Hi Mark, in my AC/DC coupled fully offgrid setup I installed a Fronius Primo 8.2 which is working in conjunction with a Victron M_Plus_II 48/10000. Couldn't be happier.

Hi Mark - first, thanks for the tremendous amount of effort you've made over the last few years educating people about the performances of various technologies and products. You've been instrumental in unveiling the truth amongst all the hype around optimisers and microinverters. Second, I run the YT channel "Gary Does Solar" and I recently made a video on shading. I'm now creating a follow-up video. Would you be happy me quoting some of your observations in that please? I'd of course attribute and reference everything back to your website. Many thanks in advance! Gary

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Hi Gary, thanks! 　I’ve checked out your Chanel and would be keen to know your secret recipient for views! For sure, I’d be keen for you to share any of my content. Thanks :)

@GaryDoesSolar

Жыл бұрын

Hi Mark, thank you. I don't know if there's any secret or anything - I started producing videos really just to save people a bag full of time when trying to research solar technology for their home (and maybe, just maybe, make a little money from ad revenue to contribute to my own installation costs). Here in the UK, electricity prices have increased circa 300%(!) since a year ago, and maybe my timing is good as lots of people, who may never have considered solar in the past, are now looking into it. I try to keep my videos to 15-25 minutes - it's a lot of time for some people, but I need that amount of time to get into the various topics in detail. I'm really excited about where solar tech is going, and I hope that your business is going from strength to strength! I wish we got anywhere near the same amount of sun as you get in Brisbane! :-) Thanks again for allowing me to refer to your content!

Hi there, thanks for these insights 🙌 running fronius and eventhough the software doesn’t seem as sexy as some others, its solid as a rock

Excelent videos, I was thinking to go off grid in my house here in Ecuador, but I don´t like too much local companies, but I see the confidence when you talking about solar energy and byd batteries that I think you are the right guy, except thay you are thousands miles away of Ecuador. I have a BYD car and its was good then I suppose BYD batteries are excelent too.

Love my Fronius Symo 20KW snap inverter. I only wish the fan was a little quieter. I guess that active cooling is what provides the longevity in the electronics etc. If they ever come out with a 20KW Gen24 I'll be switching over to that.

Hi Mark. Enjoy the videos and I love my Fronius inverter. With rising power costs I am trying to find out what my battery options are on single phase power here in SEQLD but I’m getting a lot of contrasting information. I’ve found examples of people who have installed a Tesla Power Wall on a regular 13kw Fronius system but I am being told by providers that Energex wouldn’t approve this. Are companies allowed to install it without consulting Energex?

Thanks Pro im in for Fronius Regards from Holland

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Nice choice :)

What’s your current favourite panels to pair with Fronius?

Good vid Mark. Always respect your views and research. 100% agree 5 years is insufficient on the envoy. But Enphase doing panel level monitoring is something Fronius is missing. Makes identifying poor performing (bat poo?) or damaged panels for warranty claims a breeze. And having a circuit sitting on an RCBO is just good practice for Electrical in homes. That said, Fronius is a good second option 😆

@ridemfast7625

6 ай бұрын

Many have been reporting Enphase MI's failing due to AC spikes. And not one MI fails, several at a time. And Enphase does not warranty those so thousands of dollars are spent to replace them. And you have to get on the roof and change 12 Enphase... no thanks! Also, solar panel failure rates are .05%. So youre monitoring something that literally rarely fails and lasts 20, 25, 30... years..

Cool move!

Hi Mark, any update on the TIGO inverters post the 2020 review? can you dial down the sunpower panels sub 50v? Does that have any impact on the 20/30% failure rate? Also were there any commonalities with the properties that had the failures? single vs double string? Coastal Vs West? Cheers, Gary

Great content Mark. Pity you dont have a Sydney Branch. Can you recommend a Sydney Solutions Partner that knows Fronius?

Nice update MC - can you share last review you did with SMA inverter? Keep up the good work

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Yes, i did it on solarquotes - it this is the one you mean.www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/chinese-vs-german-sma-sunny-boy/

Hi Mark, We have est west roof 30 degrees and plan garders on each side 10 degrees, on which we also want to put pv. 21 Modules in total. Will Fronius do the job with the different degrees, maybe with two inverters, or better enphase? Gruß Uwe from Germany

Dude, very happy I pushed my installers away from expensive abd unnecessarily complex micro inverters. Currently have two small GEN24s which manage all my roof orientations

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Nice! I’m curious why you needed 2 gen24’s. must be a really complex roof?

@twinrotors

Жыл бұрын

@@mcelectrical longer wait times on the larger GEN24, so negotiated for two 5 kw systems. Your thoughts? (Note I have not accepted the above quote)

@twinrotors

Жыл бұрын

I have H-shaped roof. With minor shading to the west.

Hi Mark. I've enjoyed many of your videos and blog reviews. Lots of help. I don't think I've ever seen any reviews/comparisons or even comments about Sol-Ark inverters. In January 2022 they announced their new 15K inverter, as well as their "Smart Load Management" panel and even their own micro-inverters (you can DC and/or AC couple panels with their inverters). So far, I've heard lots of good things about their after-purchase support. I'm considering either their 12K or 15K inverter with QCell or Solaria panels (seem to have an advantage in minor shading situations), and maybe a Fortress 18kWh ESS. If Fronius made their Gen 24 inverters available here in the U.S.A. (and if they had any solar installers in New Jersey that offered their products). they would be a serious consideration as well. So, do you have any comment on Sol-Ark?

@crypticanswerz

2 жыл бұрын

Sol-Ark is just a rebranded Deye that you're paying a lot more for, and predominantly only in the US. Sunsynk are also a rebranded Deye, but as far as i'm aware has better support and better firmware than Sol-Ark, but they're actually available globally (and in Oz at that). If you wanted to ask him to review that one you might have more luck.

@gerrygreen3832

2 жыл бұрын

@@crypticanswerz : Well, apparently, debate has raged for years about who (of the 3 parties you mentioned) provided the original IP, who borrowed from whom, etc. (I started my solar research only a little over a year ago). As close as I can determine - a lot from Will Prowse's DIY Solar Power Forum (diysolarforum.com) - the general consensus is that, while the basic inverter hardware is *manufactured* by Deye, Sol-Ark provides significant improvements in circuit board changes, etc. And as far as customer support is concerned, I've never heard/read any real complaints (and I recall many customers' effusive praise of their support. And we can't officially get Deye in the U.S., apparently due to some agreement between Deye and Sol-Ark.

Been watching your channel which is very good. About your strategy, going with one brand for a string inverter seems make sense but it's surprising that at least you don't keep Enphase for micro-inverter distributed solutions (the quality & maintenance is very good based on your videos). Keeping two brands for two different solutions should gave you more flexibility regarding customer needs.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Very interesting comment. I actually want to do another video about Enphase but maybe have someone from enphase or an enphase advocate join me for a discussion. But here is the main reason I dropped enphase : it is not necessary for shade. Fronius does just as well or better in the shade. Once I realised that, then having rooftop power electronics didn’t make a lot of sense. But I agree there is an counter- argument, at least from enphase. kzread.info/dash/bejne/hqWD2ZZsXcvImsY.html

Hi Mark, long-time-first-time. Would you please explain the reasoning why Fronius chose to have an external contactor with the Gen24? This means that it has an "up to 90 second" switchover time from grid fail to battery (whereas Sungrow, for example, has an internal contactor and approx 20ms switchover- assuming it works). Thanks very much!

@karlajensen100

Жыл бұрын

Sungrow has a backup circuit that runs through the inverter , if the inverter fails - so does this circuit as its relay connecting it to the grid is normally open. this also means all the loads that are backed up run through the cables in the inverter - anytime even in normal operation if those loads are exceeded the inverter will shut down. A normal circuit breaker will trip at 180% of its rated load after 500 seconds, the max load connected to the backup of a sungrow is 100% not a watt more hence nuisance shutdowns occur unless whats connected to the backup side is strictly adhered to. fronius on the other hand disconnects the grid from the rest of the house, loads you dont want backed up are on the other side of the relay but nuisance trips are very rare as in normal operation all circuits work just like normal and brief overloads are AOK

@AL-tv7wo

Жыл бұрын

​@@karlajensen100 Thanks for your detailed response, I appreciate your help!

HI, is there any data on what an "optimal" design system would be for instance a system with 4 or 5 small arrays facing different directions that produced the power needed when it's needed rather than all at 12 , I see a lot of information on peak power output and total power output, both metrics are mostly useless, if you look at the power consumption of most homes a constant 2kw's over the longest time period would seem to be the best option to reduce total imports

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

I've done a blog around that topic. Facing panels in different orientations does not give as much benefit as people think. If you want all year round production, face your panels north (or south if you live in the northern hemisphere.www.mcelectrical.com.au/whats-best-direction-face-solar-panels/

Besides Fronius, Victron Energy especially for ESS

I just installed Fronius 15kW 3 phase system, the inverter is Symo 15.0-3-M, with solar panel Longi LR5-54HiH-415M, on MPPT 1: 2x15 Panels facing north, and on MPPT2: 7 panels facing east, I hardly see any generation from the MPPT2, I checked the design program for Fronius and they recommend 8 Panels minimum for MPPT2 . I monitored MPPT2 generation for 2 days and the maximum voltage I get is around 120VDC, the minimum voltage recommended on the name plate is 200VDC, but for 7 panels I should get 7xNOCT 204VDC, with some voltage drop losses maybe around 200. Is 7 panels is too low for MPPT2? I don’t have space on east side for additional panels, would addition additional 2 panels on Northside and connecting them to MPPT2 ok? Or different direction is not recommended for same string? Thanks

@mcelectrical

10 ай бұрын

Sounds like there is something wrong with your wiring if you are only getting 120v, but yes you probably also need to install another panel to keep it in the mppt range. . If you put panels in a different orientation, all panels will work at the same current as the lowest performing orientation. So that’s why you shouldn’t split orientations on a single string.

Fronius is the wise move as you know in my case the other inverter was trouble and those still with that brand seem to be having problems

@chefgav1

Жыл бұрын

What was the brand?

I am new to your channel and obviously Fronius. My question is redundancy. If the micro inverter fails you only lose that particular panel. However if the Fronius inverter fails then the whole system is down. Am I correct or have I missed something here. I am considering installing solar and your videos are quite convincing re Fronius inverters.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Hi Martin. Yeh that's an argument. But, in Australia, Enphase has a envoy worth almost $1000 that has to be installed on the ground. It has a 5-year warranty. That's similar to having a cheap 5 year warranty inverter and micros on your roof. if your string inverter fails, it's a simple job to replace it once. It's normally under a 10-year warranty. Your system will be down for a week or two if your installer is reliable. Get Fronius and that is much less likely to happen. If your micros fail, it's a complex job that has to be done 20 times. If it's out of warranty, or you have to pay for labour, that could be expensive! ..

One question, how do you get around Battery Systems? Now you have locked into Fronius? Are you also Locking in BYD batteries?

@mcelectrical

11 ай бұрын

Yeh, Byd and Tesla. Both are great options!

Hi Mark I was wondering if you have tried a hybrid inverter called (KOSTAL PLENTICORE plus)? it is almost identical to the model (GEN24 plus) so it is difficult to decide.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Hi Wolcarn, Never heard of it. Which country are you from?

What were the cheap panels you used in the past ??

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Renesolar and blue sun were the worst of the cheap panels.

Mark, do you have a view on why Fronius removed a bunch of the features from the Gen24 that were in the hybrids around ToU and setting charging? As well as removing the ability to pull archive data via modbus? The model itself is phenomenal, but it also seems a tad half-baked on the battery management side.

@solarexpert517

2 жыл бұрын

The ToU will be included in the next firmware update for Gen24. Modbus is all available as with Snapinverters. Just contact your fronius team

@crypticanswerz

2 жыл бұрын

@@solarexpert517 I'm not sure where you're getting that info? But I think you may have been mislead. If I could, I'd paste the screenshot of Fronius telling me directly but I'll quote it "Our international team had responded that definitely it is planned to implement the ToU on Fronius GEN24's, however, they can not provide any timeline for now. Please continue to check the next upcoming updates, and if you have any further questions please let us know" But even if i hadn't contacted them directly, you can see on Fronius website the next planned updates on the firmware, and neither of the two planned updates for Q2 is ToU.

@crypticanswerz

2 жыл бұрын

@@solarexpert517 Further to my previous point, the next firmware update just shipped in 1.19.7 and to no-one's surprise, there's no ToU mentioned. Also, I re-found the link for the technical roadmap, which also doesn't mention ToU: www.fronius.com/~/downloads/Solar%20Energy/User%20Information/SE_UI_Latest_News_GEN24_EN.pdf

@solarexpert517

2 жыл бұрын

The firmware with ToU will be available early july

@crypticanswerz

2 жыл бұрын

@@solarexpert517 you seem fairly certain, so why don't we bet on it? If it is, I'll donate A$100 to the charity of your choice, if you're wrong, you donate A$100 to my choice of charity, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

Two questions for you: 1) I have read that an advantage of optimisers/micro-inverters pertains to panel degradation. After a few years all panels degrade. My understanding with the string-only solution is that the string performance will be limited by the worst single panel. So if the worst is at 90%, say, and some of the others are still at 96%, all of the panels will give you the 90% while with optimisers you would get the higher performance from the less degraded panels. Is that correct and do you have thoughts on that? 2) We have read that the Fronius are quite loud. I think they quote up to 55dB, which seems like it could be distracting, especially for adjacent neighbours. Do you have thoughts on that aspect of their product? Thanks so much for the great service you are doing for us all.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Hi, thanks for your questions. The first one is interesting and I’ve been meaning to to a test to prove this point. But in all my testing I’ve never seen evidence of this. I’ve tested it by making one panel dirty and the rest clean on a string and micro system. The string system doesn’t sufferer any more production loss than the micro system.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Second question, The new Gen24 inverters are much more quiet. They still have a fan, and you wouldn’t install it in your home office for example. The old Fronius snap inverters were a bit loud in the middle of a hot day. This smaller inverters (5kW and 6kW) were generally fine even if installed in a garage. But you need to be a bit careful with the 10kw Fronius snap inverter. Just don’t mount it in the garage if the garage is near the rest of the home, and don’t install it on your verandah. It really comes down to a bit of common sense from the installer.

@user-kv4ii5gf7g

Жыл бұрын

@@mcelectrical Thanks!

@user-kv4ii5gf7g

Жыл бұрын

@@mcelectrical We are in a fairly dense urban context so the inverter (at 10kW) would be about 10' from our neighbour's verandah. So I think we may go with a quieter brand. Thanks again for your great insights.

Hi Mark, I think it's time to do a side by side sungrow vs fronius inverter test using 10 differnt case studys.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Yeh, I have done that comparison in in my warehouse but never published results. I probably should get back to inverter comparisons. They are a lot of fun to do :)

hi Mark what was wrong with Solax ?

@mcelectrical

10 ай бұрын

Sure. I’ve got a video coming out soon explaining why Fronius is better. Gmppt, afci, active cooling, advanced mppt, all round better build.

Hi Mark, Quoted against you a few times over the years Mark - a bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone - and I'm surprised to hear you have only installed Sungrow inverters since 2020 when the premium range came out. Your price list from 2016 has them on it. What's the go? Adam

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Hey Shearaboots, I think from memory i said "we only really started selling them in 2020" meaning, we sold a few before, but not that many.

You should look into growatt inverters.

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

I'm thinking of buying the top 3 budget inverters and doing a side by side comparison. Growatt gets a bad rap, but i'll leave my judgement till I've done the testing.

Why don’t you like Solaredge?

@mcelectrical

12 күн бұрын

Thanks for asking! It started here. mcelectrical.com.au/blog/solaredge-inverter-optimiser-review/ . The problem isn’t solved yet. They keep failing.

2020?

Cant beat hauwei mate.

@mcelectrical

10 ай бұрын

Huawei for a start doesn’t have a gmppt. And, they won’t be in Australia for much longer… but there will be more news on that story soon.

@jmx318

10 ай бұрын

@@mcelectrical copy thanks for that info mate, my solar provided is heavily suggesting hauwei, perhaps i should pay the extra few thousand and go fronius?

Love my. Fronius just the noise of it a. Shame

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Yeh noise is an issue with the older Model. Gen24 solved that!

@wmfoster

Жыл бұрын

@mcelectrical Noise is no problem in my ground mount system 60m away from the house! Very happy with the "old" Fronius Prino ;-P

Fronius warranty is quite average. Doesn't leave much confidence for the consumer.

@mcelectrical

4 ай бұрын

Because we are “fronius solution partners plus” We offer the full 10 years, not just the 5+5. But, to be honest, 10 years is a ridiculously long warranty. For some reason the solar industry feels the need to compete with longer and longer warranties.

@xyrus29

4 ай бұрын

@@mcelectrical I wouldn't say 10 years is ridiculous, it should be standard since its the most expensive component in the system. No one likes dealing with warranty issues and having to fight for ACL.

Fronius might be a very good inverter and have all the good product support you mentioned but I currently have on my system in nz and their app has gone backwards. I use to have an app that was easy to read and understand with all the information I could need for free. Now the app is shit. Slow and very hard to understand compared to the old one. And the biggest thing I don't like is I have not got access to my consumption history. I only get 3 days and if I want to see it again I have to pay a subscription fee. Not what I would call good from Fronius IMO

@darrenjones2738

10 ай бұрын

So I just went and checked my old app and it let me log in. Yay it works again. But I see it's not in the app store so not sure how I would ever get it back 😢

@mcelectrical

10 ай бұрын

Nice. Fronius are working on updating the app. If you want better historical data, check out this video for a “hack” about 3/4 of the way through kzread.info/dash/bejne/pIJ5tMGompvRgJc.htmlsi=TlH5uLl9UIin_R4U

Let's be honest your a Fronius shill!! Your always going on n on about how good fronius are but brush over the issues. The fans can make upto 65 decibels in noise, basically a bloody mower going off at the side of your house. No way would I recommend a fronius inverter

@69Atho

2 жыл бұрын

The new Fronius inverters are much quieter. There simply is no better inverter than Fronius.

@solarexpert517

2 жыл бұрын

Hey eaglecap, yeah sure the fan is making noise but you also get full output power and 20yrs or more of lifetime. There are certain things you could do to reduce the noise. If you just want a quiet inverter then you might have to take a hit at reliability of your system

@pierrecamilleri9392

Жыл бұрын

Great move 👏 Mark .Mate i have had a system from MC and have moved house have an existing system .BUT 9 years old brackets are srating to show surfacerust etc .had your lovely Nicole out yesterday. For a system from MC electrical. In our new residence in victoria point .

fronius are the most flexible on the market, communication, string Design, use of multiple smartmeters, shade and so on. from the little primo to multiple symo or tauro systems, there is always a solution. just a shame they are not available atm 💩

@mcelectrical

Жыл бұрын

Ha, you have to stock up if you want to sell Fronius!

@mdonau81

Жыл бұрын

@@mcelectrical here in europe you only can get normal symo "light", chips for the Datamanager are rare... also demand is gone insane with energy pricing out of control since war in Ukraine 🙈