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

tomasz.ryszard wrote:

If we are talking about loading the inverter with an internal (household) load, the inverter is connected to the phase to which all loads are connected so as to maximize self-consumption and send as little electricity as possible to the power grid.

I just wanted to point out that it doesn't matter because phase-to-phase balancing has been in place for a long time, so feel free to use any phase.

I contacted Sofar Solar service today. The service technician, after tracing the inverter operation diagrams until 01.06 and beyond, and based on the information provided to him that the voltage coming to the inverter from the grid is normal (about 235 V) and the voltage drop on the line between the bidirectional meter and the AC connection box of the inverter does not exceed 5 V, stated that the inverter may be damaged and that it is worth checking, as he described it, before sending it to the service, whether there are any problems with the zero.
I'm wondering what I can do as far as zero control is concerned - check if the neutral wire connections are securely tightened. But on the other hand, if the quality of these connections was poor, there would be a large voltage drop on the meter line of the AC inverter box, and from the measurements I made earlier, this drop is not great (max 5 V).
I am still waiting for the solar insolation of the panels to improve to check the operation of the inverter under a load of 2-3 kW.

The inverter is failing (there are periods when it turns off and there are periods when it works continuously).
Yesterday it did not turn off even once when it generated maximum power, i.e. 3300 W.



Today, around 7 am, it turned off several times with a power output of about 800 W, raising the voltage to about 260 V, while the voltage I measured in the AC box right after it turned off was about 236 V (you can also see it on the chart). I connected a 2000 W load then - it stopped turning off and I disconnected the load right after. And so from 7 am to now (17:30) it works without load and does not turn off.



At 5 pm, when the inverter was generating 2200 W, I measured the voltage in the AC box of the inverter:
- no load 2000W - 239-240V
- with a load of 2000 W - 234-235 V

The situation is embarrassing because if I send the inverter to the service and it is tested, it may work well or badly during the test. If it just happens to work well, it will come back to me, and for me it may work well for a while, then badly again. Maybe I'll hold off on sending the inverter to the service and watch its work. If it continues to fail, I will write that it behaves unstable and ask for a replacement for a new one.

@tomasz.ryszard

Looks like a tracer problem to me with loss of production in the morning. With normal operation, the voltage from the string, as shown in the pictures, is in the range of some 400...450V. When the inverter goes crazy, the string voltage always goes under 500V, which is probably around Voc. And this means that the inverter does not consume or draw some negligible current from the panels. Hence the low power at the output because the inverter has nothing to produce.

And then, in such an exceptional situation, it is possible that something is mixed up in his prock (because, for example, he receives conflicting data from a damaged tracer or sensors) and interprets the situation as the inability to export the generated power, as a result of which he increases the voltage as much as he can. And at the end of the shutdown, because it exceeds the limit.

Somehow, it still has to depend on the ratio of received power (self-consumption/export), because sometimes you care, and sometimes you don't. Well, he started with the heater.

>>20618465

Download in Excel from the export tab the parameters from the day when it turns off, although these will be 5-minute readings, but maybe you can catch something.

The fact that the DC voltage increases is not the cause of the problem of the inverter switching off, but the result of the lack of load on the string, e.g. as a result of the inverter switching off due to too high voltage or lack of AC voltage.

3301 wrote:

>>20618465

Download in Excel from the export tab the parameters from the day when it turns off, although these will be 5-minute readings, but maybe you can catch something.

Maybe it's worth looking at the detailed data from Friday 09.06.2023 (working day - the external load of the inverter should be high, sunny day - at noon the inverter should generate a maximum power of 3.3 kW and it reset at about 1 kW, raising the voltage to about 260 V)

Charts from this day:



and here is the detailed data exported from the inverter for that day

I've been thinking about storage lately. There are magazines that work with ordinary inverters, but they have some disadvantages. And checking what it looks like, if I have reported 3.68 kW, then the storage power cannot be greater. And hard to find anything. No problem 5 kW and above. And such 3 kW would be just right. I'm checking what's up right now. Prices are starting to fall, so there's an option. Settlement only in April with PV, so then it will turn out whether it will be useful or not.

Rybus85 wrote:

There are magazines that work with ordinary inverters but they have some downsides.

What inverters are unusual?

Rybus85 wrote:

checking how it looks if i have reported 3.68 kW this warehouse power cannot be greater. And hard to find anything. No problem 5 kW and bigger. And such 3 kW would be right.

You're mixing something up. What is this "storage power" ?

There is a hybrid inverter for the warehouse, but there are warehouses that can be connected to a normal inverter.
this once.
Two storage power, this is the power with which it can give back the stored energy. If you need 5kW or more for home appliances (induction, pump, car charging, etc.), you need more warehouse power. Power is not the same as capacity. You can have capacitance in resistance, but the power cannot exceed the power declared in the panels. Otherwise, you have summed up and cannot exceed the contracted capacity of the building.

Rybus85 wrote:

Two storage power, this is the power with which it can give back the stored energy. If you need 5kW or more for home appliances (induction, pump, car charging, etc.), you need more warehouse power.

What's more, the power of the storage must be multiplied by at least the coefficient of the depth of discharge of the batteries, which can significantly increase the required power of the storage, because in a single cycle, depending on the type of batteries in the storage, it is possible to "draw" not 100% of its power, but only part of it - let's say typically 30...80 percent...

You're talking nonsense. Both. In order to speak on a topic, you need to know the topic, use the right terms and units. And that's cheating and cheating. You don't even know what you're talking about.

Hello, I have a question if I can add 6 panels to the west, namely I have KLX 5.5 yesterday I changed the jumpers to 6KW installed panels 16 pieces on one string direction exactly south yesterday's data about 520 V current 10A daily production 38 kWh.
Until 15-15:30 I have a maximum of 5.52 kW, but then it drops significantly, does it make sense to install 5-6 panels on the second string to maintain production at 3-4 kW towards the west at an angle of about 20', which with an inverter, if it gets 7.5-8 kWh, will it turn off or only cut production?
I would like to add that I do not want to have a production of over 7 kWh at noon because I have about 180 m to the box :)

Peter

Hi. Yesterday I launched sofar hyd 3600 es (soft v3.40), I don't have a bidirectional meter with PGE yet and I'm trying to block electricity export. When I set the reflux to 0 W, the current on the inverter screen also stops flowing to the house. ....
Problem solved. I turned on some measurement option not written in the manual in the reflux menu and the inverter did not use the attached current transformer.

Too much to read it all. I have KTL-X 3.3. Short ball, I want to raise to 5.5 with a jumper. Will I lift or not? Will this work like 5.5? Thanks, gentlemen.

@tomasz.ryszard maybe a stupid/obvious question but I didn't find an answer among the posts describing your problem so - have you tried updating the firmware? It's best to go both ways, i.e. upgrade and if it doesn't help, downgrade. I have 3 same inverters as you (3300TL-G3). I had a problem with them from new, that they did not wake up in the morning to go to work. The voltage on the DC side was rising all the time and the current stayed rigidly between 100mA and 200mA (and so from the beginning to the end of the day). Of course, it's not the same as what happens in your case, but for me updating the software helped.

@swojak3 It will work.

My Sofar HYD 35600 ES has two MPPT inputs, each can process 2400W of power. I have 8 PV panels in total that can give 4 kW (STC). I shorted both MPPT inputs in parallel, set the MPPT inputs to parallel in the inverter, and connected all the panels in series into one string to get a higher voltage. Is it the optimal combination? The maximum power I get is a little over 2 kW. Roof at an angle of 40°, SSE direction.

@pavvell With 4kWp it's very little.

matejczykp wrote:

Hello, I have a question if I can add 6 panels to the west, namely I have KLX 5.5 yesterday I changed the jumpers to 6KW installed panels 16 pieces on one string direction exactly south yesterday's data about 520 V current 10A daily production 38 kWh.
Until 15-15:30 I have a maximum of 5.52 kW, but then it drops significantly, is there any point in installing 5-6 panels on the second string to maintain production at 3-4 kW

Peter

And with 5-6 panels, will 2 strings start at all, or is it not enough? What power do you want to give these panels, because you only increased the inverter by 1.1 kW with jumpers.

I will return to my earlier question. Does anyone know why my Sofar 8.8 KTL-X beeps twice every now and then? No alarm appears only beeps twice all the time works as it should? This morning he did it several times, sometimes nothing all day and sometimes several times in a few hours.

Then where do you have this inverter that you can hear it? You're not standing by him all the time, are you? Honestly, maybe mine is giving some signals. I have it in the garage and have absolutely no interest in it.

He's in the stairwell and you can hear him even when the door is closed. The beeping must mean something, so I'm still waiting for an answer.

I went through the entire Sofar manual for error codes, and there is nothing about beeping.

Yesterday, they installed 10 panels, each with a capacity of 450W. The model is SOFAR 4.4KTLX-G3. There is provision for oversizing, but that's the allocation I received from the municipal donation. All the panels are connected under pv1, and pv2 is free. However, the application indicates that there is voltage on pv2, as if it were connected to a circuit with 6+4 panels. The starting voltage is around 160V, and you can hear a clicking sound. Ideally, pv2 should have a voltage of 0.00VDC.


.

@lesiakjarek this is a bug in their application, I have the same thing on 5.5KTL-X which was launched in 2021 and has been updated several times, only in my case it appears only about 72V, but the current is 0A. See for yourself below in the statistics this parameter then you will have a straight line throughout the entire period of operation of the inverter.

See photos. The green color is the PV2 connector. Blue PV1. See what voltage. Usually more than 160V. But often it peaks downwards. I looked at the current statistics. Evidently, it is producing something on PV2. Low because about 0.15A, but there is something. I have PV1 and PV2 inputs set as independent. Unless it needs to be set as a bridge? I don't know, but I have a Fronius and have no such problems.

Well, if there is some current, then it is possible that it is the effect of electromagnetic induction. Both sockets from the strings are close to each other, so it is likely.

All is well these types have it so, do not worry.

That is, the quality goes with the price. Indeed, these currents are not large, so maybe it's induction inside the device. But this monitoring is taking it up a notch. I wrote to support officially. Although, hope for a constructive answer I do not have. The installation team (UKR) is also likely to say that "musit takoj budiet". Such are the EU tenders. Enjoy what they give for 1/4 the price.