Enphase Energy
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Love my Enphase-based system, but meeting all your needs is the most important thing of all....
Another reviewer from the UK didn't seem to understand that Enphase are a manufacturer, not an installer. They make a variety of devices including microinverters, combiner boxes, and Envoy communications devices that monitor all microinverters (either at array level or, if agreed with the supplier, right down to individual panel performance). Our system was installed at our home in Ramsgate, Kent, in May 2014. It has performed flawlessly and much better than expected. It produces between 4.7 and 4.9 MWHr. of electricity per year in a system of 16 M215 microinverters connected to our 16 Solarworld SW250 panels. As is commonly the case with microinverters, that's about 25% better than is generally obtained when a bulk inverter is used. In our case, there's been no degradation at all over that whole period. There are lots of reasons why it is much better to have AC current running from a panel array to the consumer unit (fuse box) rather than up to 1500 volts of DC current running to a bulk inverter, especially if that inverter is located in an attic or within a domestic living space or garage. Bulk inverters don't last as long as microinverters, and Lithium batteries, even the latest models, not only last only for a part of the lifetime of a solar panel system but also can catch fire or even explode. However, the 2014-era Envoys and microinverters are no longer made, and I cannot now add battery storage which would make it possible for me to far more closely match that output with the times when power isn't being produced but is needed, or vice versa. Even if I could find a battery to use with that system, if I am not mistaken, that would breach the conditions of my Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) contract. Furthermore, later models of the Envoy communications device, and the new microinverters that are compatible with them, apparently are unsurprisingly incompatible with my 2014-era system. I'm less impressed by their own batteries, but Enphase microinverters will work with any battery system that is designed to be AC coupled. A word or warning: Envoy communications devices are incredibly capable, and capable of controlling up to a total of 600 panels, in multiple arrays, but if you want panel-level monitoring and/or consumption monitoring as well as production monitoring, you will need to get that promised in writing from your installer. Many installers don't bother with that and if not enabled at the time of their commissioning the system you will then be left with array-level monitoring of only production through the web-based Enphase Enlighten portal. Believe me, monitoring individual panels is incredibly useful, and the Envoy system is also monitored by Enphase in far-away California as well as by your installer. You as system owner can add or remove access to that data for others, too. If your installer goes out of business, I understand that Enphase will work with you to get another local firm to take up the slack. It would be well to ensure that the insurers of your system provide protection against any charges for that. In our case, I didn't read the small print with sufficient care, and what I thought was an accredited insurance provider who provided cover for the system for 25 years was in fact located in Gibraltar, not England, and when it went bust, my cover ceased and despite promises by my vendor, the insurers were never replaced. Purchasers of solar systems in England should also make sure that their installers and/or insurers are not based in Scotland (or vice versa): they are different legal systems and jurisdictions. I'd like to add batteries and higher-powered additional panels, but rather than breach my FIT contract, I'll just add a second system, parallel with the first and located on an outbuilding rooftop, to produce sufficient additional power -- and storage -- to provide me with ALL my remaining needs. Any batteries will be kept in a ventilated, outdoor fireproof metal cabinet. One last point. When our Enphase-based system was installed, the Enlighten system provided an ability to compare its output, orientation, number of panels, and installer, with other Enphase-based systems in the UK. Some were anonymous, others had the name of the customer, at the customer's choice. It was reassuring to see how many Enphase=based systems there were! That was brilliant. But it wasn't long before EU data protection and privacy restrictions put a stop to that. My own hope is that this will return following the repeal of some of the EU data protection legislation, because I can assure you that it provides a great way for anyone to see how much orientation, individual supplier/installers, location and numbers of panels can make a real difference. No other manufacturer that I know of has offered a service like that.