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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
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  • #601 19397928
    toolpusher
    Level 23  
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    Hello, I have a general attention to SOFAR inverters. According to in the current manual, these inverters must not be installed in basements or any other low-lying rooms, because min. the required distance from the ceiling must be 80 cm.
    If someone has to buy Chinese, better choose SOLAX.


    I am much smaller than 80cm and I do not see any signs of overheating and the inverter is significantly oversized. Don't panic.
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  • #602 19397997
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    But what's the problem? you will not tell me that you have a 1.5 m cellar
    I am asking because I want to buy it and put it in the basement, but I have 2.2 m :)
  • #603 19398012
    Cytro12
    Level 26  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    Can you write something closer?

    I would also read it, but the conclusions are obvious.
  • #604 19398042
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni
    Level 6  
    prose wrote:
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    Hello, I have a general attention to SOFAR inverters. According to in the current manual, these inverters must not be installed in basements or any other low-lying rooms, because min. the required distance from the ceiling must be 80 cm.
    If someone has to buy Chinese, better choose SOLAX.

    And solax does not need ventilation?


    Of course I do. Just like any inverter. But others do not need as much as 80 cm. SOFAR from what I read is the only inverter, which, according to this manual cannot be installed in the basement or any other low room.

    Added after 4 [minutes]:

    toolpusher wrote:
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    Hello, I have a general attention to SOFAR inverters. According to in the current manual, these inverters must not be installed in basements or any other low-lying rooms, because min. the required distance from the ceiling must be 80 cm.
    If someone has to buy Chinese, better choose SOLAX.


    I am much smaller than 80cm and I do not see any signs of overheating and the inverter is significantly oversized. Don't panic.


    This is not a factual comment. As a designer and contractor, you must pay attention to the manufacturer's installation requirements.
    If you do not do this, the guarantee will expire.
    You're not the only one with a defective SOFAR. And the manufacturer is silent on this matter.

    Added after 9 [minutes]:

    Janusz_kk wrote:
    But what's the problem? you will not tell me that you have a 1.5 m cellar
    I am asking because I want to buy it and put it in the basement, but I have 2.2 m :)


    I am writing from experience, because I did not know it either.
    My basement is 2m. It follows that the inverter would hang 2 - 0.8 - approx. 0.46 m inverter = approx. 0.7 m from the floor.
    In your basement it will be about 0.9 m.

    The point is not to laugh at whether someone has higher or lower basements. Even in a 2.2 m basement it will not look good when the inverter hangs 0.9 m and even lower the cables.
    Let's try to discuss it factually. Maybe the manufacturer will change something in this matter.
    Currently SOFAR is not suitable according to me for installation in rooms shorter than 2.5 m.
  • #605 19398138
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    The point is not to laugh at whether someone has higher or lower basements. Even in a 2.2 m basement it will not look good when the inverter hangs 0.9 m and even lower the cables.

    If that's the case, I don't care, I have a cold cellar and I will hang it as I see fit, when it warms up, I will add a blowing fan from the bottom.
    The more interesting issue with these DC inputs is that something in the latter is wrong as Cytro12 mentioned, I am waiting for more detailed information on what is wrong.
  • #606 19398150
    toolpusher
    Level 23  
    Since the inverter has a DC power limit of 1 MPPT and actually lets off all the available power, something may be up. Third-party inverters also have the restrictions on 1 MPPT only on paper?
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  • #607 19398154
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni
    Level 6  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    The point is not to laugh at whether someone has higher or lower basements. Even in a 2.2 m basement it will not look good when the inverter hangs 0.9 m and even lower the cables.

    If that's the case, I don't care, I have a cold cellar and I will hang it as I see fit, when it warms up, I will add a blowing fan from the bottom.
    The more interesting issue with these DC inputs is that something in the latter is wrong as Cytro12 mentioned, I am waiting for more detailed information on what is wrong.


    I see. For me, the simplicity of installation and the guarantee are important.
    I am also curious about this DC input.
  • #608 19398155
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    This is probably not the problem, the question of how the inverter will behave with two different strings, will each one optimize separately, or will it 'connect' them internally with diodes and only the bigger one works.

    Added after 3 [minutes]:

    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    I see. For me, the simplicity of installation and the guarantee are important.

    It is known, but I think that the guarantee will not be lost because how will the guarantor prove to you that you hung it wrong?
    In addition, the inverters have protections and if it is too hot, it will either limit the power or turn off.
    And the warranty is more needed in unforeseen situations, such as that it will damage itself or that, for example, overvoltage will damage it, even though it should not be because the protectors did not work.
  • #609 19398183
    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni
    Level 6  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    This is probably not the problem, the question of how the inverter will behave with two different strings, will each one optimize separately, or will it 'connect' them internally with diodes and only the bigger one works.

    Added after 3 [minutes]:

    ZdzislawDyrmaZasadni wrote:
    I see. For me, the simplicity of installation and the guarantee are important.

    It is known, but I think that the guarantee will not be lost because how will the guarantor prove to you that you hung it wrong?
    In addition, the inverters have protections and if it is too hot, it will either limit the power or turn off.
    And the warranty is more needed in unforeseen situations, such as that it will damage itself or that, for example, overvoltage will damage it, even though it should not be because the protectors did not work.


    I thought so too. However, I got the official position of SOFAR and the 80 cm is not a print error, but the manufacturer's guidelines.
    In the same manual it is written that the installation must be done according to instructions for the warranty to be valid.
    You might get an extra fan if needed, but is this going to be a solution for anyone buying a new appliance?
    I am just in the process of changing designs and informing customers and installers about the inverter change.
    SOFAR representatives in Poland are not interested in solving the problem.
  • #610 19398229
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    Of course, this is not a solution for you, I do not deal with it professionally, so I have no problem, and if necessary, I will fix it myself because I deal with such things.
  • #611 19398320
    prose
    Level 35  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    This is probably not the problem, the question of how the inverter will behave with two different strings, will each one optimize separately, or will it 'connect' them internally with diodes and only the bigger one works.

    I have n 2 different strings and each one SOFAR 8kW PV Installation: Opinions, Durability, Failures & Experiences with Inverters squeezes as much as he can.
  • #612 19398428
    slawo12311
    Level 19  
    Gentlemen, I monitor installations on ktl-x 5.5, ktl-x 11 where there are shades and the strings work independently, the graphs show the differences in the power of one and the other on which the shadow falls. So it turns out there are 2 MPPTs.
  • #613 19398501
    3301
    Level 34  
    Why such conclusions that the sofar with two inputs described as PV1 and 2 does not have two independent mppts, that the algorithms do not work the same, because probably such an opinion was previously expressed, after all, there are probably no two such strings that are equally illuminated in all respects and the modules are also identical parameters and therefore the voltages and currents are selected to obtain the highest power, if these inputs worked exactly the same, it could be assumed that there is one mppt.
  • #614 19398677
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    3301 wrote:
    Why the conclusions that the sofar with two inputs described as PV1 and 2 does not have two independent mppts,

    Because there was such a suggestion, I have already quoted it, that's why I asked but as you can see it's ok.

    Added after 1 [minutes]:

    Here you have that quote.
    Cytro12 wrote:
    If you have a clamp meter, check the actual values on the cables, because these measurements of these inverters are of different quality. If Sofar has different algorithms for MPPT, this equipment is weak because they say that there are two independent MPPTs and it turns out that there is one and the other as a divisor because the inputs are too weak.
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  • #615 19399091
    adamvfr
    Level 11  
    If there is no significant difference in voltage then why is it in amperage between strings?
    I don't have a clamp meter - yet, but I'm in quarantine until and including tomorrow, and I installed my neighbor's installation.
    For starters, I will change the strings on the inputs to the inverter and see what it shows, but I'm sure it's the same with the changed input. If not, the inverter is doing the job.
    By the way, I will open the shell and see if there is a SW jumper.
    I did the installation in a friendly manner and of course you are normally happy, but I ... not quite.
  • #616 19399238
    Cytro12
    Level 26  
    Janusz_kk wrote:
    Here you have that quote.

    A quote is a conclusion about what you have written before about different algorithms. Just read the previous page.

    However, the fact that the Sofary get hot is not new. There were already such user topics.
  • #617 19399365
    Kons18
    Level 12  
    Gentlemen, what does the software change from 2.20 to 2.80 bring? Is it worth it?
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  • #618 19399508
    Janusz_kk
    Level 39  
    Cytro12 wrote:
    A quote is a conclusion about what you have written before about different algorithms. Just read the previous page.

    I read several topics at the same time and apparently I missed it, I thought you were doing some research and hence this conclusion.
  • #619 19399624
    prose
    Level 35  
    Kons18 wrote:
    Gentlemen, what does the software change from 2.20 to 2.80 bring? Is it worth it?
    Nothing I know is additional languages.
  • #620 19400332
    djstanley
    Level 12  
    Do any of you have information about the voltage thresholds in the country of Netherlands? At my next neighbor, I see an inverter configured in the default settings. And I think I found the reason for the high voltage in the network ...
  • #621 19400481
    adamvfr
    Level 11  
    adamvfr wrote:
    Is it normal that the current is always lower in the PV2 string by about 0.5A
    Hello, Sofar 3.68KTLM Panels 2 strings, 8 pcs each, the same.
    For a few days I had only 7 panels plugged in the string PV2 and looking at the statistics I had better production with seven than when I plugged in the eighth one. Maybe this is a margin of error, but I certainly did not notice an increase in prod. rather a reduction (I have a comparison to an adjacent installation). Mathematically, I got about 4% less total production after plugging in the eighth module.


    That's a surprise!
    I have replaced the strings at the input to the inverter and it is the same as before the replacement.
    Further on, there is less current at the PV2 input.
    What does it mean ???
    Attachments:
  • #622 19400512
    prose
    Level 35  
    adamvfr wrote:
    That's a surprise!
    I have replaced the strings at the input to the inverter and it is the same as before the replacement.
    Further on, there is less current at the PV2 input.
    What does it mean ???
    Attachments:


    swap.jpg
    Download (105.05 KB)

    Try to enable MPPT scanning.
  • #623 19400526
    adamvfr
    Level 11  
    Scanning is basically always on ...

    adamvfr wrote:

    Recently, I installed two inverters, one 3.6KTLM and 3300TL, both single-phase, both from the EU market.
    Going into the settings, "mptt scanner" and below - turned on, I do turn off and it writes "success".
    I go back in and write that the scanner is on.
    Are you sure it is turned on? Because when I really want to turn it on, I have to provide a time frame.
    Someone once wrote that the scanner is off by default. but when i check it in the morning it is on even right after the alleged shutdown.
  • #624 19400616
    prose
    Level 35  
    Set the scan to 1 minute and then you can see the scanner is working on the display you can see the power dropping and then increasing every 1 minute.
  • #625 19400634
    adamvfr
    Level 11  
    I'll do it, but what will it do? There is no shade there, nothing. What's on your mind?
  • #626 19400734
    Grucha383
    Level 12  
    Kons18 wrote:
    Gentlemen, what does the software change from 2.20 to 2.80 bring? Is it worth it?


    It's not worth it, the inverter crashed an error and I had to come back from 2.20
  • #627 19400746
    3301
    Level 34  
    Added after 1 [minutes]:

    adamvfr wrote:
    I'll do it, but what will it do? There is no shade there, nothing. What's on your mind?


    If you swapped the inputs and then the current at input 2 is lower, as before, it indicates not the circuit and modules, but the inverter, turning on the scan is a faster search for the correct operating points and, as it were, the elimination of shading, but it is still interference in the circuit and here it clearly indicates on the inverter elements together with the plugs mc-4 input 2 and check here if they fasten properly and if they do not heat up
  • #628 19400805
    AT PRO
    Level 23  
    adamvfr wrote:
    adamvfr wrote:
    Is it normal that the current is always lower in the PV2 string by about 0.5A
    Hello, Sofar 3.68KTLM Panels 2 strings, 8 pcs each, the same.
    For a few days I had only 7 panels plugged in the string PV2 and looking at the statistics I had better production with seven than when I plugged in the eighth one. Maybe this is a margin of error, but I certainly did not notice an increase in prod. rather a reduction (I have a comparison to an adjacent installation). Mathematically, I got about 4% less total production after plugging in the eighth module.


    That's a surprise!
    I have replaced the strings at the input to the inverter and it is the same as before the replacement.
    Further on, there is less current at the PV2 input.
    What does it mean ???


    You fasten it into one string and see how it works, because with the string voltages you have, it may be all right with the panels and the inverter and one lowers it because it eats up a bit for its operation.
  • #629 19400821
    3301
    Level 34  
    After all, if he joins one string, if he can and they are not in different directions, the voltage will pop out over 600V and for this inverter it is too much, and even if it did not turn off because the temperature outside is high, then it will compare with how the current will be one and one tension
  • #630 19401371
    adamvfr
    Level 11  
    3301 wrote:
    After all, if he joins one string, if he can and they are not in different directions, the voltage will pop out over 600V and for this inverter it is too much, and even if it did not turn off because the temperature outside is high, then it will compare with how the current will be one and one tension


    Exactly and I know that it will turn off on cold days because I have another Sofar and tests with 16 practically the same panels.
    Besides, I wanted to add 4 more panels.
    Okay, but what conclusions in connection with this situation ??? Why ???
    Nothing gets hot, I always give the MC4 attached to the inverter at the inverter.
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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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