Have I got the wrong Inverter?

[lydart]

I ordered 16 x Sanyo HIT-240SE10 with a SMA 4000TL back in October last year, but due to all the FIT problems my supplier could only source HIT-235SE10 panels. No big deal and the installation went ahead on 241111. During the installation I noticed that they had installed a 3000TL so I called their sales office and they apologized for not telling me about the switch but assured me that the3000TL was a better choice for the system. I wasn’t happy, but with 12[SUP]th[/SUP]Dec looming I accepted the 3000TL and the final bill was reduced to reflect the change in equipment. I have been very happy with the installation and have been pleased to see the generation increase almost on a daily basis as the days lengthen. All was fine until today when the inverter maxed out at 3kW from12:00 to 15:00 and this is only February.

Am I looking at this happening every sunny day until November?

Is this OK or should the inverter be changed?

Regards Mike

Location:Edinburgh Facing 210[SUP]0[/SUP], Pitch 45[SUP]0[/SUP]

 

[pvman]

The inverter is undersized, the max input for the inverter is 3200W DC. To be fair to the installer pre 12th December was a crazy time and inverters were hard to get hold of but they should give you a more suitable inverter.

You will find that often the highest output occurs in March when there is good sun and low tempretures.

 

[babba]

Lots of people undersize, to much of sma software imo.
Most of your energy is produced in the bright long sunny days not in dark short days.
A company I know ..16 sharp 245w spec SB 3000 HF...16 sharp 250w spec SB 4000TL...?????
Cant work this one out myself.

 

[pvman]

I think people look at the Sunny Design software see the green ticks and assume that the inverter is correct and don't take any notice of the max dc input.

 

[jupestar]

Undersizing is quite common but that seems a bit small.. would probably have been worth getting the larger one, but times were hard. Difficult to get stock. Even now its becoming a full time job sourcing inverters... Right now i'd happily swap one of the 4000TL in stock for a 3000TL i can't find....

 

[moggy1968]

bearing in mind your geographic location and orientation of your roof I would say a 4000TL is too much wheras a 3.6 inverter of some description would be ideal.

 

[Somecamel]

SMA 3800 16amp limited would be perfect

 

[FB.]

I agree with moggy - your current 3kW inverter is a bit too small. A 4kW is a little oversized. A 3.6kW inverter would be ideal (of which there are several; I have an Aurora 3.6).

My SouthEast-facing, 40-degree roof, 3.75kWp with 3.6kW Aurora inverter peaks out around 2.5kW at the moment, so there's still plenty more power to come as summer approaches and if you're maxed-out at the moment, you'll be losing about 25% of your potential in summer.

 

[moggy1968]

the efficiency of the 3800 is poor compared to other more modern inverters. IT's basically an older model and there are better ones out there

 

[Somecamel]

the efficiency of the 3800 is poor compared to other more modern inverters. IT's basically an older model and there are better ones out there

Really? I thought it was introduced to bridge the 3.68kW Limit as there wasn't an ideal SMA inverter for these?

 

[moggy1968]

It was an emergency measure while the were waiting for the 3600TL to be released.
They were very slow filling the essential 3.6 market, it was a real gap in their range

 

[Somecamel]

I stand informed Cheers

 

[babba]

Really? I thought it was introduced to bridge the 3.68kW Limit as there wasn't an ideal SMA inverter for these?

Think it is limited to 3.68.... 15A..only SMA that are any good TL the rest are crp...POWER ONE for me..

 

[Somecamel]

I am a big fan of the power one inverters as well. Very Versatile duel MPPT and able to cope with uneven strings.

Found the Power one inverter config webpage if anyone is interested Power-One String Tool

 

[GaryM]

Think it is limited to 3.68.... 15A..only SMA that are any good TL the rest are crp...POWER ONE for me..

It's 16A.

So you don't rate the Fronius IG TL 3.6? Any particular reason?

 

[Somecamel]

Never used a lot of the Fronius Inverters- More of an Aesthetic thing They're bloody ugly

 

[GaryM]

Never used a lot of the Fronius Inverters- More of an Aesthetic thing They're bloody ugly

Each to their own I guess
I'm happy with mine, guess looks take a back seat though I don't think it's particularly ugly. It's very efficient and came with a 20yr warranty so it kind of does it for me!

 

[moggy1968]

The fronius is handy in that you can run a single string of 16panels. I've used them a lot where single string is ok as power ones were impossible to get hold of during the autumn so I only used them where I had to have 2 strings.
SMA HFs are quite nice, and no need for bonding.

Fronius aint so ugly!!

 

[pvman]

The fronius inverters perform well in pvsol, not a whole lot more output but more than Sma and power one with lots of panels.

 

[lewyames]

As far as I can see this is not a bad choice. If you check the data sheet the max ac output is 16A which is ideal for a G83/1 install. One important thing to note and something that confused me for a long time is that on the data sheet, where is states max dc input 3200W is not actually the max dc this inverter can handle. Its something to do with a nominal value they have to state for the European market. To find the max amount of dc you can wire to this inverter simply multiply the the max input voltage by the the max input current. In this case its 9,350W (obviously you'd never want to do this). You might think I'm mad but I've spoken to Fronius and SMA about this. Anyway, as I say I'm sure this inverter will be fine and as long as the rest of the installation has been carried out correctly, and on a clear day will give you your 16A output. I'm willing to bet the installers didn't have clearance from the DNO to go above 3.68kW of output anyway????