Optimisers or micro inverter?

[Earthstore]

Just curious, what is the KWP of your east/west split system?

 

[MCS Renewables]

8 Sanyo HIT 240 East and West to an SMA 4000TL inverter.
Installed June 2011, at 43p rate, done over 12,700 kW hours so far.

Before that we had a 3.6 kW system which I think was 10 Moser Baer 180 modules East and West with a SMA 1700 for each side. This was fitted in late 2008/early 2009 and was my original MCS test case project. Decommissioned it when we saw the better performance our customers were getting with Sanyo.

So currently waiting for Enphase to release the next generation of micros which we can pair HIT modules and with 72 cell modules, been told they are on test and will be available by Spring 2015.

 

[Earthstore]

This is just an opinion and I respect your expertise, but I would have used a smaller inverter on an east/west split...

 

[MCS Renewables]

There were not that many inverter choices available that were twin tracker in the early days of solar.
The SMA3600 came along later.

As an East West split this system averages over 3600 kW hours of generation a year with the top modules and inverter available at that time.
With respect I do not expect many E/W splits in the UK have generated a lot more !

 

[SolarCity]

For a bit of balance to the Solar Edge vs. Enphase argument:

http://www.solaredge.com/files/pdfs/microinverters_vs_optimisers_the_true_story.pdf

 

[Earthstore]

There were not that manyinstalled one if inverter choices available that were twin tracker in the early days of solar.
The SMA3600 came along later.

As an East West split this system averages over 3600 kW hours of generation a year with the top modules and inverter available at that time.
With respect I do not expect many E/W splits in the UK have generated a lot more !

All fair comments, out of curiosity what does your system "peak" at, and how often?
The 3600tl was a long time coming but you would have installed one if it was available at the time and even though your system has performed excellently do you believe it could be better still with the 3600tl?

 

[wersolaruk]

Does MCS renewables work for enphase, bloody get a grip man

 

[Berneray]

Few months back I wrote to all the folks we had sent out quotes to over the last year that had not bought. I was more interested in the reasons they did not buy. This is what I got back.

10% did not buy because they might be moving house
11% did not buy because one party did not want to. Mainly because of the look.
40% did not buy because they just did not want to spend the money
39% did not buy because they said their brains were fried and were suffering information overload. Some said they were turned against solar because of all the conflicting advice they received from all the companies they got in.

Reading threads like this I know what they mean. Its so difficult for consumers to find advice on one product that another company will dispute.

 

[Worcester]

Debate is good

 

[Gavin A]

There were not that many inverter choices available that were twin tracker in the early days of solar.
The SMA3600 came along later.

As an East West split this system averages over 3600 kW hours of generation a year with the top modules and inverter available at that time.
With respect I do not expect many E/W splits in the UK have generated a lot more !

fair play, but then you are in dorset, so have a wee bit of an advantage

we've got a few similar 4000TL installs out there from 2011 when we were a bit more SMA biased, I think power-one actually had some smaller twin trackers even then.