I am trying to decide on a Solar Inverter. I have visited your site and I am impressed with what you have built. I plan to use the 167w or 180w Sanyo Panels which operate about 51-55v MPP at 3.3-3.8 amps. Since you have done the research on both the Suntie XR and the Sunny Boy 2500U, I would appreciate your comments on either of these inverters operating with the Sanyo Panels. I am in the Houston, TX area. I have two options: Place a large array on the roof of my store, or place a smaller array on the roof of my home. The home roof slopes and faces due south, and the store has a flat roof with the front of the store facing due south. If you have any data that could help, please forward it. I am also interested in data gathering software for either unit, and any information on a 3 phase installation at the store.

There are a couple of other inverters to consider.

http://www.fronius.com/solar.electronic ... /index.htm

http://www.sharpusa.com/files/sol_dow_J ... ter_SS.pdf

I have no experience with them but they look interesting.

My upgraded Sunties passed their 1 year anniversary in operation about 3 weeks ago. In that time they have produced over 18,000 kWh of power.

arnold

That is quite impressive. What is the configuration of your installation (panels, panel mounting, inverters)? Any problems after the first year in service?

I have 128 BP-585s roof mounted on UniRac rails. Two arrays have 44 modules and the third array has 40. The rails are mounted on a pipe and flange system that was installed before a new roof was installed. I'm located near San Jose, CA.

The upgraded Sunties have been trouble free since they were installed. The only odd thing about them is the "whump whump" sound the fans make. Not a big deal, my units live in the garage and I don't hear them except in the garage.

The inverters actually have too many modules on them, the system was intended to be a battery backed up system. What is pretty impressive about the Sunties is they will run for hours at full power output. I've been monitoring these units (Thanks for FishBowl by Henry) for about a year now and I see no evidence of power output being limited by inverter due thermal cutoffs or shutdown.

I will end up replacing the inverters when a suitable battery backed system becomes available.

A couple of comments about the size of the system. One of my goals is to get net zero in energy consumed/produced. In general (especially in CA) this is not a good economic decision. Our energy consumption is relatively large because I drive an electric car, run a computer server 24x7 and have a pool. I have competing projects that raise/lower the electrical energy consumption. My lightling is almost exclusively compact fluorescent. The pool uses a lower HP pump (long run times but uses less energy in total). I have new energy efficient appliances upgrades on the wish list. Those lower the load. I'm hoping to increase the number of miles we drive powered by electricity (grid pluggable hybrid). I'm also considering switching to an electric heat pump for space heating. That will increase the load.

This is my second system, one of the things I did learn is tilted is better than flat. You want the panels to have enough tilt to let the water/grime to drain off. Naturally there also tilt considerations for maximizing power output.

arnold

Either Suntie or Sunnyboy will work well, each has there strengths and weaknesses

The Sunnyboy has the edge in raw efficiently and its sealed design

The Suntie has the edge in hot weather performance, true 2500 watt power rating (including up to 45C ambient)

I guess it comes down to what you want to do with your money and no one can make that decision but you.

Look at the ALL the posts here about the Suntie , go to SMA's website www.sma-america.com and read up on the Sunnyboy ... look to see which is more active and interested in help home-owners build systems

Hopefully, this will help you make your decision, but I can say without ANY reservations, The Suntie will not disappoint in it performance and configurability

The other new inverter options IMHO need to be proven, before I would suggest anyone go out and try (buy's) them. What happens if there's a problem, what if that manufacture decides sales aren’t enough and pulls from the market... Do YOU want to be the owner of an orphan inverter?

Hope this helps