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

Get more specific. Which generation of Sofar? The G2 has a maximum current of 11A and the panels 13A. So if the panels are all on the same azimuth and it's G2 then it pays to give them on one string, but split into two MPPTs. At G3 too because of the voltage.

SOFAR 5.5KTL-X G2. All panels are at the same azimuth

So as I wrote. Do the whole thing on one, and at the inverter itself split into two MPPTs. Then, at maximum operation, the current will go equally 6.5A to both inputs.
When operating the whole on one input, the maximum current from the string is 11A. That is a loss of about a kilowatt of power.

ok, I will

Added after 35 [minutes]:

In the inverter I have to change to INPUT MODE --> EQUAL?

Yes, you need to change.

Hi. Patient Sofar 5.5 KTL-X, Selfa panels 14 pcs each 390 Wp (5.5 kWp) all facing south-west at 215 degrees, roof pitch 45°, and production reaches 4 kW, or 70% of installed power. Panels connected 7 at a time and pulled everything under the inverter and connected under 2 MPPT. I attach the photos. And now how to bite it to increase the production. .

plm132 wrote:

And now how to bite it to increase production.

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It looks like something is limiting (flattening out) your production around 4kW. Don't you have some kind of production limiting done - P(U) functions, Q(U) or something else?

But that's a detail, because you still have a reduced production in relation to that number of kWp, because:[letter:6602667d3e]-When the panels are tilted at 45°, the panels produce about 12...15% less power than at the optimum tilt for June.

- The panel's 390Wp output is, and yes it is, but for laboratory STC conditions. In the real world, by contrast, one is closer to NOCT conditions, i.e. 295Wp of power. You can take a safe 0.9 STC power for your estimates.Adding up, you have about twenty, twenty-something per cent legitimate power shortfall. The remaining shortfall is that flattening seen in the graph.

>>21132874 Panels badly matched to inverter. The inverter has a maximum of 11A per single MPPT input and the panels at maximum power give a current of 12.69A. The inverter accepts 11A and hence the clipping on the graph.
In my opinion, you should connect all the panels in series i.e. create one string and plug them in parallel under the two MPPTs.

plm132 wrote:

Selfa panels 14 pcs. of 390 Wp (5.5 kWp) (...) Panels connected by 7 pcs. and pulled everything under the inverter and connected under 2 MPPT.

And, just now, I forgot in the previous post.

Seven panels in a string is about 200...215V voltage, and the voltage range for the tracer mppt for this inverter is 240...850V. And that's where the problem of power limitation could be.

Independently - simply too low voltages for optimal mppt operation.

faradek wrote:

Panels badly matched to inverter. The inverter has a maximum of 11A per single MPPT input and the panels at maximum power give a current of 12.69A. The inverter accepts 11A and hence the clipping on the graph.
In my opinion, you should connect all the panels in series i.e. create one string and plug them in parallel under two MPPT.

Exactly, it was completely pointless to split them into 2 strings, one string and the inputs in parallel in the setup and you will be fine.

>>21132958 Changing parameter 16 to unlimited, the current jumped above 11A and started cutting production, and where to look for Q

Hello, is such a sharp drop in the power of the installation on a warm cloudless day normal?
Installation new, today the first cloudless and warm day about 30st.
Sofar 4.4KTL-G3 inverter, 1string with a nominal power of 4kw (9x445W ENCOR EC445-450-10R-108FB)




And also a data dump from the inverter:

ICEMANIK wrote:

Is such a sharp drop in the power of the installation on a warm cloudless day normal

If the voltage dropped so sharply then the power must have dropped as well. Something obscured the sun and that was that.

If I hadn't been at home I might have been, but I was today, and the cloudless sky was of limited power for that time. I should add that there is also nothing to obscure the sunshine

Janusz_kk wrote:

faradek wrote:

Panels badly matched to inverter. The inverter has a maximum of 11A per single MPPT input and the panels at maximum power give a current of 12.69A. The inverter accepts 11A and hence the clipping on the graph.
In my opinion, you should connect all the panels in series i.e. create one string and plug them in parallel under two MPPT.

Exactly, it was completely pointless to split them into 2 strings, one string and the inputs in parallel in the setup and it will be fine.

So do it like this?

NO, it is still a parallel connection, you have to connect them in series in the box at the solar, that is, from string 1 the red one to the inverter and you connect the black one with the red one from the second string, the black one from the second string to the inverter. In the inverter, in the settings, you select not two separate strings but a parallel connection of the inputs and that's it.

Janusz_kk wrote:

NO, it's still a parallel connection, you have to connect them in series in the box at the solar panels, that is from string 1 the red to the inverter and you connect the black to the red from the other string, the black from the other to the inverter. In the inverter in the settings you select not two separate strings but a parallel connection of the inputs and that's it[/quote].
And this is plugged into one MPPT?

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Hi, I have this problem that I don't understand.... I was using a 5.39 kW installation with a Solar Sofar 5.5 kW inverter from the south direction until 24 March this year. The inverter was pumping between 15 and 18 kW at peak according to the inverter and about 12-13 kW according to the Tauron meter. I extended the installation on 25 March, adding a second 2.7 kW circuit, changing nothing on the inverter. Production on a nice day was between 23 and 27 kW according to the inverter and about 22 - 24 kW according to Tauron.
I decided to boost the inverter and on the internal microswitch I set it to 8.8 kW on 1.05. The inverter presented itself nicely as 8 kW and it was so nice to see it pumping at 8.4 kW.
And this is where the problem begins.... The inverter shows a daily production of 45 - 50 kW in May (a beautiful increase in production) and Tauron registers a maximum of 25 kW. In June, the inverter is sucking up to 65 kW on a nice day, and Tauron still shows a maximum of 26 kW in the application.
The autoconsumption issue with me has not changed, I don't know why Tauron has locked in at 25 kW. It looks as if just increasing the power of the inverter, apart from a temporary improvement in the user's wellbeing, does not change anything. The inverter shows a beautiful increase in production without affecting the readings that Tauron's meter registers.
For the whole of May, the inverter boasts a production of 1.33 MW and Tauron shows 525 kW.
Anyone have any idea what is wrong? Thanks in advance...
I am also attaching a file with graphs

_ARo_ wrote:

Have any idea what is wrong? Thank you in advance...

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After all, when you added the panels in March, your production increased accordingly, both on the inverter and on the Tauron meter, (1.5x), because at that time the panels were far from the rated max output of the panels and the inverter was cranking out.

And by changing the settings in May, you have only changed the way the inverter displays the data - it normalizes the power not to 5.5kW but to 8kW - the production is still close to winter, because the inverter saturates the power from the panels in summer. This is why Tauron's meter shows as much as you actually produce.

The way I see it.

But a colleague changed a jumper in the middle. So as long as there is enough power in the panels, it should produce more than before the jumper change and give more to the grid, as long as it does not significantly increase the autoconsumption. As far as I know, with the G3 version it is no longer possible to increase the power with the jumper.
It may also be that this is only an apparent change to 8.8, which is displayed as successful, but in fact produces the same amount as before.

I think you're right 👍

zdziseek wrote:

It could also be that this is only an apparent change to 8.8, it appears to be successful, but produces de facto the same as before.

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And this is probably the case, he is not the first one to have been run over by it, only the power coefficients for the conversion have changed, but the energy is still the same.

It has long been known that jumpers can be used to switch 4.4 and 5.5 to 6.6, and 8.8, 10 to 11.

JEDD wrote:

It has long been known that jumpers can be used to switch 4.4 and 5.5 to 6.6, and 8.8, 10 to 11.

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It's just that the inverter must have a 'spare', if it doesn't then the effect is as _ARo_ describes at his place. The inverter falsifies the production data.

Hello,
My router at home has crashed. As a result, I have no PV production data either in the APK or on the WWW.
Can some good soul explain to me step by step how now the WiFi logger I have hooked up to the Sofar 8.8 KTLX G3 connect to the new router? Thank you in advance

You don't have to do anything with the WiFi logger, just set the same WiFi network parameters on the new router as on the old one, i.e. WiFi name and password.

>>21071913 Hi, I would also like to join the request for instructions on how to run P(U) on G3

Hello, since Friday I have a new installation based on a SOFAR 5.5KTL-X G3 inverter. To the east (about 45 st) 6 panels and to the west (about 20 st) 8 Bauer 405 panels. I think the company has miscalculated something. I have a small production - 25-25 August (central Poland) after about 22.5 kW - it was sunny. This is my second installation- the first about 1 kWp smaller just to the west produced similarly. It seems to me that the voltages on the strings are too low, because in the east (6 panels) from 150-180 A, and in the west. (8 panels) around 180-220 A. What do you guys think about this? Maybe too big an inverter for this installation?

@krzysk23 I on a 5.5KTL-X (first generation) have only 4.5kWp but south (15st) in 1 string, and the voltage range is 360-430V (I'm talking about the range where any current flows). You've probably confused the units a bit because A is amperage not voltage and you're unlikely to have that many amps Generally that 20st to the west is quite a poor angle, there you should have above 40st due to the sun going down (as you have in the east). The voltage range is ok, more so check the current graph (since it was sunny the volume should be fairly straight and not jagged). I checked in your inverter's manual it's operating range starts at 140V but peaks at 240-850V.

>>21204482 I obviously got the units wrong. As you write, the highest output is from 240V, and the 4.4 model is already from 190V. Should I influence the company to change me to a smaller inverter?