logo elektroda
logo elektroda
X
logo elektroda
Advanced Search
logo elektroda

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

---Ryba--- 459750 1701
ADVERTISEMENT
Treść została przetłumaczona polish » english Zobacz oryginalną wersję tematu
Reply | New topic
  • #1681 21204502
    k_pec
    Level 32  
    krzysk23 wrote:
    I think the voltages on the strings are too low, as on the east (6 panels) from 150-180 A, and on the west. (8 panels) around 180-220 A
    .
    The Vmpp voltage for these panels is catalogued at 31.36V, which would give:[letter:cd4d6eb50e]6 x 31.36V = 188V
    8 x 31.36V = 250Vso the east string looks reasonably OK, but the west string actually shows something low. It's like it's missing one panel. Do you have any shading on those strings there?

    krzysk23 wrote:
    I have a small production - 25-25 August (central Poland) of about 22.5 kW each - it was sunny.
    .
    It should be understood that this 22kW h is the daily production from both strings? If so, that wouldn't be too bad, looking especially at the strains of the western stringer.
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • #1682 21204530
    krzysk23
    Level 10  
    @k_pec thanks for the hint. I have now checked the Vmpp - the app shows 184V (east - 6 panels) and 233V west. - 8 panels. Looks a bit better.
    22 kWh is the daily production of the whole installation. Is that a good result for 14 panels of 405W = 5670W?
    My other installation, weaker by about 1 kWp, west azimuth, generated a similar result?
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • #1683 21204540
    k_pec
    Level 32  
    krzysk23 wrote:
    I have now checked the Vmpp - the app shows 184V (east - 6 panels) and 233V west. - 8 panels. Looks a bit better.
    .
    Well, better, but further to the west something by little. Either you have shading, or maybe one of the panels is partially damaged - a hot-spot or a dead by-pass diode or what other devil.

    krzysk23 wrote:
    22Kwh is the daily output of the whole installation. This is a good result for 14 panels of 405W each = 5670W?
    .
    For me, with your configuration, that's not bad, and I'd even say okay. Calculatively, taking into account the statistical weather conditions, for 5.7kWp in the southern direction the monthly production for August in central Poland is about 700kWh. If you divide by 31 it comes out 22.5kWh on average per day ;) .

    Besides, it is an internet myth that W-E installations have much lower productions than those on S. Up to several percent depending on the orientation and angles of the panels.
  • #1684 21205235
    AT PRO
    Level 23  
    >>21204497 .

    You influence them to change your panels and not the inverter.
    You do not fit panels to such small stringers which are barely 37 volts in open circuit.
    There you need panels with the highest possible open circuit voltage.
  • #1685 21214889
    krzysk23
    Level 10  
    Please advise if, in my case of low voltages (Vmpp - app shows 184V (east - 6 panels) and 233V west. - 8 panels) changing the inverter from 5 kW to 4 kW will help? I have had the installation since 24 July, max instantaneous power of the set in the range of 3 - 3,5 kW.
  • #1686 21214929
    k_pec
    Level 32  
    krzysk23 wrote:
    I have had the installation since 24 July, max instantaneous power of the set in the range of 3 - 3.5kW.
    .
    Make up your mind how this installation of yours is working - you are now writing about wattages in the order of 3...3.5kW coming into the inverter from the panels, which would give a daily production of around 15kWh, and earlier you wrote about a daily production of around 22kWh:

    krzysk23 wrote:
    I have a small production - 25-25 August (central Poland) of about 22.5kW - it was sunny.
    .
    then where is the truth?
  • #1687 21214993
    krzysk23
    Level 10  
    k_pec wrote:
    Decide how this installation of yours works - now you are writing about power in the order of 3...3.5kW entering the inverter from the panels, which would give a daily production of around 15kWh, and earlier you wrote about a daily production of around 22kWh:
    .
    I stated the maximum instantaneous power.
  • #1688 21235735
    maniakalny
    Level 11  
    mysh_daniels wrote:
    There have never been any voltage problems, always 229-232V, but today the sun and on the grid it jumps up to 247-248V. At what voltage will the 8.8 KTL-X disconnect? Is there any option to rearrange it to withstand the higher voltage, or does it disconnect so that it doesn't get damaged? The high mains voltage is unlikely to be its fault, the moment it produces 7-8 kW I have an intake at home of e.g. 12 kW while charging the car and still the voltage is so high
    .
    A little late but I don't think there was an answer - 247-248V is NOTHING, nothing to panic about, I have 253-254V peaks and so far it's working, on the trafo the voltage is already at its lowest almost and unlikely to drop - at minimum it drops to around 215V

    Generally strange that charging 11kW 3F doesn't cause dips, I have a 1F charger and when I load 16A the voltage on that phase drops by 6-8V.

    As for the country codes, I've been fiddling around a bit in the settings (ktl-x G3), Australia has the VTENMIN parameter at 258V or 258.5V - all other countries have practically 253V (still some had 254 and/or 255V from what I remember)

    By the way I also have a problem.
    Sofar 11ktlx g3 inverter (new - fitted in May)
    according to the pdfs on the net the max input from the panels is 13A, however on the inverter it is 15A/15A.

    I have 620W me solar panels which max power is 14.25A - however on the graphs max A is 12.5-12.8V and I never seem to get through that 13A.

    I've seen posts before that supposedly these amps can be unlocked for more, but no info on how to do it.
    anyone got anything?
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • #1689 21236155
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    maniakalny wrote:
    Panels I have 620W me solar, which max power is 14.25A - however on the charts max A is 12.5-12.8V and I don't think it ever broke through that 13A
    .
    Because that's the theoretical current under optimal conditions, and those are almost non-existent in Poland. I also have a 9kW PV and at times in the summer when the wind was blowing I saw 8.2-8.3 max. There won't be more.
  • #1690 21236202
    maniakalny
    Level 11  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    .
    Because this is the theoretical current under optimum conditions, and these are almost non-existent in Poland. I too have a 9kW PV and at times in the summer, when the wind was blowing, I saw 8.2-8.3 max. More will not happen.
    .

    Except that I have two installations side by side
    FIRST older one - inverter 11KTLX 27x 375W, which gives 10125W in theory
    the inverter has a max input of 2x11A (the panels have 10.94A and 34.28V)

    and many times I've had voltages around 940V (total from two strings), amps around 11A - which gives a 10.5kW peak, and on sunny days in May/June I've often had 9.5-9.8kW
    on this new one it never exceeded 13A from the panels, the graph of this second installation I just have clipped at the top, so I wonder what is going on
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • #1691 21247271
    januszm41
    Level 6  
    Screenshot displaying basic information and software version details of the Sofar 10KTL-X G3 inverter. Hello,
    We have had a Sofar 10KTL-X G3 inverter since mid 22. The software is V010002, so I wanted to upload a new one, but nothing.
    What I do, it shows a file error.
    Firmware is from sofar website https://downloads.sofarsolar.eu/?_download_type=firmware
    Stick is 1GB Fat32, whether with or without folder, all the time file error.
    Anyone have any suggestions?
  • #1692 21327726
    tomekp0
    Level 2  
    I have a quick question, due to a noisy inverter I scooped the FW update to the latest version. Everything went through smoothly, only now I noticed that I have the country code set to: Netherlands, previously I think I either had PL set or didn't see this information in the Solarman app.

    Unfortunately I can't set the country code via the -> setcountry-code menu, when I enter the password I get a failure message.

    Questions:
    1. i read that this can be done with a file via USB, but in the safety directory, i have two files with code 012:
    A) 012-000-0611
    B) 012-003-0611
    Is this really the only option? And do I actually have to change it ?
  • #1693 21329171
    LordZiemniak
    Level 15  
    upload the 000A file on the USB stick into the safety folder, select the country code in the inverter menu, confirm and you are done, the safety files should be included in the package together with the software
  • #1694 21388920
    zawislinski15
    Level 4  
    sofar 8.8 ktl-x g3. I have not found a solution to raise the power. This generation no longer has those coding jumpers. I see on the board that it is for power from 8 to 10, so I suspect that up to 10 it can be raised like the previous generation. Has anyone tried this yet?

    There is an option in menu 1.16 to disable power limit, but I don't know if this is a good action. I have 12.6 kWp of JA Solar JAM72D42-630/LB Bifacial SF panels. The current at maximum power under STC conditions is 14.35 A, the total voltage under these conditions is 878 V. Only at an irradiance factor of 10% do they have 15.50 A. Also, I do not see under our conditions that the panels will overload the inverter under these parameters.
  • #1695 21389032
    k_pec
    Level 32  
    zawislinski15 wrote:
    They have 15.50 A at an irradiance factor of 10%. Also, I don't see under our conditions that the panels will overload the inverter within these parameters.
    .
    Normal inverter behaviour - even if the current is exceeded, the tracers will limit it to an acceptable level, meaning they automatically limit the input power too. It looks like you are within the limits.


    zawislinski15 wrote:
    I have 12.6 kWp of JA Solar JAM72D42-630/LB Bifacial SF panels. The current at maximum power under STC conditions is 14.35 A, the total voltage under these conditions is 878 V.
    .
    This leaves 20 panels, so:[letter:c60fd59184]0°C --> Voc string ≈ 1113V
    -7°C --> Voc string ≈ 1132V
    -15°C --> Voc string ≈ 1154VFor this here I think it's you're balancing on a tightrope .
  • #1696 21503739
    Piross
    Level 11  
    Hello
    I have some rather strange readings from a Softa 8.8 KTLX G3 inverter
    In full sunlight
    Screenshot of an app displaying energy production report from Soft 8.8 KTLX G3 inverter, showing irregular readings. .
    Anyone encountered a similar problem?
  • #1697 21503767
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    Of course, you have competitors who also want to feed energy back into the grid from PV.
  • #1698 21538187
    prose
    Level 35  
    @Janusz_kk It's not a competition because the inverter doesn't switch off just the power drops.
  • #1699 21538190
    ja_pizgam
    Level 10  
    @prose well because that's how most have it in the software now, they first drop the power to keep going, it's better because it can go back to full power at any time and in the case of a reset it's more than 1min lost to switch on, test and start working.
  • #1700 21538463
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    prose wrote:
    This is not a competition because the inverter does not switch off only the power drops.

    Well unfortunately it shuts down and then it can't turn on because if the voltage is close to 253V it won't turn on, I know because I have watched it, sometimes such interruptions last half an hour or more.
  • #1701 21553528
    loozak2
    Level 11  
    >>19944976 Thanks. Changing the name to ARM.hex helped. You are great :) .
  • #1702 21580268
    zawislinski15
    Level 4  
    >>21389032 .
    The installation survived the entire winter and frosts down to -15 degrees. Nothing alarming was visible. Production was all the time. I looked especially at temperatures below 0.
Reply | New topic
Report a violation of the law

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.
ADVERTISEMENT