kw of output In case of failure, nothing to change (only considere degraded mode) ??? confirm ??? Using real guarantee of material Split my PV into 2 strings of 5 PV panels (200v), and stay far to the limit of my 400v of my inverter. Inconvenience : Need to invest in 2 same kinds of inverter (my first SPF-5000-ES and my second are different, and the communication board works differently). Buy 1 RS485 + XCAN Hub to join the both inverters on the single battery string. (correct ? need confirmation ?) Buy wires and walk on the roof. Cost +++ Did I forget something ? About my actual expérience, and following your advice, I immediately checked my MPPT voltage. I Think that you all said it right ! I'm close to the limit of the MPPT board (120VDC-430VDC). for me, initially I thought that it's correct to be 40-60v under the limit... I fail ! My last 30 days of MPPT voltage. some last things is to take the decision with your excellents advices guys.. - Luxpower SNA5000 is not listed as compatible with Pylontech US2000C-5000. Can you confirm that it can communicate ? - do you think that Luxpower is better than Growatt ? - If you recommend Luxpower, i saw that only Luxpower 5kW and Luxpower 12kW hybrid are supported by solarassistant. https://solar-assistant.io/explore/luxpower#hero Any of yo uhave experience with it ? big thank you guys. With this small questions, I understand myself that my initial choice was not the best way and I made some errors. Best thanks of all of you. Actually from the current voltage you have enough margin before you hit the all time high of 430V. Without the panels disconnected you should not get to the Voc level even on very cold days under load conditions.
April 20, 20242 yr 2 minutes ago, Scorp007 said: Actually from the current voltage you have enough margin before you hit the all time high of 430V. Without the panels disconnected you should not get to the Voc level even on very cold days under load conditions. I'm not sure of that. What are the OP's actual panel specs? I'm just going on a Google search for Trina Solar panels, and finding a 400W panel with Voc of 41.2V, so 412V before temperature adjustments. Especially if in a foreign colder region (guessing by the brand familiarity and word choices of the OP), the 430VDC and maybe even the ultimate maximum Voltage of 450VDC could be at risk. If that is so, I wouldn't go for just the same Growatt. Rather another brand of 5kW off-grid hybrid inverter with a single MPPT input, but that is capable of 500Vdc input least. PowMr seems to offer that spec, but I don't know the brand in SA, no idea if it's reliable. Otherwise the Luxpower SNA as a dual-MPPT inverter makes sense if one is willing to split the panels into two strings. To go higher to an on-grid hybrid like Deye/Sunsynk/Infinisolar/Sol-Ark/Luxpower_LXP seems to be overkill.
April 20, 20242 yr Author 1 hour ago, Scorp007 said: Actually from the current voltage you have enough margin before you hit the all time high of 430V. Without the panels disconnected you should not get to the Voc level even on very cold days under load conditions. I'm living in French Guiana. That means, rain, and su. ! the lower temperature here is about 26 degrees. Highes is around 35-40... And worst of all, is the humidity level which is about 85-90% depending on the season ! The real question is why people like me live here ! 😉 I think i'm under the limit, but in the top of range... 52 minutes ago, GreenFields said: I'm not sure of that. What are the OP's actual panel specs? I'm just going on a Google search for Trina Solar panels, and finding a 400W panel with Voc of 41.2V, so 412V before temperature adjustments. Especially if in a foreign colder region (guessing by the brand familiarity and word choices of the OP), the 430VDC and maybe even the ultimate maximum Voltage of 450VDC could be at risk. If that is so, I wouldn't go for just the same Growatt. Rather another brand of 5kW off-grid hybrid inverter with a single MPPT input, but that is capable of 500Vdc input least. PowMr seems to offer that spec, but I don't know the brand in SA, no idea if it's reliable. Otherwise the Luxpower SNA as a dual-MPPT inverter makes sense if one is willing to split the panels into two strings. To go higher to an on-grid hybrid like Deye/Sunsynk/Infinisolar/Sol-Ark/Luxpower_LXP seems to be overkill. I can't plan to base all my living installation on one single inverter, even it have a 2 MPPT. The risk is too important for me and my family. Here, there are no backup way fast. Lot's of things are imported. Especially electronics parts. But most important, i have fridge, freezer, childs and a wife... which consume more energy than each .. A third solution would be to duplicate another instance and have an input switch to switch if necessary to the house from one of the both installations. but this way costs a lot because it requires more battery.
April 20, 20242 yr 17 minutes ago, AlexSolar said: I'm living in French Guiana. That means, rain, and su. ! the lower temperature here is about 26 degrees. Highes is around 35-40... And worst of all, is the humidity level which is about 85-90% depending on the season ! The real question is why people like me live here ! 😉 I think i'm under the limit, but in the top of range... I can't plan to base all my living installation on one single inverter, even it have a 2 MPPT. The risk is too important for me and my family. Here, there are no backup way fast. Lot's of things are imported. Especially electronics parts. But most important, i have fridge, freezer, childs and a wife... which consume more energy than each .. A third solution would be to duplicate another instance and have an input switch to switch if necessary to the house from one of the both installations. but this way costs a lot because it requires more battery. @AlexSolar So as I said go for the second 5000 ES, it implies a bit of extra cost. and a bit of work on the roof. You will have to split your PV in two strings = extra cable from the second string to the new inverter. New DC circuit breaker, fuses and surge arrester for the new string. I think you said you are of the grid, so no need for an AC circuit breaker on the second inverter AC side, if you are connected to the grid, you will need another double pole 50 Amp circuit breaker.
April 20, 20242 yr I was in the same situation and it just made sense to get another one which I run in parallel. If one fails I still manage with my 5kW single Growatt.
April 20, 20242 yr 4 hours ago, AlexSolar said: A third solution would be to duplicate another instance and have an input switch to switch if necessary to the house from one of the both installations. but this way costs a lot because it requires more battery. Based on your option you don't need to duplicate the battery or panels. Add 4 terminals and a 2nd disconnector from the batteries. Thus leave 1, 2 disconnected and connect when using inverter 2 after disconnecting PV wires to inverter 1. Also 3 is switched off and switch on when inverter 2 is used. Once a month (or any other period) run from inverter 2 to ensure all is functioning correctly. Then switch back to 1 after disconnection wires 1 and 2 and switching off 3. Due to safety reasons no transfer switch is used on the high voltage DC between panels and the 2 Inverters.
April 20, 20242 yr 8 hours ago, AlexSolar said: some last things is to take the decision with your excellents advices guys.. You are welcome, we aim to please 😄 8 hours ago, AlexSolar said: - Luxpower SNA5000 is not listed as compatible with Pylontech US2000C-5000. Can you confirm that it can communicate ? Yes it can, check out https://luxpowertek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/luxpower-compatible-list（LXP-3-6KSNA-ACS3600）230826.pdf To be honest, any inverter company that does not support Pylontech comms has probably folded already 😀 8 hours ago, AlexSolar said: - do you think that Luxpower is better than Growatt ? I haven't any experience on Growatt, so I cannot comment on differences. The Luxpower does seem to be a more recent design than the Growatt, for what it is worth, and the little SNA5000 has developed a reputation to be pretty much bulletproof. It also has the ability to export excess solar power to grid (but no way of quenching it, as it does not have a CT coil). This may be an interesting feature for you, who is off-grid, to explore for non-essential loads like water heating. 8 hours ago, AlexSolar said: - If you recommend Luxpower, i saw that only Luxpower 5kW and Luxpower 12kW hybrid are supported by solarassistant. I am not too clued up on SA, but from their support site it seems that they don't have a direct physical connection to the inverter, but use the Wifi dongle. So SA either sets itself up as (spoofs) the Luxpower server, or it intercepts and reads the traffic destined for the Luxpower server. It would probably best to contact SA for confirmation that it does support the ECO SNA5000, I see that they are a little thin on the model number details. 8 hours ago, AlexSolar said: Any of yo uhave experience with it ? Nope, but many members here have SA, maybe they can weigh in. Edited April 20, 20242 yr by Yellow Measure
April 21, 20242 yr So I have previously moved from Growatt to LuxPower (LXP 5K model). I was also running solar assistant on the Growatt. Solar Assistant does work with the Lux Inverters. It scans your local WiFi network for the LuxPower dongle and connects via the WiFi network. No cables to plug in. Functionality of SA with Lux inverters is very basic. No scheduling or automation etc However the level of management provided by the LuxPower dongle / portal / app is so good I eventually turned off solar assistant. The LuxPower management even has email and mobile app alerting which SA is still trying to get working. Edited April 21, 20242 yr by Spys
April 21, 20242 yr On 2024/04/20 at 2:31 PM, GreenFields said: I'm not sure of that. What are the OP's actual panel specs? I'm just going on a Google search for Trina Solar panels, and finding a 400W panel with Voc of 41.2V, so 412V before temperature adjustments. Especially if in a foreign colder region (guessing by the brand familiarity and word choices of the OP), the 430VDC and maybe even the ultimate maximum Voltage of 450VDC could be at risk. If that is so, I wouldn't go for just the same Growatt. Rather another brand of 5kW off-grid hybrid inverter with a single MPPT input, but that is capable of 500Vdc input least. PowMr seems to offer that spec, but I don't know the brand in SA, no idea if it's reliable. Otherwise the Luxpower SNA as a dual-MPPT inverter makes sense if one is willing to split the panels into two strings. To go higher to an on-grid hybrid like Deye/Sunsynk/Infinisolar/Sol-Ark/Luxpower_LXP seems to be overkill. I on purpose did not follow the textbook method of calculation. We tend to leave a margin between the Voc plus temp rise in all our calcs assuming very low winter temperatures. It thus becomes very valid to know what the minimum temp is. Another margin of safety which we normally have is that while the panels are connected to the MPPT we will as far as I have never seen in 5 yrs time even reach the Voc level let alone the increase voltage due to low temps and cold winds. The above is based on temps as low as 0-3 deg C and I have not even reached the Voc level as at 25°C. The only time I think we can reach the high Voc might be when we disconnect the panels on the worst day. With the numbers of our members with monitoring software and in particular our installers with remote access it would be interesting to see the calculated Voc at a specific temp vs the actual volts. In my case the lowest temp seen in 5 yrs while panels are not open circuit but connected to a MPPT happens to be 5% below the Voc as per spec at 25 deg on the close to zero C days. I guess we working with a theoretical Voc and could be that our panels don't reach the Voc at 25 deg as per spec. Not advised but based on my readings.
April 22, 20242 yr 17 hours ago, Scorp007 said: With the numbers of our members with monitoring software and in particular our installers with remote access it would be interesting to see the calculated Voc at a specific temp vs the actual volts. This is a installation in Springs Gauteng i did last year. Array specs: 9 x 460w Seraphim panels connected 9S1P. 4140Wp. Voc of array: 373.68V Vmp of array: 310.32V Temp yesterday Springs at 13h34- 28C°. Below screenshot from SA recorded PV voltage.
April 22, 20242 yr 22 minutes ago, TaliaB said: This is a installation in Springs Gauteng i did last year. Array specs: 9 x 460w Seraphim panels connected 9S1P. 4140Wp. Voc of array: 373.68V Vmp of array: 310.32V Temp yesterday Springs at 13h34- 28C°. Below screenshot from SA recorded PV voltage. Thanks a lot. How about showing from early morning say 06h30 onwards as that could be the highest Voc. 3S x 450W with Voc=50V @ 23°C. Sunpays. Edited April 22, 20242 yr by Scorp007 Added graphic
April 22, 20242 yr 1 hour ago, Scorp007 said: Thanks a lot. How about showing from early morning say 06h30 onwards as that could be the highest Voc. 3S x 450W with Voc=50V @ 23°C. Sunpays.
April 22, 20242 yr Author Thank you guys for your explanations. If I understand correctly, here, the lowest temperature is about 24 - 26 degrees at night ! So in that case, the rest of the time, my real voltage is lower than the Array Voc. I checked, and in 6 month, I didn't find a peak highter than 380v. Do you think that I'm really closer to the 430v limit than the Growatt Inverter ? (at the same time, the MPPT board burned ....) I'm actually checking for a Luxpower 5kW Inverter reseller which accepts export to French Guiana. Another thing that I'm asking myself is about splitting my array in 2 subarray with 2 inverters in //. In that case, will i have exactly the same Mppt power in 2 arrays or will I have a little bit more due to the splitting or less PV surfaces radiance ... Maybe I will need by splitting to add 1 more PV in each array. But i don't find again Trinarsolar 40v reseller...
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