Solar Power Quotes - Fronius Vs Solaredge. Please help me decide!

Lfrugalfinds on 19/03/2020 - 21:19

Hello!

I'm in the market for a solar system but am overwhelmed by it all (South West Sydney).

These are my requirements:
- 6.6kw panel array on 5kw inverter (single phase)
- Production & Consumption monitoring
- Inverter to be installed indoors (Opposite outdoor brick wall is the meter box). One installer wanted it outside on the west facing wall next to the meter box but I think it gets bloody hot in the afternoon as the sun is hitting it full force. Wacking in a canopy from bunnings would also set me back a couple hundred I think.
- Decent quality gear and installers
- Decent ROI (Pay itself off between 3-5 years ideally)

Quotes so far (All from reputable installers according to SolarQuotes)

  1. 20 x QCell 330W Peak Duo G5+ Panels (25yr + 25yr warranty)
    Solaredge Inverter (SE5000H) + Power Optimisers
    Modbus Consumption Meter
    Total: $8000

  2. 20 x Sunpower 320W P19 Panels (25yr + 25yr warranty)
    Solaredge Inverter (SE5000H) + Power Optimisers
    Solar Analytics Consumption Meter
    Total: $8000

  3. 20 x QCell 330W Peak Duo G5+ Panels (25yr + 25yr warranty)
    5kw Fronius Primo Inverter
    Fronius Smart Meter
    Total: $7299

  4. 20 x Sunpower 320W P19 Panels (25yr + 25yr warranty)
    5kw Fronius Primo Inverter
    Solar Analytics Consumption Meter
    Total: $7550

  5. 20 x Trina 330W Honey M Panels (10yr + 25yr warranty)
    5kw Fronius Primo Inverter
    Solar Analytics Consumption Meter
    Total: $6199

  6. 20 x Trina 330W Honey M Panels (10yr + 25yr warranty)
    Solaredge Inverter (SE5000H) + Power Optimisers
    Solar Analytics Consumption Meter
    Total: $6799

  7. 21 x Solaredge 310W Panels (15yr + 25yr warranty)
    Solaredge Inverter (SE5000H) + Power Optimisers
    Modbus Consumption Meter
    Total: $7300

Notes about my home:
- single story, front door is facing north
- No shade other than in the morning from the east due to the double story next door. This probably subsides around 9.30-10am
- some company have suggested 20 panels on west facing roof, others have suggested 10 on east and 10 on west to capture morning + afternoon sun. Not sure which to go for (haven't got confidence yet which is the optimised solution)

Qs.
i) Is the panel optimisation really worth the extra $$?
ii) If the Fronius inverter is in the garage (door separating home and garage), will the noise be noticeable? Have read it can get pretty loud/annoying.
iii) Which is the better 'premium' panel - QCell Peak Duo G5+ or Sunpower P19?
iv) Which is the better 'low-mid range' panel - Trina or Solaredge?

Keen to see some of your thoughts! Cheers

Home & Garden

Comments

  • rickayyye on 19/03/2020 - 22:10
    +1

    Speaking from my engineering perspective in the commercial/industrial solar space:
    - Absolutely no point getting Solaredge and the optimisers if you don't have shading issues. Also, less components = less likelihood of downtime due to failure.
    - Both Trina and Q-Cells panels offered are very good in terms of quality, very equal in my opinion.
    - Solar Analytics platform is very intuitive and provides all the important information

    The east/west debate is really up to your own usage. If you have an existing smart-meter installed at your house you can request for the interval data from your energy retailer - that way you can determine if you use more energy in the morning/afternoon.

    • frugalfinds on 19/03/2020 - 22:22

      Thanks for your feedback!
      I guess the cool thing I found about the solaredge was being able to view what each panel would output and it would be easier to identify a problematic panel I'd imagine. How would these panels be identified if the Fronius inverter was used instead?
      Cheers!

      • CheapSticks on 19/03/2020 - 23:29

        I think the quotes you are getting are bit on the higher side..may be drop in currency increased the price recently !

        • frugalfinds on 20/03/2020 - 00:25

          CheapSticks what would you expect for the gear I’ve been quoted for?

          • CheapSticks on 22/03/2020 - 20:36

            @frugalfinds: I had #5 of your option quoted for $4200 sometime back but didnt proceed as my house had shading from a tree. No meter though.

      • rickayyye on 19/03/2020 - 23:31

        You are correct that you would be able to monitor performance on a module level with Solaredge. With a Fronius inverter, depending on how the installer wired it up, you wouldn't have module level monitoring but string level monitoring - around half the modules per string.

        Higher resolution monitoring is good, but is it really worth the premium? Also, like I mentioned earlier, Trina and Q-Cells, and most reputable solar panels these days, have very low failure rates so you'll be looking for a while for a defective panel to show up, if ever.

  • avoidfullprice on 19/03/2020 - 23:35

    I have sunpower + Fronius

    Noise - inside the garage is noticeable. Inside the house not so much. Example - my inverter and my lounge tv share the same wall (different side), don't notice a thing. Your home insulation may results in different experience.

    Get panels which are 25+25. You want the whole panel to be replaced if problematic.

    With which side to out your panels on, note that your system is oversized, so if all 20 panels are on one side you will get peak of 6.6kw, so 1.6kw will not be used due to your inverter size. In my opinion have half east and half west.

    • frugalfinds on 20/03/2020 - 00:28

      chihongo Thanks for the comment. Sounds like I won’t have a problem with the noise from the Fronius then. Yes I think half east half west would be the best option

  • Euphemistic on 20/03/2020 - 06:29

    We have a fronius inverter. It is on the inside of the garage, on the opposite side to the internal door. The fan gets pretty noisy when the sun is pumping in the kW, but don’t notice it inside.

    The fronius was recommended by my brother in the industry.

    • frugalfinds on 20/03/2020 - 07:33

      Good to hear. My main concern was hearing the noise from inside the house. If noise can only be heard when entering the garage, that’s to be expected. Thanks!

      • Euphemistic on 20/03/2020 - 09:12

        I say ‘pretty noisy’ but in reality it isn’t that bad. Doesn’t impede on conversation and any power tools are certainly louder than the fan.

  • OzCheapo on 20/03/2020 - 07:07

    Both robust brands but what are you referring to by 10 + 25 Year Warranties -

    Do you mean 10 Year Inverter, 25 Year Panel?
    The variation in some of the pricing is due to the extended warranty from SolarEdge and Fronius. Their service is quite good.

    • frugalfinds on 20/03/2020 - 07:21

      10 = product warranty
      25 = performance warranty
      That’s for the panels

      The inverters are:
      Fronius = 10yr warranty
      Solaredge = 12yr warranty

  • Ughhh on 20/03/2020 - 11:02

    The inverters do make a humming sound when running. I read somewhere that it's recommended to have the inverter in a well ventilated area, as it can get hot during the day.

  • the Unforgiven on 20/03/2020 - 13:12

    4 - Sunpower P19 & Fronius - that is the setup I would get/waiting to get

  • azhar7772 on 22/03/2020 - 17:50

    I installed 6.6kw Seraphim mono half cut black 330w 20 panels and Fronius 5.0 inverter under $3k out of pocket cost in December 2019. North facing property. 8 panels facing north 12 panels facing west. Inverter is installed next to the bedroom window in the front- corner of the house. Elec recommended I install next to the meter however I didn't want the bloody box near the entrance door.

    • CheapSticks on 11/10/2020 - 21:17

      thats pretty cheap price..can you pls PM me your installer

  • GLO on 22/03/2020 - 18:56

    How many panels can you fit on the North aspect?

    Im running Solar Tiles on my West facing Front of House (Fronius 1.5kw inverter) and LG 350W panels with Enphase IQ7+ (21 on North aspect and 3 on east)

    • frugalfinds on 23/03/2020 - 11:07

      GLO - minimal, like 3 maybe so not worth the trouble

      • GLO on 24/03/2020 - 10:33

        If no one is home during the day, put all on West aspect using Fronius. Or Split it 3-4 on East (on one channel) and the balance on the West, on the 2nd channel.

  • Yawhae on 26/03/2020 - 01:04
    +2

    As a solar installer / designer working in the industry I hope I can provide you with some insight.

    Qs.
    i) Is the panel optimisation really worth the extra $$?
    No, the extra you spend on optimisation adds a small bonus over the life of system, however it gives many points of failure. I also don't believe the Solaredge products and designed very well for the Australian market with numerous failures caused from overheating.

    ii) If the Fronius inverter is in the garage (door separating home and garage), will the noise be noticeable? Have read it can get pretty loud/annoying.
    It can get loud but it all depends on what's in the walls. If you need a bit more quite through the walls it can be a dood idea to mount the inverter on a thick bit of ply or mdf to dampen the sound. Although I can't say I've had customers complain. The garage is a great place to extend the life of the inverter as the excess heat from the sun really causes them to struggle.

    iii) Which is the better 'premium' panel - QCell Peak Duo G5+ or Sunpower P19?
    iv) Which is the better 'low-mid range' panel - Trina or Solaredge?
    Sunpower is a better panel but it's not good enough for the extra cost over the QCells.

    I'd go with Trina on the mid range as dealing with Solaredge hasn't been a pleasant experience for me.

    Qcell also have the QMAXX which is the same exact panel as the Peak Duo G5+ except you get a 12/25 year warranty. You're essentially paying extra for the 25 year warrant.

    Also be wary of installers wanting to put the inverters in direct sunlight. From memory Fronius does not allow installation of their inverters in direct sunlight. You can always google the model number followed by "installation manual" to see for yourself.

    • silkysmooth on 05/02/2021 - 21:25

      Hey Mate,

      Any recommendations on reduce the noise I have mine installed on the side of the house, I can hear a humming noise in the house

  • Isla Brown on 05/04/2021 - 22:32
    1. Is the panel optimisation really worth the extra $$?
      In my opinion, if you have a simple roof with no shading issues, it's much harder to justify the extra cost of panel level optimization, but it's up to you.
    2. If the Fronius inverter is in the garage (door separating home and garage), will the noise be noticeable? Have read it can get pretty loud/annoying.
      Fronius inverters depend on a fan-based cooling system that is noisy, so during peak solar production hours the inverter is noisy due to the Fan. Solar inverters should be installed in a cool, dry, dust-free and shaded location, away from direct sunlight with good air ventilation.
    3. Which is the better 'low-mid range' panel - Trina or Solaredge?
      Trina is the best low-mid range panel. We’ve installed Trina with Fronius inverter and it has been pleasant experience for us.
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