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SOFAR 8kW PV Installation: Opinions, Durability, Failures & Experiences with Inverters

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Treść została przetłumaczona polish » english Zobacz oryginalną wersję tematu
  • #1471 20540087
    m2tk
    Level 13  
    I don't claim to have "knowledge". I see what the inverter shows me, if it's wrong please correct my statement.

    I have items such as
    - PV-tot: 11.70 kW
    - Power: 11.24 kW

    and this would coincide with the indications in solarman:
    DC Power PV1: 5850W
    DC Power PV2: 5850W
    AC Output Total Power (active): 11240W
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  • #1472 20540207
    civic9
    Level 12  
    toma1981 wrote:
    Gentlemen, I have a 5500w installation and the inverter does not show more production than 4000w, is the sun too weak and you have to wait until May or something wrong with the installation I have done because I am not getting full power 5500w so far.

    Unless this is some unusual installation, it should sometimes come under the nominal power and may even exceed it. However, probably not for long under current conditions.

    If this cannot be explained - then pay attention to the value of the current from the panels, whether they do not approach the maximum of the inverter when the power approaches this observed maximum power. Today's panels often have them quite large, and many sofas have a max. 12-13A, which can be a problem as they are not distributed over 2 parallel inputs. At my place, 3 days ago I registered 16.5A from the pv module, which has the NOCT Imp 10.47A in the datasheet. Unless you have one string connected in parallel to two inputs - then this problem can be ruled out.
  • #1473 20540237
    toma1981
    Level 12  
    SOFAR 8kW PV Installation: Opinions, Durability, Failures & Experiences with Inverters On the inverter I have a maximum input current of 13A
    And on the panels, the maximum output current is 17A
    They are connected in series into two strings on one roof slope and connected to two MPPTs in the inverter. Now it's cloudy and we won't see the max voltage on the inverter.
    Volts increase when connected in series
    The amperage stays the same yes. And in parallel connection, it's the other way around, I think.
  • #1474 20540616
    mumsag
    Level 9  
    Hi. I have a question, do the Sofar G3 inverters also have the sw3 magic jumper? I have a 7.8 kWp installation and a Sofar Solar KTL-X 6.6 G3 inverter and sometimes the power cuts to 6.6 kW. I read that in G2 it was possible to "increase the power" by setting the jumper accordingly, but the inverters were divided into 2 groups up to 6.6 kW and above 6.6 due to a different construction, as evidenced by, among others, their weight. In the G3 version it has changed a bit because the inverters up to 8.8 kW weigh the same and I thought that maybe it is safer to mix with jumpers 🤷 ♂️ I would like to point out that I am a total electric lebieg so these are just my considerations over my morning coffee 😏
  • #1475 20540859
    civic9
    Level 12  
    toma1981 wrote:
    On the inverter I have a maximum input current of 13A
    And on the panels, the maximum output current is 17A
    They are connected in series into two strings on one roof slope and connected to two MPPTs in the inverter. Now it's cloudy and we won't see the max voltage on the inverter.
    Volts increase when connected in series
    The amperage stays the same yes. And in parallel connection, it's the other way around, I think.


    I found info that you have 10 panels, 2 strings of 5 panels.
    Everyone works independently.
    Anyone can generate 17A as you wrote (is it from the data sheet or from observation? if from the data sheet, in fact there can be even more, albeit rather only for short moments, but it is important if you want to see those record peaks :) but it depends what parameter you read. Maybe provide what panels / link to the datasheet.
    The inverter will only pull up to 13, maybe a little more for a short while.
    There is a bottleneck here. Power is the current times the voltage. It is true that to the maximum power in the long term it is not usually necessary to reach this maximum current, but severely limiting it will cut production. And the inverter will work to the max. of its capabilities, and sometimes even more.
  • #1476 20540880
    toma1981
    Level 12  
    Yes, I have 10 panels. Connected in two strings of 5 pieces. Photo on the back of the panels how to connect it buddy so that it does not limit the power and get the maximum out of the panels
    SOFAR 8kW PV Installation: Opinions, Durability, Failures & Experiences with Inverters
  • #1477 20540903
    civic9
    Level 12  
    toma1981 wrote:
    how to connect it buddy so that it does not limit the power and get the max out of the panels

    This panel has a current of 17.4A but under STC conditions. They are similar to this at times, but short. Most of the time, when the solar irradiation and production will be stable high, it will be closer to NOTC conditions, then this panel will have a current of around 14.2A. Maybe slightly more sometimes. The inverter with its 13A will therefore reduce production by at least about 8.5%, as long as it behaves stably at these 13A (I do not know how it is with 3-phase, 1-phase cuts stably, but 1-phase sofar hybrids when exceeding the max are stupid and cut even more). Now it can cut even more by about 1/4, because the currents are higher in these conditions, but it is only for short moments (but that's why you can't see the larger peaks that sometimes appear in others).

    If the arrangement of the panels is suitable for this (similar angle and direction, etc.), then you need to combine them into one string so that all 10 are in series, parallelize this string to two inputs at the inverter inputs (there are mc4 splitters) and change it in the inverter configuration parallel input mode. This will cause the current to be divided in half between these two inputs (now it is not divided, because these are two independent strings), so it will be a maximum of 7-8A. However, the voltage will be twice as high - which will also be good for him (higher efficiency of the converter, 150V for a 3-phase one, however, is a bit low). Only advantages. As long as these 2 thongs are suitable to work as one.

    Out of curiosity, was this done by a company or by yourself?
  • #1478 20540912
    toma1981
    Level 12  
    I did it myself with your help on the forum, I will say that the installation charges electricity well, for comparison, which I have a 3.5kw installation, my 5.5kw installation per day makes over 5kw more energy than the 3.5kw installation that the company did for me. MC4 splitters I've seen it, I'll buy it, but I don't know how to change the inverter in the settings.
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  • #1479 20540921
    civic9
    Level 12  
    toma1981 wrote:
    I did it myself with your help on the forum, I will say that the installation charges the electricity well, for comparison, which I have a 3.5kw installation, my 5.5kw installation per day makes over 5kw more energy than the 3.5kw installation that the company did for me. MC4 splitters I have seen, I will buy it, but I do not know how to change the inverter in the settings.


    This is the problem of new high-power panels, they have high currents, and many inverters are constructions from the times when pv modules had lower power and lower currents.
    See the graphs in the application in the archive data, for DC current. You'll probably see it gets to 13A and doesn't want to go any further and would like to get more power.

    Is this the manual for your model? https://sofarsolarpoland.pl/wp-content/upload...r-manual-20210413-2021-07-09-04_31_55_en1.pdf
    On page 43 (according to those page numbers placed at the bottom of the page, because in the file it is page 47):
    8. Set Input mode
    The SOFAR 3.3~12KTLX-G3 model has two MPPT circuits that can work independently of
    each other or broken down into parallel modes. The user can change this setting according to
    configuration used.

    It needs to be parallelized. But only after connecting the strings as I wrote.

    ps. Are they bifacial? It is the currents and losses that are even greater under good conditions in the current configuration.
  • #1481 20544887
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    wddd wrote:
    Hello
    When I fired the whole set at the end of March last year, the Sofar 3.3 1f and enjoying the fact that it all worked so beautifully, I checked several times a day how much it produced for me" After a few weeks, when something did not agree, I wrote down how much it produced on that day and the total it turned out that several kWh arrived after the night 😃 (not always and these values were different)
    So I reported this problem to the service, they said that something is wrong with time and uploaded new software. For some time it was ok, and then (as I wrote an earlier post) the inverter did not want to turn on in the morning. When I turned the power off and on, whether AC or DC, the inverter worked properly. Regards

    Well, that's what it looks like to me. Overnight arrived at the site total production additional 10kWh ^^. Especially last night I checked how much it is and now in the morning again. It's a bit pointless
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  • #1482 20544992
    civic9
    Level 12  
    Rybus85 wrote:
    wddd wrote:
    Hello
    When I fired the whole set at the end of March last year, the Sofar 3.3 1f and enjoying the fact that it all worked so beautifully, I checked several times a day how much it produced for me" After a few weeks, when something did not agree, I wrote down how much it produced on that day and the total it turned out that several kWh arrived after the night 😃 (not always and these values were different)
    So I reported this problem to the service, they said that something is wrong with time and uploaded new software. For some time it was ok, and then (as I wrote an earlier post) the inverter did not want to turn on in the morning. When I turned the power off and on, whether AC or DC, the inverter worked properly. Regards

    Well, that's what it looks like to me. Overnight arrived at the site total production additional 10kWh ^^. Especially last night I checked how much it is and now in the morning again. It's a bit pointless


    It seems to me that in the application, where there are graphs, after selecting the total/total period, it shows bars for each year separately with correct values, also for other periods where it shows bars per month, etc. It is true that there is no total production counter here, but sometimes you can add yourself.
  • #1483 20545372
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    Yes. It shows well here. But I can't choose the year, maybe because it was launched this year. Maybe some babol in the application that charges so strangely there.
    But it's cool that you wrote that you can also check there. I didn't check there.
  • #1484 20548548
    bolek
    Level 35  
    I have an account with a G2 inverter, now I am replacing it with a G3. Is there a way to handle this so that I have a story?
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  • #1486 20550869
    bolek
    Level 35  
    It does, but a bit slow. I removed the old devices, the new wifi gateway has been added, in its tab you can see the SN of my inverter, the LEDs are lit as they should. But the nibble on the website is not visible - I don't even have it on the list of inverters ;/
    ===========
    ok, it popped somewhere after 2 hours. It must have been terrifying.
  • #1487 20550910
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    What were your maximum temperatures on the inverter? For me now, I see it shows 70 degrees in the app and it's actually hard to touch it with your hand. But the conditions for production today are perfect. Zero clouds, light breeze and non-stop max production. I'm curious what maximum temperatures they can reach.
    The distances are maintained according to the manufacturer. I'm probably 80 cm up, left and right is a lot more space.
  • #1488 20550944
    JEDD
    Level 29  
    On 8.8 I now have 62 degrees read by the inverter and 56 degrees from the sensor on the heatsink. Never seen more than 70 degrees.
  • #1489 20550947
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    I by application. I'd have to have a pyrometer to confirm. I bet it is less, because I put my hand to the radiator. Hot, but the skin didn't stay ^^
    Someday I'll have some time and maybe I'll get some cooling. I have some fans from the laptop stand 3 pieces.
  • #1490 20550951
    bolek
    Level 35  
    On my G3 11kW it is currently 47st at 6.6kW. It certainly heats up more than the G2 - it has a smaller heatsink in total. I think that if these G3s are supposed to be so noisy, they could attach fans to it - at least it would be of some use. It's starting to annoy me already.
  • #1491 20550954
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    Mine after the update I had a problem with the fact that in the morning he did not start, he only did 10W is quiet. Before, there was a slight humming, ticking, etc. Now nothing. Complete silence. You can stand by it and not hear it.
  • #1492 20550993
    slawko75
    Level 11  
    Hello
    Maybe someone can help.
    I have a SOFAR 6.6 KTLX-G3 inverter bought in Poland, data from the inverter sticker: S:V100010/L10/G11 12.
    I live in Belgium and I wanted to set the country to Belgium when I started the inverter for the first time, but there was no such option.
    The inverter was already set to Poland by default.
    From the manufacturer's website, I downloaded the SOFAR 3-12KTLX-G3 Firmware V100010_10_11 which contains the country codes by following the instructions
    I uploaded safety to Belgium 008-000-0610.txt (AC was turned off) a success message was displayed.
    The problem is that despite the messages, the success is still in the country code for Poland.
    I tried several times without effect, I even uploaded a file to Europe 022 for a test and then the same.
    I haven't updated the firmware, maybe that's the problem?

    The rest of the inverter data
    Hardware Version:V003
    Communication processor firmware version:G100011
    Vice Software Version:L100010
    Master Software Version:V100010
    Standard Main Version:0608
    Protocol Version:1.08
  • #1493 20551005
    bolek
    Level 35  
    Rybus85 wrote:
    Mine after the update I had a problem with the fact that in the morning he did not start, he only did 10W is quiet. Before, there was a slight humming, ticking, etc. Now nothing. Complete silence. You can stand by it and not hear it.


    What is the power / how much do the panels give?. Where I bought it, they claim that they make noise from 3kW. A similar sound also appears (for a few seconds) during startup. Now it goes somewhere at 5kW and also sounds different, it's more humming. Obviously a converter.
    Well, we'll have to talk to the service on Monday.
  • #1494 20551010
    Rybus85
    Level 23  
    The panels are somehow 4.05 kWp, the inverter is 3.3. No matter if it goes 3.3 or less, it's silence after the update. There was a slight buzzing sound before.
  • #1495 20553225
    kloszi
    Level 21  
    I bought a sifar 3.3kW 1f a month ago. The inverter has been working for 2 weeks with 8x460W panels. After the first sunny day, I noticed that the temperature reached 74C on the application. This temperature is probably measured inside because it is overestimated by about 10C. I decided to add timer controlled fans. The second thing is after a week there was a problem with starting the inverter. The energy produced throughout the day jumps 0-10W. After a reset with the DC switch, everything stops. It's been reported and we'll see.
  • #1496 20553589
    m2tk
    Level 13  
    >>20551005
    I had that too, up to 3kW, it hummed quietly above, after the update, quiet all the time, although it heats up 1-2 * C more.

    Added after 1 [minutes]:

    >>20550993
    But then you have a problem with the country code or the interface language - they are two different things?

    It can be in the PL code (012) and in English, e.g.
  • #1497 20553626
    slawko75
    Level 11  
    m2tk wrote:
    >>20551005

    Added after 1 [minutes]:

    >>20550993
    But then you have a problem with the country code or the interface language - they are two different things?

    It can be in the PL code (012) and in English, e.g.

    When I had the interface language set to English, there was no set country option in the enter setting,
    only when I set the interface to Polish, there is an option to set the country.

    I was uploading 008-000-0610.txt and I think I need safety in the version ending in 0608.

    Settings / 3. system info / 5. Country (country) There is also no option to check the country to which the inverter is set.
    Probably not without updating the firmware.
  • #1498 20553693
    m2tk
    Level 13  
    Safety should be uploaded in the same version as the firmware, although probably not necessarily.
    It's in a different position for me. Probably 'Language' and 'Safety'.

    In 610, the menu has changed a bit, as after every upgrade.
  • #1499 20553824
    wnoto
    Level 34  
    Will the temperatures be lower by taking an oversized inverter? suggest the weight of the inverter and buy a "kg" heavier to make it work longer (the plan is that it will be outside)
  • #1500 20553877
    civic9
    Level 12  
    wnoto wrote:
    Will the temperatures be lower by taking an oversized inverter? suggest the weight of the inverter and buy a "kg" heavier to make it work longer (the plan is that it will be outside)


    I have a sofar 3300 G3 and a sofar 6000 HYD. Both with the same set of panels - approx. 3.2kWp. The latter, as the symbol shows, has almost twice as much power. Over the weekend, in full, prolonged sun, the 3300 G3 reached 70 degrees C, and the 6000 hyd only 43 degrees C. Whether this applies to other models - I do not know. HYD is hybrid, so it may have a different design.

Topic summary

The discussion centers on experiences with Sofar inverters in approximately 8kW photovoltaic (PV) installations, focusing on technical issues, durability, and configuration challenges. Users report generally stable operation with models like Sofar 6.6KTL-X and 5.5KTL-X over extended periods, though some face connectivity problems, especially with Wi-Fi and software availability. A recurring technical problem involves input voltage exceeding the maximum allowed 600V DC for single-phase Sofar inverters (notably the 4KTLM-G2), causing errors such as PVOVP and BusOPV and inverter shutdowns. This is often due to too many PV panels connected in series on a single string, with 15 Q.CELLS Q.PEAK G4.1 305W panels sometimes exceeding voltage limits, especially in cold conditions where voltage rises. Solutions include splitting panels into two strings (e.g., 8 and 7 panels) connected to separate MPPT inputs, though some users report this does not fully resolve the issue. The maximum recommended panels per MPPT input is around 9 to avoid surpassing power and voltage limits. Users also discuss the need for three-phase inverters for larger installations above 7kW on a single phase due to grid operator restrictions. Software and firmware updates are sought after but not easily accessible, with some users lacking Polish language support. Comparisons with other brands like SMA and Fronius highlight Sofar's cost advantage but raise concerns about long-term reliability and service support, which is still developing in some regions. Network-related errors such as Grid OFP (over-frequency) have been reported, with troubleshooting involving network frequency checks and inverter restarts. Overall, Sofar inverters are considered a cost-effective option with some technical caveats related to system design, installation quality, and support infrastructure.
Summary generated by the language model.
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