17 hours ago, Moffat said:

the S6 does not have an LCD to display data or change settings but just light indicators to indicate status (Power; Status-Normal/Abnormal; Wifi; Bluetooth; RS485 connection) so that data collation doesn't happen on-screen.

My Goodwe works like this. There are just some LEDs to indicate that (for EG) a battery is connected, there is voltage from the solar strings etc. I can get more information and change settings using an app on my phone. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing or points off. An upside of this way of working is that a poking finger can't cause unwanted changes to inverter parameters.

31 minutes ago, Powerforum Store said:

All new models including the 5 6 and 8 KW will come standard with screens and standard 10 Year Warranty. The ones depicted here are the older models I own 2 x 6KW units and for me the screens don't matter I use the desktop remote app and it works well for me.

Solis is currently working on improving the time delay on the app and web portal reporting rate they claim that the delay will be reduced from 5 Minutes to 1 to 2 seconds mainly limited by internet speeds and latency.

Thanks for keeping us updated on newer features. Screens have been a got used to with nearly all inverters. Not sure why they dropped it for a period on the S6.

6 hours ago, Powerforum Store said:

All new models including the 5 6 and 8 KW will come standard with screens and standard 10 Year Warranty. The ones depicted here are the older models I own 2 x 6KW units and for me the screens don't matter I use the desktop remote app and it works well for me.

Solis is currently working on improving the time delay on the app and web portal reporting rate they claim that the delay will be reduced from 5 Minutes to 1 to 2 seconds mainly limited by internet speeds and latency.

On my part it's not the latency that am griping about. My Internet Service Providers can be atrocious hence the loss of data, it's not a problem on the Solis side.

6 hours ago, Bobster. said:

My Goodwe works like this. There are just some LEDs to indicate that (for EG) a battery is connected, there is voltage from the solar strings etc. I can get more information and change settings using an app on my phone. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing or points off. An upside of this way of working is that a poking finger can't cause unwanted changes to inverter parameters.

@Bobster. you raise a very valid and important point regarding "poking fingers", am just thinking, along the same lines that it would be great for even inverters like Deye and Sunsynk, if they could have a screen which behaves like a smartphone wherein to access any menus, maybe even the home screen, one would need a 4-digit code. As for me, my "poking fingers" are the result of a system still being built up and having to nurse a single battery with loadshedding going on at times up to 16-18hrs per day and there's no loadshedding schedules where I am, so you may just wake up and there's no power and also still don't yet have enough panels as I would like. That aside, your point is SPOT ON!

On 2025/09/03 at 3:37 PM, Powerforum Store said:

Hello there are other options like the Solis Range

Power Forum Renewable Energy Store | By Powerforum.co.za

Solis S6 ADVANCED Three Phase 30kW High Voltage Hybrid

S6-EH3P(30-50)K-H 30K/40K/50K S6-EH3P(30-50)K-H series three-phase energy storage inverter, suitable for commercial PV energy storage systems.

Looks impressive - thanks for sharing... If this was available a year ago I would rather have bought one of these than my Sunsynk 12kW.

7 hours ago, Moffat said:

@Bobster. you raise a very valid and important point regarding "poking fingers", am just thinking, along the same lines that it would be great for even inverters like Deye and Sunsynk, if they could have a screen which behaves like a smartphone wherein to access any menus, maybe even the home screen, one would need a 4-digit code. As for me, my "poking fingers" are the result of a system still being built up and having to nurse a single battery with loadshedding going on at times up to 16-18hrs per day and there's no loadshedding schedules where I am, so you may just wake up and there's no power and also still don't yet have enough panels as I would like. That aside, your point is SPOT ON!

It also lends itself to a remote control situation. OK, so do other inverters, but somebody renting the inverter or the property could override if there were menus accessible via the front panel on the inverter.

Going forward renters will want AI to manage the inverters.

For those debating using HA for their data. Just do it you won't regret it. Data is instant, there are no gaps due to internet outages, more control over automations. Your current Rpi3 would also work perfectly fine.

I haven't used solis cloud at all during my ownership.

On 2025/09/03 at 8:26 AM, stefan44 said:

Victron...

you will never be disappointed with the VictronConnect app and the VRM portal

Victron is good but way to expensive.

On 9/3/2025 at 9:37 AM, starmage said:

Agreed the app and portal are fantastic. The actual hardware support however not so much - had an incident 2 years ago - my Multiplus inverter blew all its caps -- the result from the "support" team was that it was dust related (the inverter was only installed for 2 yrs at that time inside the house...) and that dust isnt covered by their warranty -- ended up going with Sunsynk - very happy with the inverter but they do have a lot of issues with their portal/app data updates.

could you tell why you think Victron app is good ? , you can’t do time of use , no grid peak shaving features , you can’t choose easly when you want to use the grid and when, many devices and points of truth , you need windows laptops to do some settings then restart the multiplus to apply .

I’ve been researching about victron for a while and I am impressed of it as hardware but what holds me from from buying it is the software

So I wish you could prove me wrong so I can pull the trigger

@stefan44

I’ve worked with both Sunsynk and Sungrow systems on several installations in Pakistan, and each has its strengths.

Sungrow units are generally very stable and efficient, especially their high-voltage models, but you’re right — the limitation around 10 kW per unit can make scaling tricky. Still, for reliability and long-term support, Sungrow tends to have a stronger global service network compared to Deye, which can be a deciding factor if uptime is critical.

On the other hand, Sunsynk performs exceptionally well in hybrid setups, and if your installer can ensure faster warranty processing locally, it might still be worth sticking with that ecosystem.

If you’re planning to expand your system or want to explore other industrial-grade power and battery storage options, you can check out Electroways Pvt Ltd — we specialize in energy and electrical solutions across Pakistan and have experience integrating both Sunsynk and Sungrow setups.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. For a 15kw system, I’m considering 3x Victron 5kw multiplus GX units in parallel. And that’s splashing out to have controller redundancy as well. Cost comes to around R39k which is cheaper than I think any 15kw single unit option and if one fails, you still have 10kw of capacity while you wait for repairs. Alternatively, you can just buy another unit outright. Also easy enough to just add another unit and go up to 20kw for relatively cheap (if your design accommodates it)

I can’t seem to find a good reason not to do this. I’m aiming to get as far off grid as possible so redundancy is important for me and while it’s served me well for the season of life, I’m not getting another Axpert.

ITO software, I believe they expose a ton of control so with a bit of HA hackery (or solar assistant), I’m comfortable that I’ll be able to manage things well enough.

39 minutes ago, shifttymike said:

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. For a 15kw system, I’m considering 3x Victron 5kw multiplus GX units in parallel. And that’s splashing out to have controller redundancy as well. Cost comes to around R39k which is cheaper than I think any 15kw single unit option and if one fails, you still have 10kw of capacity while you wait for repairs. Alternatively, you can just buy another unit outright. Also easy enough to just add another unit and go up to 20kw for relatively cheap (if your design accommodates it)

I can’t seem to find a good reason not to do this. I’m aiming to get as far off grid as possible so redundancy is important for me and while it’s served me well for the season of life, I’m not getting another Axpert.

ITO software, I believe they expose a ton of control so with a bit of HA hackery (or solar assistant), I’m comfortable that I’ll be able to manage things well enough.

One thing I can think of, is to be aware of the power out being 5000VA, and 4000W. ie. it's not a 5kW output, but a 4kW output per inverter. To compare the cost accurately, you have to pitch it against a 12kW single-phase hybrid.

Just browsing the Powerforum store, you can get the Solis 12kW for just under R35000, and then if you shop around the Deye and Sunsynk 12kW are around R40,000 give or take depending on where you shop.

There's the usual benefits of redundancy with the Victron setup, versus the simplicity and possible installation cost savings of a single 12kW. But I don't think that it's a no-brainer on the inverter cost alone.

Edited October 25, 2025Oct 25 by GreenFields

Ah, that’s fair on the 5kva/4kw point. Plus they don’t have MPPTs so that’s a separate (significant) cost which almost invalidates the cost argument. (It’s early, sorry)

I’m still inclined to go this way because the parts to replace are smaller, if you lose an inverter or MPPT and the warranty thing doesn’t work, you’re in for at most R13k for a new component and you can limp along until then. I’ve been scared off a little by Sunsynk units failing and people having nothing until the repair is complete.

For someone trying to get to a point where the grid is no longer involved, that’s not going to work.

14 minutes ago, shifttymike said:

units failing and people having nothing until the repair is complete

this takes me back to the days of buying your 1st HiFi, do you buy separate components, or a music centre/all-in-one... separate components, was a better bet, in my eyes... as for solar side, separate components make things look more complex, but from a reliability perspective is, I believe also a better bet...

With all the concerns around monitoring i must recommend the Centurion Solar "solar management hub". its on a Raspberry pi which you connect to the inverter with a suitable cable and it just works. you have a mobile app, desktop webview, can download all the data via csv files and as close a you can to real time updates. app also has good anlaysis graphs built in. support is real good

installed it on my sunsync 8kw around 1 year ago as i was frustrated with the sunsync app.

you do need a subscription but its nominal around R500 for the year.

what a pleasure