Best Overview video of the Sol-Ark. You really know our inverter well. Great job. FYI you can have 4800W on L1 and 0W on L2. It has huge 240V peak power. But you are correct that some 120V inductive loads >3/4hp can be an issue. We recommend rewiring those massive motors to 240V (most are convertible on the motor). The 1400W limit is with DC Loads. A heat gun on high is an AC load but on low, it only uses 1/2 of the sinewave (DC load). Our limit for DC loads (hair dryer, leaf blower, drill, blender, curling iron, heat gun only on low setting) is 1400W. Please email or call us to update your software. You are using an old version: why you see voltage on the grid when not really there. FYI, we are coming out with several new generator functions in ~6 weeks. And local monitoring in ~8-12 weeks so you don't have to be connected to the cloud. The inverter is so great because installers, Off Grider's, and DIYer's helped us define it. So keep up with the suggestions.
Hi Sol-Ark,. Thanks for reaching out and watching this video. I appreciate the comment. Both Ben and I are big fans of your product. I'd be willing and very excited to review your new generation in a follow-up video. And I'm willing to ship it back to you when I'm done with the video, or do a giveaway to the audience. I think the audience would love to see the new features that you described. I'll use the same type of load such as air compressor heat guns and miter saws to demonstrate. Would you like to send me one for that video?
Agreed. I have the 12k outdoor model. I've had it since early November and absolutely love the thing. We had a power outage for 23 hours two weeks ago. I had no idea it even happened until I got the message from my phone. I thought "huh" and just finished watching whatever was on TV.
I like your setup , you run your DC thru a conventional breaker box BACKWARDS with both positive and negative sides of the load protected plus you have a BMS that protects for over current and low voltage cutout . Awesome !
I wrangled over the price of this unit for a while but chose to go with it for my first solar install. I couldn't have made a better decision. As Ben says, it's a very easy install. It's all in one. It can do whatever you need, period. The customer support has proven to be wonderful...which is another major reason I chose to go with the Sol-Ark. Ben may have things that cause problems for this inverter but I don't. It's really awesome. I'm grid tied for now...have some battery backup...but can move completely off grid if the power company pisses me off.
The advantage to an Outback dual/multi inverter setup with separate charge controllers is when things break (very rare with Outback). Being offgrid, that redundancy is essential. All-in-one units like this may leave you in the dark.
David. Thanks for sharing. For dryers, consider a heat exchanger one. I've changed to one . I also assist my solar water heater with a heat pump. That way I can have it all.
I chose a natural gas dryer and a tankless natural gas water heater....honestly...it's my opinion they are VERY cost efficient and help make the rest of the house solar friendly.
@@ScoopDogy absolutely, I have a Mitsubishi Air Sourced heat pump with 4 zones (2 air handlers, and 2 wall mount), with 10KW of solar, so house is heated/cooled for “free” (well, ignoring the PV system cost).. house was built as passive/netzero, final leak test was .38ACH50, but, it doesn’t make any sense to dry clothes , or heat water with electricity, so I installed a 1,000 gallon propane tank, used for everything else (clothes dryer, 2 on-demand Rinnai H2O heaters, wall heater in garage, oven/range, outdoor grill and 20KW backup generator). Just had the propane tank filled, after 3 years of living in the new house, took 322 gallons of propane (out of a max of 850 gallons, must leave %15 air space to vaporize liquid propane), or about 107 gallons/year. Propane is $2.89/gallon atm, so about $300/year, hard to beat that with solar/electricity. It’s great to be green, but makes little sense to ignore the benefits of propane/natural gas for some uses.
@@hdj81Vlimited it depends where you live. I hang clothes (nearly desert) snap my fingers and they’re dry. Where I used to live (temperate forest) you could watch the mold grow on them before they’d dry. 😂
we have one like this and have 26 panels hooked up to it. About 225 watts per panel. The "automatic reset" is awesome. Just wait 1 minute after the circiut breaker flips and no worry. There is another instrument that can adjust the amps on each of the 2 lines to within one amp. Lithium Ark batteries are awesome too
Sol-Ark, is a Deye rebrand, cost x5, then banned the sales of Deye in NA. But to be fair, Sol-Ark did add some very good features into the basic Deye such as what were described here.
Very nice video very good explanation of the Solark inverter. If you are going to use this inverter with grid power or AC coupled it is awesome. I was able to help set up a second Tennessee off-grid property here about 5 months ago and they bought the Solark for their Total off-grid Property. Now having said that what I have not heard anyone say is this very expensive unit is made in China. Also if you are going to use this in a off-grid application it's not a 12K inverter it's only 8,000. It definitely does not like unequal 120 volt loads it will shut down. Not knocking the Solark 12k but if you were going to use it in a total off grid application I do not recommend buying one. My twin Magnasine 4048 PAE set up blows that thing out of the water in a off grid application I'm So happy I did not buy one. The high-voltage charge controllers were the main reason that unit was chosen. Again with my own personal experience with one of these in a off grid application there are much better choices out there just my two cents.
I'm totally off-grid and have been using my Sol-Ark 12K since last August without any issues. I have ran my Dewalt compressor and welded on 120V at the same time without any issues. Never has shut down using any 120V power tool of any type. My compressor might have a different start rating than the 20gal. one Ben uses but, I will be piggybacking with another Sol-Ark 12 this coming summer as I increase my array to 19200W of solar panels. There is nothing that matches it on a system like mine will be. When I first set my Sol-Ark 12K up, I only had 5960W of panels and use the gen/set to power my 220V Welder and 60gal compressor in my shop during peak hours. If you are off-grid like I am you must have a generator coupled to your system like I do now, running on propane. I also ran a 120V line into my shop direct from the generator to charge batteries for my cordless power tools as an extra backup. So, from the wire savings, shut off switches and the extras you needed compared to me, the validation of your comment is not correct in my book.
FYI you can have 4800W on L1 and 0W on L2. It has huge 240V peak power. But you are correct that some 120V inductive loads >3/4hp can be an issue. We recommend rewiring those massive motors to 240V (most are convertible on the motor). The 1400W limit is with DC Loads. A heat gun on high is an AC load but on low, it only uses 1/2 of the sinewave (DC load). Our limit for DC loads (hair dryer, leaf blower, drill, blender, curling iron, heat gun only on low setting) is 1400W. It is designed, tested, and serviced in the USA.
@@Sol-Ark I am not saying anything negative about your inverter. It was one of my three recommendations for these folks off grid inverter. I have not said anything unfair or untrue about your system. Simply stated for a strictly off-grid system only there are better choices available.
@@fisherus I have been living totally off grid for just short of three years now. I suggested my friends look into the Solak inverter for there total off-grid property. They have 14000 watts of solar power. They not me have had several instances of a hundred and twenty volt shutdown issues with the Solark inverter. The main reason for suggesting the solark nverter they bought was the dual high voltage charge controllers. I ran four strings of 9 solar panels in at 390 volts Voc. We left a total of four 340 watt solar panels unhooked per solak recommendation I am merely sharing my experience with these people's experience with the solark 12K which in a off-grid situation is only capable of 8000 Watts Peak. If you are happy with yours good for you. My point was for a purely off grid system there are better choices. I do not sell don't make any money or any of these products just sharing my experience.
David, in just a couple words, from the point of view of helping a beginner DIY'er decide, compare Sol-Ark to Growatt. For example: Sol-Ark is versatile, industrial strength, 3 times as expensive vs Growatt is lighter duty, less redundancy, less versatile is half the price. Thanks in advance. Happy New Year 2022!
The Sol-Ark is simpler, faster to install, and allows AC coupling. Growatts are less expensive (at least half as much) but don't allow AC coupling. If you want to see a cost comparison, I have one at the end of this video: th-cam.com/video/EYIzEW54_bY/w-d-xo.html
@@DavidPozEnergy You're awesome, I appreciate you responding. Also thank you for your time and talents sharing videos - they're a helpful tool to navigate through some of the marketing baloney and see some real world application and limitation of the technology. I'll check out the video you recommended. Cheers! Happy New Year.
@@SuperVstech the 12k is just 8kw output a/c but can do an additional 4kw to the batteries at the same time(offgrid). For some reason my solark 8k can actually output 9kw (cant do additional charging tho)(offgrid)
Thanks for the Reivew, doesn't sound like I would be able to run a 50 amp plasma torch or welder off this unit if it can't handle your 20 gallon compressor, how it's it going to handle an 80 gallon compressor tank and plasma cutter going at the same time as everything else.
Hello, Great video,very well done. Im writing because i have the exact same inverter,. Been using for 6 weeks flawley until today when it failed. Removed cover and has blown small capacitor on mai n upper board and 5 blown transistors on lower board at neg terminal from transformer. Sungold wont answer my emails. Do you know where i can get parts or if i send picks can you tell me where to purchase. Thanks al
Just a thought been. You had stated that the right hand side of the inverter allows for either a generator input or can also be used as a output that’s controlled if I understood you correctly, essentially if you have an excess amount of power it can turn something on I think you stated like a water heater. That being the case could you utilize that leg as a means of charging your car? I understand charging a car you need certainty that it is being charged so when you go to drive it of course it’s charged up not that it’s just intermittently being charged but I think you get what I’m trying to say lol it just kind of came to me as I was listening to what you were saying. Awesome video as usual and very helpful.
Great video, The Qs , do you have a transfer switch that runs the critical panel when utility is on? and when A/C is lost it switches to battery? I do not see 1 on your wall. Does your solar stay on when utility is lost? If you tapped into your solar system to power your inverters built in MPPT. where did you tap in and did you need a special device or what. Sorry for the many Qs but I to am installing a 48vdc 15Kw inverter/charger with built in transfer swt and 640ah batteries with NO built in MPPT charger. I am trying to find out where and how to keep the power coming in from the solar to feed the inverter/and charge the batteries. any input you can offer would be a big help. Thanks in advance
The reason I was leaning towards a Sol-Ark was the unfortunately finding that the Growatt Inverters can only support the use a proprietary battery type ARO-HV or a LG RESU10H/16H. The smallest Growatt I could find was $5,214 for the Growatt-6.6-kWh-ARO-HV. The smallest LG I could find was a RESU10H R 9.8kWh for $5,400.
Seems like a nice item. I missed however it was able to do three-phase? Also if it was possible to have two connected and communicating to get a more decent 24kw system? Top on my wish list is a programmable ac outlet. I would love to have an outlet beeing connected when battery reach 80%(example) then turning of, when battery drops to 50%(example) and connect things like pool heating, aircond, car chargers. There could also be progrmmable outlets on time, useful for water heater and such. Three or so outlets of that programmalbe kind would be cake.
Hi, it is possible to install this Sol Ark without a Subpanel (AC Grid input directly to the Sol Ark input, and Sol Ark output to the Main Panel that will supply powe to the house)?
Without much of an Electrical background I installed a Sol-Ark 8k. This was before the 12k was available. It has worked flaslessly. We found used 12V 180AH Telcom Batteries and have 16 of them connected to the Sol-Ark. But only have 3 arrays of Solar Panels connected so far. It was an interesting experience for someone who only wired 110V switches and outlets before. We do love the system and are grid tied using Net Metering. Would be interested in sugestions to move over to Lithium Batteries on the cheap.
Most large companies shallow well pumps are set up for 110 220 Most motors over a 1/3 hp. Motors is able to use 110 220 the instructions for conversion are written either on the motor or on the cover plate for eledtic hook up inside the plate
The AC IN meter on the metering screen does not work on extant hardware revs of the Sol-Ark as they do not have monitoring CTs on the generator/AC coupling/dump load port.
My solar inverter on my home solar system has a charger for lithium. I have 5 of the 280 amp arriving this next week. The inverter is It's the Sol-ark-12kw. Is this enough
I'm looking for inverters that can be connected at 100 of 400W solar panels and also charge a 48V battery bank (near 50 kW). Can you give me an idea of what type of inverter (and how many) for this type of PV please ? Thanks a lot for your video
Hello! If in a series of 10 panels with 310w, I have panels with different parameters, is it a problem? Example: 8 panels 33.2V / 9.3A and two 32.6V / 9.5A. Thank you!
The two you asked about are very close to each other in specs. That is probably fine. But what you will see, is the charge controller will never be perfect for every panel. The charge controller has to pick a voltage, and in this case it will be something in between 32.6v and 33.2v, so it will work OK, but not perfect. You will loose a tiny bit of potential power from your string.
It seems like the Sol-Ark 15K 2p inverter, and presumably the 12K, doesn't require an external AC Coupled Inverter to supply solar PV power direct to the AC home grid infrastructure - is that correct? If so, why is it that Sol-Ark is pretty much alone in this capability after the solar industry has had years to mitigate the work around?
Could you put together a wiring diagram of your system with all of the components labeled for your viewers, please? With your knowledge of the system you could easily make instructional video’s which would double your TH-cam followers.
If you managed to find your solution, please, ignore this, but it should be helpful for other people that view the video. The manual for this product is downloadable, and it contains various scenarios that include what this system is. The Sol-Ark 12000 inverter takes 6500 Watts from the DC and 6500 Watts from the AC. This inverter was to replace a 5-kW inverter, which he explained in the video. The 10-kW inverter was probably an add-on to his system. He expanded his solar capacity beyond the inverter he had. In that event, he then added it AC-tied, which means that it is directly connected to the main service box through a circuit breaker. This is actually shown as a possibility in the Sol-Ark manual. The Sol-Ark has the ability to turn on the generator input by talking to the generator itself. His other inverter could have been used as that input, but the solar array is probably beyond the 6500-Watt input of that generator setup. He would have had to split the array between the DC and AC. The voltage of both DC inputs must be the same for the Sol-Ark, and that might have been problematic for him. This system would not be very informative for a person who is making a system from scratch other than it might show the pitfalls of constructing a system over time.
When u say you can’t charge your car and run dryer at the same time. Do you mean when you are running all off grid using the Sol-Ark only? I’m hoping that is the case.
so that means that he is limited to the output of the sol-ark plus the power coming from the other one right? because he mentioned he is limited to the 50 amps and that is not exact right ?
Ben may have been talking about 50A pass-through from grid to loads through the inverter. But not sure. The Sol-Ark was a disappointment and Ben is now using a Schneider.
I have a Carrier GZ060 (40A breaker) split system geo. From what I'm seeing, a lot of people aren't having issues with geothermal, but for some reason mine pulls enough power at startup to reboot my Sol-Ark 15K (AC_Overload_Fault). It doesn't make sense. Any ideas?
I've heard similar complaints from a lot of people. If you try a transformer-based inverter you will have much higher surge capacity to get a compressor-based appliance started. I've had great success with the Schneider XW PRO: th-cam.com/video/nCV1OUrcAaw/w-d-xo.html
I noticed when I watched the older video from David Poz with Ben that along the way Ben moved the incoming grid lines to the smaller AC disconnect box in his basement which was highlighted in this video. If I'm about to get my 100amp AC main breaker box replaced with a larger 200amp box. Should I have them wire it like Ben has his currently?
You made a correct observation. Ben personally changed the layout because it makes any future modifications easier. I'm wishing I had something similar since my main comes right into my panel and I can't do all the things I wish I could. If it were me, I'd pay for one extra box.
@@DavidPozEnergy Until I saw this video, based on my needs and the amount of current I would need to feed back through my main breaker box I was thinking I would need to install a 'Line side tap' (or a feeder tap), due to the design limitations of feeding current back through your main circuit panel. Either way would work, and I as betting I would probably need to install an AC disconnect anyhow. With the method he used in this video it resolves both issues at once. What I see is a possible limitation of Ben's setup is that the maximum amps you can draw is limited by the size of the inverter/charger. I would not have that limitation with a 'line side tap'.
Please Reply. Thanks for your input, I want to now if i can power 2 x 5KW inverters direct from the grit with a 240/24V Ac to Dc and keep in mind no Panels or Batteries. The house normal use 2 KW but when my wood Woking shop start up and i start my equipment the power increase from 2KW to 7-8 kw. Question: Will I save money throw the inverters or will it be the same as from the grit , But panels and batteries will be used in the system. NB. Panels and Batteries will be add latter when money is available. Regards Gerrie Kruger.
If you are powering your house from the grid, and don't have solar, then there is no reason to add an inverter. An inverter only helps if you have solar power.
Great video and thanks so much for the detailed description! Would the Sol-Ark inverter be overkill and costly if I only want a DC-coupled system and only have 120v critical loads (non-inductive) not exceeding 40A? It seems the Sol-Ark is designed for those who have frequent power outages or plan to be off-grid for significant lengths of time.
Hey! Great to see a Ben and Dave colab! Yes, the Solark is an awesome inverter. I've had mine since September and it has performed flawlessly. Went through a few other inverters before springing for the Solark. In life you get what you pay for. Cheers!
Magic! But seriously, they're paralleled and have different internal resistances, so the higher capacity batteries see higher charge and discharge amperages than the smaller batteries. Each 16s battery has its own BMS and is connected in parallel using OCPD of half the BMS rating, preventing issues in the event of a BMS shutdown/restart.
@@DavidPozEnergy we are trying to figure out what we want and I have several questions. Are all of the solark inverters emp hardened? And does that protect just this inverter(or would it protect microinverters too if you have them) and the panels? If we go with microinverters does this work with that also? Also, I see transmitters and receivers are needed ...does the emp protection protect these transmitters and receivers as well? If you parallel more inverters do you need to buy more transmitters, receivers, and batteries? I'm new to this lol. Thanks for your help.
Most electronics / computers / TVs etc... can use 240v power. It's typically more efficient as well. Convert things in the home over to 240v. For computers it's a switch on the PSU if it's not auto. Power adapters for laptops / phones / and anything else sold globally can already eat pretty much every power found on the planet, 90-250v 47-63hz. A lot of inverter powered devices like refers / microwaves / AC units can as well. Those devices transform and rectify the power into much higher voltages going from AC to DC and back to AC.
is there a permit to add in the sol-ark with the solaredge inverter? Cause say if i already have solar by another company. and I wanted to add the sol-ark and would like to do it myself are there required permits?
Very good point and thank you for bringing it up. Yes Ben did mention something like that basically the six gauge is fine even at the lower temperature rating. But the lugs can accept up to four gauge. So some people will put in the four gauge. Sorry I wasn't clear on that.
Ahh yes, I mixed up 60c and 75c. NM (romex) would be rated for 60c, which is good for 55a and can be rounded to 60a. The MC can go in the 75c column which is good for 65a, rounded to 70a. Kind of a moot point since I'm feeding it with a 60a breaker, but it does have a 63a grid input breaker which would need 6awg at 75c. Thanks for pointing that out!
Both are excellent brands, so you are good either way. Sol-Ark has the 120/240v split phase built in. Victron doesn't make a split phase inverter, so you have to pair two 120v inverters, or use one 240v and an autotransformer. Point being that Sol-Ark will make for the simplest installation.
David, I‘m the CEO of Fortress Power. We‘re Sol-Ark approved battery partner. Our batteries can close loop communicate with Sol-Ark. Will you be interested in showing your patriot how close loop works and why it make more sense. We would be very glad to send you 2 eFlex 5.4 for testing.
According to the spec sheet on page 24 of the manual: www.sol-ark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/12KOD-Manual-3-11-2021.pdf The maximum amps per unit is 37.5. If you had 2 units then the math is 37.5x2=75 amps. If you had 3 units the math is 37.5x3=112.5 amps. I don't know where you saw 1 unit is 50 amps, but it's not. 1 unit is 37.5.
that guy isn't David ,his name is Ben. and my personal opinion of transform less inverters rated 12kw and can't run an air compressor are useless for me because I have too many inductive power tools in my shop . I got a 6000 watt AIMS transformer based low frequency inverter that runs everything not problem , it has a 18,000 watts surge it has been running for 5 years . so for me low frequency inverters are the best !
So I have a question, I was looking into enphase microinverters since it can operate with each indivdual panel, and if one panel is operating less than performant it does not affect overall much. How does this handle multiple panel obstructions
@@DavidPozEnergy ahh I see, I just was on phone with Solark for 45 minutes, very nice and helpful people; think I will likely go with Solark because it allows me to retrofit microinverters if in need to ans also the icing on the cake is solar flare protection :)
When I contacted SolArk they told me I needed 3 of them to power my house and shop. That would be $21,000 for them, if they cut their price in half they would have sold 3. If I remember right Deye manufacturers them for solark. Those are much much cheaper overseas.
Yeah, I had similar experiences at my local Ferrari and BMW dealers. I told them that their cars were overpriced, but I'd definitely be a buyer at 50% off. They both declined my offer. :-)
If you call us, we have to say list price and encourage you to buy from a distributor (it will be significantly cheaper). This inverter was designed, tested, serviced, and supported in our Texas office. It took us 6 years to develop and our patents protect us were needed. Unfortunately, we go through 2 tiers of distribution in the USA (Manufacturer, Distributors, Installer, all 3 helping the customer). The distributor marks it up and the installer marks it up vs. selling direct to consumer. In addition, we have to pay and support ~10 different UL listings for each model of inverter (~$500K in fees and engineering expense). Please don't discount all the efforts we have done. And we have something coming that will allow you to use 1 inverter + something secret that will allow you to do your entire home. Our mission is to bring down the costs for families. And when you can use 1 ESS system instead of 3, I would say we are getting close.
@@Sol-Ark This looks great, but I also want something for my whole house & shop. For those of us in the serious planning phase - what's the ETA for your "something secret"???
@@Sol-Ark I hope so. Ive been waiting for something that is user friendly like the solark, that is what attracted me to it. Not to mention being able to use it with the north American grid unlike the euro style. Just the sticker price is what got me.
The Sol-Ark branded inverters are not exactly the same as the base Ningbo Deye inverters. Part of the extra cost is higher spec components (i.e. the Sol-Ark 8K is rated for up to 11kW of PV, whereas the Sunsynk branded Deye equivalent is only good for 8.8kW of PV). Then there are the extra complications in the guts to get the single phase 3 wire or 2 phase 120° 3 wire output, whereas the Deye and Sunsynk inverters are for markets that only need single phase 2 wire. Then then there is amortizing the NREs for the EMP hardening.
Yes, up to 9 of them. 2 would comfortably do a whole medium sized house. One is fine for me, but I do have to pay attention when starting big loads like my car charger (7700W). The new ones come with a full 63a bypass as well.
Hey Ben or David, I'm doing two separate 8s2p arrays about 125 feet from the sol-ark and the manual says 10 gauge wire is appropriate for that run. Does that sound correct? Watching the alt-e wiring diagram video seemed to add some multipliers onto the IMP of the panels that would indicate a thicker gauge but maybe I'm just not understanding it correctly.
I've also watched those videos from Alt-E. Amy did a great job with them. The important question is: How many amps? We size wire based on the amps it will carry. I don't know the amps of your panels. Let's pretend your panels have an Imp of 10 amps. And you plan to parallel your two arrays together, in a combiner box, at the array. That's 20 amps that now has to travel 125 feet. (BTW, it would be best to run dedicated wires for each string and only combine them at the Sol-Ark) Amy covers the details in her video, but the bottom line is you multiply by 1.56. 20a*1.56=31.2a According to the NEC you can run 10 gauge if the wire, breakers, etc. are all rated for 75°C. Then comes the whole second question of voltage drop, but we can table that. The Sol-Ark has slots for 4 strings built in. So I'd suggest running your 4 strings directly to the Sol-Ark and not to combine them at the array. This means 4 positives, 4 negatives, and a ground.
@@DavidPozEnergy , thanks for that explanation. It helps clear things up for me. Kind of a silly follow up, but where exactly is the ground wire going in this situation? Also, do you think 1 inch conduit would be best here or should I go bigger?
@@HomesteadingintheForest ground wire is to bond the racking and panels so that in the event of a fault, the racking doesn't become energized. You could do 1", but I always run PVC a size or 2 larger than needed. It just makes everything easier.
When he says he can't charge his car and do the dryer at the same time, does he mean at 220 cause shouldn't you be able to run the 110 charger without issue while running the dryer?
The Sol Ark is a great inverter and agree, the only thing it needs is a 100A AC output and the color display on the front could be a bit larger. Other than that, they've done a fantastic job! Oh, and Sol Ark should ditch the 8kW and make it a 5kW. The Sol Ark makes Outback, Schneider and Magnum look like Ford Model A's--antiquated and out of touch with today's tech.
You can mount panels on the North-facing roof on frames angled to the South. This creates similar solar exposure as the South-facing panels. This is what I did with my last house.
I Love the Sol-Ark . My 8k has not failed me. Never complained about the cost until I found they are manufactured and assembled in china. Then to add insult to injury the software for the monitoring is in China also...
I am using a 4.4 kw split (2.2kw on each rail) and I can run my air compressor on one rail and AC on the other with no problem (or each one alone) I don't see why Ben would have an issue? Let me know David!
How about 3-phase 230VAC(P-N)/400VAC(P-P) system? Do they have gear for that? Could yos do a video about your battery bank? Honestly this is the most interesting thing out of your setup:D
There are definitely larger inverters out there that have more umph than this. Also, in this case, 12k is not referring to the inverter capacity off grid. YIYEN makes a solid inverter, but not sure I would confidently install it at a customer's house.
The 12k unit can put out 9kw of ac continuous and if he bought the 8k unit it puts out a max of 8kw of ac continuous. I would assume that's 4.5kw or 4kw for each of the two phases, with either 8 or 9kw available for 240 volt loads. So if he's got a lot of loads on the phase he's running the air compressor on, he's probably running into an issue where the that side is overloading. The specs say it can handle up to 20kw surge for 5 seconds, so 10kw on each side would be my guess. I'd be really curious what the startup surge on that compressor is. It must be pretty high.
Adding a Solar Edge Autotransformer to his “transformer less” inverter externally, will also balance the loads.. not sure it can be done with an inverter that already generates 120/240 split phase though. But on a 240V only inverter it does balance out the 120V loads,
let me see if i've got this rite. each individual battery is not fused. you just put a fuse in line with your inverter only to seperate the batterys from it. I'm new at this!!!
@@DavidPozEnergy I plan to use Thermal Dynamic panels to produce my own heat for the hybrid water heaters then use thermal generators to turn it into electrical power while also using the hot water to heat my house with floor PEX piping. I do plan on having solar panels combines with it if it's possible to do so, I am still learning, Have you ever heard or use thermal generators before?
@@DavidPozEnergy To do off grid with Mitsubishi 7 tons mini splits ( 4 ton and 3 ton)- what would you recommend for inverter?? 48 volt system with Simpliphi newest batts
Best Overview video of the Sol-Ark. You really know our inverter well. Great job. FYI you can have 4800W on L1 and 0W on L2. It has huge 240V peak power. But you are correct that some 120V inductive loads >3/4hp can be an issue. We recommend rewiring those massive motors to 240V (most are convertible on the motor). The 1400W limit is with DC Loads. A heat gun on high is an AC load but on low, it only uses 1/2 of the sinewave (DC load). Our limit for DC loads (hair dryer, leaf blower, drill, blender, curling iron, heat gun only on low setting) is 1400W. Please email or call us to update your software. You are using an old version: why you see voltage on the grid when not really there. FYI, we are coming out with several new generator functions in ~6 weeks. And local monitoring in ~8-12 weeks so you don't have to be connected to the cloud. The inverter is so great because installers, Off Grider's, and DIYer's helped us define it. So keep up with the suggestions.
Hi Sol-Ark,. Thanks for reaching out and watching this video. I appreciate the comment. Both Ben and I are big fans of your product. I'd be willing and very excited to review your new generation in a follow-up video. And I'm willing to ship it back to you when I'm done with the video, or do a giveaway to the audience. I think the audience would love to see the new features that you described. I'll use the same type of load such as air compressor heat guns and miter saws to demonstrate. Would you like to send me one for that video?
@@DavidPozEnergy Send us an email support@sol-ark.com with your serial number and we can update the software. Then try testing again.
@@Sol-Ark it was updated pretty recently, but I'll get in touch with you to double check. Thanks.
Will that extra generator input functionality include frequency shifting without needing to have the generator port set as an AC coupled input?
I have a 1/2hp 120v well pump that hammers my generator pretty hard when it is comes on. Do you think this unit would be able to handle it?
Agreed. I have the 12k outdoor model. I've had it since early November and absolutely love the thing. We had a power outage for 23 hours two weeks ago. I had no idea it even happened until I got the message from my phone. I thought "huh" and just finished watching whatever was on TV.
What brand of battery backup are you using on your Sol-Ark 12K?
Would you try and make a video of the Sol-Ark managing loads and sending power back to the grid?
I like your setup , you run your DC thru a conventional breaker box BACKWARDS with both positive and negative sides of the load protected plus you have a BMS that protects for over current and low voltage cutout . Awesome !
Awesome deep dive on the Sol-Ark... and probably the most in depth I’ve seen so far. It’s on my list for a spring time purchase!
I wrote quite a long comment on the Patreon page that apparently didn't transfer to here. Ben's voice is smooth enough, he could make commercials.
I wrangled over the price of this unit for a while but chose to go with it for my first solar install. I couldn't have made a better decision. As Ben says, it's a very easy install. It's all in one. It can do whatever you need, period. The customer support has proven to be wonderful...which is another major reason I chose to go with the Sol-Ark. Ben may have things that cause problems for this inverter but I don't. It's really awesome. I'm grid tied for now...have some battery backup...but can move completely off grid if the power company pisses me off.
Cost???
How often do you have the nuisance trips because one leg is off balance?
Totally agree SolArk has the best multi function inverter for North America.
The advantage to an Outback dual/multi inverter setup with separate charge controllers is when things break (very rare with Outback). Being offgrid, that redundancy is essential. All-in-one units like this may leave you in the dark.
Very complete explanation. I've been off-grid for 10 years looking to install grid-tied system. Good video.
David. Thanks for sharing. For dryers, consider a heat exchanger one. I've changed to one . I also assist my solar water heater with a heat pump. That way I can have it all.
I chose a natural gas dryer and a tankless natural gas water heater....honestly...it's my opinion they are VERY cost efficient and help make the rest of the house solar friendly.
why a dryer? the clothes dry from themselfs.
@@ScoopDogy absolutely, I have a Mitsubishi Air Sourced heat pump with 4 zones (2 air handlers, and 2 wall mount), with 10KW of solar, so house is heated/cooled for “free” (well, ignoring the PV system cost).. house was built as passive/netzero, final leak test was .38ACH50, but, it doesn’t make any sense to dry clothes , or heat water with electricity, so I installed a 1,000 gallon propane tank, used for everything else (clothes dryer, 2 on-demand Rinnai H2O heaters, wall heater in garage, oven/range, outdoor grill and 20KW backup generator). Just had the propane tank filled, after 3 years of living in the new house, took 322 gallons of propane (out of a max of 850 gallons, must leave %15 air space to vaporize liquid propane), or about 107 gallons/year. Propane is $2.89/gallon atm, so about $300/year, hard to beat that with solar/electricity. It’s great to be green, but makes little sense to ignore the benefits of propane/natural gas for some uses.
@@hdj81Vlimited it depends where you live. I hang clothes (nearly desert) snap my fingers and they’re dry. Where I used to live (temperate forest) you could watch the mold grow on them before they’d dry. 😂
Good buddy to have David he's got a great set up.
we have one like this and have 26 panels hooked up to it. About 225 watts per panel.
The "automatic reset" is awesome. Just wait 1 minute after the circiut breaker flips and no worry. There is another instrument that can adjust the amps on each of the 2 lines to within one amp. Lithium Ark batteries are awesome too
Sol-Ark, is a Deye rebrand, cost x5, then banned the sales of Deye in NA.
But to be fair, Sol-Ark did add some very good features into the basic Deye such as what were described here.
Very nice video very good explanation of the Solark inverter. If you are going to use this inverter with grid power or AC coupled it is awesome. I was able to help set up a second Tennessee off-grid property here about 5 months ago and they bought the Solark for their Total off-grid Property. Now having said that what I have not heard anyone say is this very expensive unit is made in China. Also if you are going to use this in a off-grid application it's not a 12K inverter it's only 8,000. It definitely does not like unequal 120 volt loads it will shut down. Not knocking the Solark 12k but if you were going to use it in a total off grid application I do not recommend buying one. My twin Magnasine 4048 PAE set up blows that thing out of the water in a off grid application I'm So happy I did not buy one. The high-voltage charge controllers were the main reason that unit was chosen. Again with my own personal experience with one of these in a off grid application there are much better choices out there just my two cents.
Exactly
I'm totally off-grid and have been using my Sol-Ark 12K since last August without any issues. I have ran my Dewalt compressor and welded on 120V at the same time without any issues. Never has shut down using any 120V power tool of any type. My compressor might have a different start rating than the 20gal. one Ben uses but, I will be piggybacking with another Sol-Ark 12 this coming summer as I increase my array to 19200W of solar panels. There is nothing that matches it on a system like mine will be. When I first set my Sol-Ark 12K up, I only had 5960W of panels and use the gen/set to power my 220V Welder and 60gal compressor in my shop during peak hours. If you are off-grid like I am you must have a generator coupled to your system like I do now, running on propane. I also ran a 120V line into my shop direct from the generator to charge batteries for my cordless power tools as an extra backup. So, from the wire savings, shut off switches and the extras you needed compared to me, the validation of your comment is not correct in my book.
FYI you can have 4800W on L1 and 0W on L2. It has huge 240V peak power. But you are correct that some 120V inductive loads >3/4hp can be an issue. We recommend rewiring those massive motors to 240V (most are convertible on the motor). The 1400W limit is with DC Loads. A heat gun on high is an AC load but on low, it only uses 1/2 of the sinewave (DC load). Our limit for DC loads (hair dryer, leaf blower, drill, blender, curling iron, heat gun only on low setting) is 1400W. It is designed, tested, and serviced in the USA.
@@Sol-Ark I am not saying anything negative about your inverter. It was one of my three recommendations for these folks off grid inverter. I have not said anything unfair or untrue about your system. Simply stated for a strictly off-grid system only there are better choices available.
@@fisherus I have been living totally off grid for just short of three years now. I suggested my friends look into the Solak inverter for there total off-grid property. They have 14000 watts of solar power. They not me have had several instances of a hundred and twenty volt shutdown issues with the Solark inverter. The main reason for suggesting the solark nverter they bought was the dual high voltage charge controllers. I ran four strings of 9 solar panels in at 390 volts Voc. We left a total of four 340 watt solar panels unhooked per solak recommendation I am merely sharing my experience with these people's experience with the solark 12K which in a off-grid situation is only capable of 8000 Watts Peak. If you are happy with yours good for you. My point was for a purely off grid system there are better choices. I do not sell don't make any money or any of these products just sharing my experience.
I have owned one for over a year. Amazing transformer-less inverter
I have a sol-ark 8k. Had a lightning strike near by and it shut down and came right back up.
Wow. That's awesome. :)
David, in just a couple words, from the point of view of helping a beginner DIY'er decide, compare Sol-Ark to Growatt. For example: Sol-Ark is versatile, industrial strength, 3 times as expensive vs Growatt is lighter duty, less redundancy, less versatile is half the price. Thanks in advance. Happy New Year 2022!
The Sol-Ark is simpler, faster to install, and allows AC coupling. Growatts are less expensive (at least half as much) but don't allow AC coupling. If you want to see a cost comparison, I have one at the end of this video: th-cam.com/video/EYIzEW54_bY/w-d-xo.html
@@DavidPozEnergy You're awesome, I appreciate you responding. Also thank you for your time and talents sharing videos - they're a helpful tool to navigate through some of the marketing baloney and see some real world application and limitation of the technology. I'll check out the video you recommended. Cheers! Happy New Year.
Note, only use the 90C rating of the wire if what you are connecting it to is rated 90C. If it does not say then it is not rated 90C.
That's a pretty sweet setup! I really wish they would create a 10kW or 12kW version > might motivate me enough to consider switching!
Doesn't sound like they have the large surge current capability of your aims. Did you mean you want a solark if they made larger than 12kw?
@@jakeandrules7724 no... this is an 8KW inverter. It only supports 12KW with grid coupled.
@@SuperVstech the 12k is just 8kw output a/c but can do an additional 4kw to the batteries at the same time(offgrid). For some reason my solark 8k can actually output 9kw (cant do additional charging tho)(offgrid)
Thanks for the Reivew, doesn't sound like I would be able to run a 50 amp plasma torch or welder off this unit if it can't handle your 20 gallon compressor, how it's it going to handle an 80 gallon compressor tank and plasma cutter going at the same time as everything else.
Ben is great, kind and smart like David :)
Hello,
Great video,very well done. Im writing because i have the exact same inverter,. Been using for 6 weeks flawley until today when it failed. Removed cover and has blown small capacitor on mai n upper board and 5 blown transistors on lower board at neg terminal from transformer. Sungold wont answer my emails. Do you know where i can get parts or if i send picks can you tell me where to purchase. Thanks al
Just a thought been. You had stated that the right hand side of the inverter allows for either a generator input or can also be used as a output that’s controlled if I understood you correctly, essentially if you have an excess amount of power it can turn something on I think you stated like a water heater. That being the case could you utilize that leg as a means of charging your car? I understand charging a car you need certainty that it is being charged so when you go to drive it of course it’s charged up not that it’s just intermittently being charged but I think you get what I’m trying to say lol it just kind of came to me as I was listening to what you were saying. Awesome video as usual and very helpful.
Great video,
The Qs , do you have a transfer switch that runs the critical panel when utility is on? and when A/C is lost it switches to battery?
I do not see 1 on your wall. Does your solar stay on when utility is lost? If you tapped into your solar system to power your inverters built in MPPT. where did you tap in and did you need a special device or what. Sorry for the many Qs but I to am installing a 48vdc 15Kw inverter/charger with built in transfer swt and 640ah batteries with NO built in MPPT charger. I am trying to find out where and how to keep the power coming in from the solar to feed the inverter/and charge the batteries. any input you can offer would be a big help.
Thanks in advance
The reason I was leaning towards a Sol-Ark was the unfortunately finding that the Growatt Inverters can only support the use a proprietary battery type ARO-HV or a LG RESU10H/16H. The smallest Growatt I could find was $5,214 for the Growatt-6.6-kWh-ARO-HV. The smallest LG I could find was a RESU10H R 9.8kWh for $5,400.
Try adding a large 240 to 120V transformer to run the compressor and other similar loads
Seems like a nice item. I missed however it was able to do three-phase? Also if it was possible to have two connected and communicating to get a more decent 24kw system?
Top on my wish list is a programmable ac outlet. I would love to have an outlet beeing connected when battery reach 80%(example) then turning of, when battery drops to 50%(example) and connect things like pool heating, aircond, car chargers. There could also be progrmmable outlets on time, useful for water heater and such.
Three or so outlets of that programmalbe kind would be cake.
Hi, it is possible to install this Sol Ark without a Subpanel (AC Grid input directly to the Sol Ark input, and Sol Ark output to the Main Panel that will supply powe to the house)?
Yes, you can do it that way. Ben has several panels because he has been modifying the system for years.
Without much of an Electrical background I installed a Sol-Ark 8k. This was before the 12k was available. It has worked flaslessly. We found used 12V 180AH Telcom Batteries and have 16 of them connected to the Sol-Ark. But only have 3 arrays of Solar Panels connected so far. It was an interesting experience for someone who only wired 110V switches and outlets before. We do love the system and are grid tied using Net Metering. Would be interested in sugestions to move over to Lithium Batteries on the cheap.
Have you figured out a way to cope with or get around the issue with the AC compressor?
Ben - David has developed an ummm along with an epic epidemic hair cut. Great video !
Most large companies shallow well pumps are set up for 110 220
Most motors over a 1/3 hp. Motors is able to use 110 220 the instructions for conversion are written either on the motor or on the cover plate for eledtic hook up inside the plate
Thoroughly explained setup
The AC IN meter on the metering screen does not work on extant hardware revs of the Sol-Ark as they do not have monitoring CTs on the generator/AC coupling/dump load port.
My solar inverter on my home solar system has a charger for lithium. I have 5 of the 280 amp arriving this next week. The inverter is It's the Sol-ark-12kw. Is this enough
Can I connect an Enphase combiner of 16 micro inverters IQ8A to the Sol-Ark 12K? Maybe to that generator input?
I'm looking for inverters that can be connected at 100 of 400W solar panels and also charge a 48V battery bank (near 50 kW).
Can you give me an idea of what type of inverter (and how many) for this type of PV please ?
Thanks a lot for your video
I run a 60 gal quincy air compressor off 2 lv5048 in parallel with no issues
I do this as well but with two 5048mg's. I also run a plasma cutter at the same time as the compressor.
Hi. I'm just getting into this solar stuff after I had a sales person come knocking at my door. Any thought you can share on the Tesla Powerwall 2?
Ben has installed Tesla powerwalls, but has told me he prefers the Sol-Ark. You can jump over to his channel to ask him more specifics.
Would have Loved to get one of these!
Hello! If in a series of 10 panels with 310w, I have panels with different parameters, is it a problem? Example: 8 panels 33.2V / 9.3A and two 32.6V / 9.5A. Thank you!
The two you asked about are very close to each other in specs. That is probably fine. But what you will see, is the charge controller will never be perfect for every panel. The charge controller has to pick a voltage, and in this case it will be something in between 32.6v and 33.2v, so it will work OK, but not perfect. You will loose a tiny bit of potential power from your string.
very nice setup, does the sol-ark do the same thing as the Gro-watt 5000W Solar Inverters David installed?
heya I love to see al that electro/ electronic's staff as I'm a elecric/electronicer my self can't get enough of it
Thanks for all your comments and checking out my videos.
It seems like the Sol-Ark 15K 2p inverter, and presumably the 12K, doesn't require an external AC Coupled Inverter to supply solar PV power direct to the AC home grid infrastructure - is that correct? If so, why is it that Sol-Ark is pretty much alone in this capability after the solar industry has had years to mitigate the work around?
Could you put together a wiring diagram of your system with all of the components labeled for your viewers, please? With your knowledge of the system you could easily make instructional video’s which would double your TH-cam followers.
I agree That would be very helpful
www.sol-ark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/12K-Brochure-Print.pdf
If you managed to find your solution, please, ignore this, but it should be helpful for other people that view the video. The manual for this product is downloadable, and it contains various scenarios that include what this system is. The Sol-Ark 12000 inverter takes 6500 Watts from the DC and 6500 Watts from the AC. This inverter was to replace a 5-kW inverter, which he explained in the video. The 10-kW inverter was probably an add-on to his system. He expanded his solar capacity beyond the inverter he had. In that event, he then added it AC-tied, which means that it is directly connected to the main service box through a circuit breaker. This is actually shown as a possibility in the Sol-Ark manual. The Sol-Ark has the ability to turn on the generator input by talking to the generator itself. His other inverter could have been used as that input, but the solar array is probably beyond the 6500-Watt input of that generator setup. He would have had to split the array between the DC and AC. The voltage of both DC inputs must be the same for the Sol-Ark, and that might have been problematic for him. This system would not be very informative for a person who is making a system from scratch other than it might show the pitfalls of constructing a system over time.
When u say you can’t charge your car and run dryer at the same time. Do you mean when you are running all off grid using the Sol-Ark only? I’m hoping that is the case.
Yes, that's what Ben means. If Ben runs on the grid he can do both at the same time.
@@DavidPozEnergy thanks for the fast response
Thanks David Stay Safe
so that means that he is limited to the output of the sol-ark plus the power coming from the other one right? because he mentioned he is limited to the 50 amps and that is not exact right ?
Ben may have been talking about 50A pass-through from grid to loads through the inverter. But not sure. The Sol-Ark was a disappointment and Ben is now using a Schneider.
I have a Carrier GZ060 (40A breaker) split system geo. From what I'm seeing, a lot of people aren't having issues with geothermal, but for some reason mine pulls enough power at startup to reboot my Sol-Ark 15K (AC_Overload_Fault). It doesn't make sense.
Any ideas?
I've heard similar complaints from a lot of people. If you try a transformer-based inverter you will have much higher surge capacity to get a compressor-based appliance started. I've had great success with the Schneider XW PRO: th-cam.com/video/nCV1OUrcAaw/w-d-xo.html
What batteries are you using?
If I had to do it all over again I would buy a Solark too. But I didn’t know enough back then. 🥸
He is using some EV batteries. (electric cars). Lithium NMC. I'll be dedicating the next video just on the battery bank for more details.
@@DavidPozEnergy
Exotic batteries, I wonder how hard it is to set the parameters on something like that?
I noticed when I watched the older video from David Poz with Ben that along the way Ben moved the incoming grid lines to the smaller AC disconnect box in his basement which was highlighted in this video. If I'm about to get my 100amp AC main breaker box replaced with a larger 200amp box. Should I have them wire it like Ben has his currently?
You made a correct observation. Ben personally changed the layout because it makes any future modifications easier. I'm wishing I had something similar since my main comes right into my panel and I can't do all the things I wish I could. If it were me, I'd pay for one extra box.
@@DavidPozEnergy Until I saw this video, based on my needs and the amount of current I would need to feed back through my main breaker box I was thinking I would need to install a 'Line side tap' (or a feeder tap), due to the design limitations of feeding current back through your main circuit panel. Either way would work, and I as betting I would probably need to install an AC disconnect anyhow. With the method he used in this video it resolves both issues at once. What I see is a possible limitation of Ben's setup is that the maximum amps you can draw is limited by the size of the inverter/charger. I would not have that limitation with a 'line side tap'.
Please Reply.
Thanks for your input,
I want to now if i can power 2 x 5KW inverters direct from the grit with a 240/24V Ac to Dc and keep in mind no Panels or Batteries. The house normal use 2 KW but when my wood Woking shop start up and i start my equipment the power increase from 2KW to 7-8 kw.
Question: Will I save money throw the inverters or will it be the same as from the grit , But panels and batteries will be used in the system.
NB. Panels and Batteries will be add latter when money is available.
Regards Gerrie Kruger.
If you are powering your house from the grid, and don't have solar, then there is no reason to add an inverter. An inverter only helps if you have solar power.
Could you comment on salt water batteries. I have lots of room and like what I here from the new batteries coming on the market.
Question: what software sent you the text message? was it Powerview? tx buddy
Reminds me of the Beacon Power M5 inverter so does the price. But this has 240v and 7000 more kw. Does it have software not in cloud.
Local monitoring is coming in ~8-12 weeks so you don't have to be connected to the cloud.
Connect Growatt off grid inverter ES battery connection with a yl3-s grid tied inverter no battery connection and battery possible?
Great video and thanks so much for the detailed description! Would the Sol-Ark inverter be overkill and costly if I only want a DC-coupled system and only have 120v critical loads (non-inductive) not exceeding 40A? It seems the Sol-Ark is designed for those who have frequent power outages or plan to be off-grid for significant lengths of time.
Hey! Great to see a Ben and Dave colab! Yes, the Solark is an awesome inverter. I've had mine since September and it has performed flawlessly. Went through a few other inverters before springing for the Solark. In life you get what you pay for. Cheers!
How are you connecting two separate, heterogeneous battery banks into one system without damaging one of both of the battery banks?
Magic! But seriously, they're paralleled and have different internal resistances, so the higher capacity batteries see higher charge and discharge amperages than the smaller batteries. Each 16s battery has its own BMS and is connected in parallel using OCPD of half the BMS rating, preventing issues in the event of a BMS shutdown/restart.
Your reviews are Great!!!
Have you done a comparison of the Growatt 12k with this one?
Never mind I found it
Thank you
Can you stack 2 of them to back up or off grid a house?
Yes, you can parallel up to 9 units.
@@DavidPozEnergy we are trying to figure out what we want and I have several questions. Are all of the solark inverters emp hardened? And does that protect just this inverter(or would it protect microinverters too if you have them) and the panels? If we go with microinverters does this work with that also? Also, I see transmitters and receivers are needed ...does the emp protection protect these transmitters and receivers as well? If you parallel more inverters do you need to buy more transmitters, receivers, and batteries? I'm new to this lol. Thanks for your help.
@@TacklingTheGiants Yes they are. But then, can't you use Google and read for yourself?
Does it start well pumps ok or is that a problem
Hi, I have a question. Is the Sol-Ark compatible with wind power? Hear in Nebraska we can have weeks of snow and clouds.
Most electronics / computers / TVs etc... can use 240v power. It's typically more efficient as well. Convert things in the home over to 240v. For computers it's a switch on the PSU if it's not auto. Power adapters for laptops / phones / and anything else sold globally can already eat pretty much every power found on the planet, 90-250v 47-63hz. A lot of inverter powered devices like refers / microwaves / AC units can as well. Those devices transform and rectify the power into much higher voltages going from AC to DC and back to AC.
Most cable sizes are rated against amperage of the associated breaker.
Convinced. Tx for the awesome video buddy
BTW, there were problems and Ben removed this inverter.
Hey
How to charge fortress batteries
is there a permit to add in the sol-ark with the solaredge inverter? Cause say if i already have solar by another company. and I wanted to add the sol-ark and would like to do it myself are there required permits?
How big of a array would u need for any occasion 12000
I can't speak for Ben, but my array is 12kW and doesn't cover me 100% through the winter. I probably need more like 18kW to handle every situation.
6:05 North facing array? Mind explaining why?
Sure. We went into more detail in his first video (link in description) but it's summarized as Ben ran out of room on his south roof
Hello could you connect a Sol ARK to a generador if the panels are using microinverter?
si, howr can I charge the very battery that I have connected my inverter to
This unit monitors and charges the battery
FYI by code you can't use the 90*C rating of the wire because the terminals on those breakers are rated 75*C max.
Very good point and thank you for bringing it up. Yes Ben did mention something like that basically the six gauge is fine even at the lower temperature rating. But the lugs can accept up to four gauge. So some people will put in the four gauge. Sorry I wasn't clear on that.
Either way the 75*c rating for 6awg is 65amps. If you are 50 amp limited, there's not a problem.
Ahh yes, I mixed up 60c and 75c. NM (romex) would be rated for 60c, which is good for 55a and can be rounded to 60a. The MC can go in the 75c column which is good for 65a, rounded to 70a. Kind of a moot point since I'm feeding it with a 60a breaker, but it does have a 63a grid input breaker which would need 6awg at 75c.
Thanks for pointing that out!
Sol-Ark vs Victron any suggestions. I plan to use 6 of the 48v Gyll batteries. Thanks
Both are excellent brands, so you are good either way. Sol-Ark has the 120/240v split phase built in. Victron doesn't make a split phase inverter, so you have to pair two 120v inverters, or use one 240v and an autotransformer. Point being that Sol-Ark will make for the simplest installation.
@@DavidPozEnergy Awesome thanks.
So it only trips when you are only off grid correct? Just to make it clear in my brain
David, I‘m the CEO of Fortress Power. We‘re Sol-Ark approved battery partner. Our batteries can close loop communicate with Sol-Ark. Will you be interested in showing your patriot how close loop works and why it make more sense. We would be very glad to send you 2 eFlex 5.4 for testing.
Is there a way for two of these to work together and replace and supply a 100 amp service?
Yes, up to 9 units can be paralleled. 3 units would equal a 100 amp service.
@@DavidPozEnergy Oh why three when one makes a 50amp service?
According to the spec sheet on page 24 of the manual: www.sol-ark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/12KOD-Manual-3-11-2021.pdf The maximum amps per unit is 37.5. If you had 2 units then the math is 37.5x2=75 amps. If you had 3 units the math is 37.5x3=112.5 amps.
I don't know where you saw 1 unit is 50 amps, but it's not. 1 unit is 37.5.
@@DavidPozEnergy Ah ok now I know thank you.
Why do people need more amps usually? I'm clueless but trying to learn. Thanks
David - the beard is a good look, man. :)
Wait a minute
Haha
that guy isn't David ,his name is Ben. and my personal opinion of transform less inverters rated 12kw and can't run an air compressor are useless for me because I have too many inductive power tools in my shop . I got a 6000 watt AIMS transformer based low frequency inverter that runs everything not problem , it has a 18,000 watts surge it has been running for 5 years . so for me low frequency inverters are the best !
🤣
So I have a question, I was looking into enphase microinverters since it can operate with each indivdual panel, and if one panel is operating less than performant it does not affect overall much. How does this handle multiple panel obstructions
The Sol-Ark can AC couple. This means you can use a micro-inverter on each panel, and still tie it in with the Sol-Ark.
@@DavidPozEnergy ahh I see, I just was on phone with Solark for 45 minutes, very nice and helpful people; think I will likely go with Solark because it allows me to retrofit microinverters if in need to ans also the icing on the cake is solar flare protection :)
What's in-between your solark and grid power
When I contacted SolArk they told me I needed 3 of them to power my house and shop. That would be $21,000 for them, if they cut their price in half they would have sold 3. If I remember right Deye manufacturers them for solark. Those are much much cheaper overseas.
Yeah, I had similar experiences at my local Ferrari and BMW dealers. I told them that their cars were overpriced, but I'd definitely be a buyer at 50% off. They both declined my offer. :-)
If you call us, we have to say list price and encourage you to buy from a distributor (it will be significantly cheaper). This inverter was designed, tested, serviced, and supported in our Texas office. It took us 6 years to develop and our patents protect us were needed. Unfortunately, we go through 2 tiers of distribution in the USA (Manufacturer, Distributors, Installer, all 3 helping the customer). The distributor marks it up and the installer marks it up vs. selling direct to consumer. In addition, we have to pay and support ~10 different UL listings for each model of inverter (~$500K in fees and engineering expense). Please don't discount all the efforts we have done. And we have something coming that will allow you to use 1 inverter + something secret that will allow you to do your entire home. Our mission is to bring down the costs for families. And when you can use 1 ESS system instead of 3, I would say we are getting close.
@@Sol-Ark This looks great, but I also want something for my whole house & shop. For those of us in the serious planning phase - what's the ETA for your "something secret"???
@@Sol-Ark
I hope so. Ive been waiting for something that is user friendly like the solark, that is what attracted me to it. Not to mention being able to use it with the north American grid unlike the euro style. Just the sticker price is what got me.
The Sol-Ark branded inverters are not exactly the same as the base Ningbo Deye inverters. Part of the extra cost is higher spec components (i.e. the Sol-Ark 8K is rated for up to 11kW of PV, whereas the Sunsynk branded Deye equivalent is only good for 8.8kW of PV). Then there are the extra complications in the guts to get the single phase 3 wire or 2 phase 120° 3 wire output, whereas the Deye and Sunsynk inverters are for markets that only need single phase 2 wire.
Then then there is amortizing the NREs for the EMP hardening.
You can parallel these units to get 100A back? Amirite?
Yes, up to 9 of them. 2 would comfortably do a whole medium sized house. One is fine for me, but I do have to pay attention when starting big loads like my car charger (7700W). The new ones come with a full 63a bypass as well.
Hey Ben or David, I'm doing two separate 8s2p arrays about 125 feet from the sol-ark and the manual says 10 gauge wire is appropriate for that run. Does that sound correct? Watching the alt-e wiring diagram video seemed to add some multipliers onto the IMP of the panels that would indicate a thicker gauge but maybe I'm just not understanding it correctly.
I've also watched those videos from Alt-E. Amy did a great job with them. The important question is: How many amps? We size wire based on the amps it will carry. I don't know the amps of your panels. Let's pretend your panels have an Imp of 10 amps. And you plan to parallel your two arrays together, in a combiner box, at the array. That's 20 amps that now has to travel 125 feet. (BTW, it would be best to run dedicated wires for each string and only combine them at the Sol-Ark) Amy covers the details in her video, but the bottom line is you multiply by 1.56. 20a*1.56=31.2a According to the NEC you can run 10 gauge if the wire, breakers, etc. are all rated for 75°C. Then comes the whole second question of voltage drop, but we can table that.
The Sol-Ark has slots for 4 strings built in. So I'd suggest running your 4 strings directly to the Sol-Ark and not to combine them at the array. This means 4 positives, 4 negatives, and a ground.
@@DavidPozEnergy , thanks for that explanation. It helps clear things up for me. Kind of a silly follow up, but where exactly is the ground wire going in this situation? Also, do you think 1 inch conduit would be best here or should I go bigger?
@@HomesteadingintheForest ground wire is to bond the racking and panels so that in the event of a fault, the racking doesn't become energized. You could do 1", but I always run PVC a size or 2 larger than needed. It just makes everything easier.
When he says he can't charge his car and do the dryer at the same time, does he mean at 220 cause shouldn't you be able to run the 110 charger without issue while running the dryer?
I want one.... Great vid!
The Sol Ark is a great inverter and agree, the only thing it needs is a 100A AC output and the color display on the front could be a bit larger. Other than that, they've done a fantastic job! Oh, and Sol Ark should ditch the 8kW and make it a 5kW. The Sol Ark makes Outback, Schneider and Magnum look like Ford Model A's--antiquated and out of touch with today's tech.
They still sell enough 8K's they have to keep making them so they heard you and made a 5K model!
although Schneider out performs the sol ark on load handling
6:02... Why would you have a North facing solar array ?? I thought the sun was towards the south.
Ben ran out of room on his south facing roof. I linked to his first video in the description where we go into more details on the solar side.
@ lasersbee - A PV array on a shallow-pitched, north facing roof, can ADD a lot of kilowatts in the summer time...
You can mount panels on the North-facing roof on frames angled to the South. This creates similar solar exposure as the South-facing panels. This is what I did with my last house.
I Love the Sol-Ark
. My 8k has not failed me. Never complained about the cost until I found they are manufactured and assembled in china. Then to add insult to injury the software for the monitoring is in China also...
Very nice sir ... Thank you for sharing this video...
I am using a 4.4 kw split (2.2kw on each rail) and I can run my air compressor on one rail and AC on the other with no problem (or each one alone) I don't see why Ben would have an issue? Let me know David!
My bet is, he means when everything is on in the house, the compressor 120V startup shift freaks out the system.
How about 3-phase 230VAC(P-N)/400VAC(P-P) system? Do they have gear for that? Could yos do a video about your battery bank? Honestly this is the most interesting thing out of your setup:D
Humm my YIYEN 12k inverter starts my 5hp compressor and can run my 1.5hp well at the same time.
The title says 12K but at the end he says he bought a 8K inverter.
There are definitely larger inverters out there that have more umph than this. Also, in this case, 12k is not referring to the inverter capacity off grid. YIYEN makes a solid inverter, but not sure I would confidently install it at a customer's house.
@@benssolarandbattery SMA all the way
The 12k unit can put out 9kw of ac continuous and if he bought the 8k unit it puts out a max of 8kw of ac continuous. I would assume that's 4.5kw or 4kw for each of the two phases, with either 8 or 9kw available for 240 volt loads. So if he's got a lot of loads on the phase he's running the air compressor on, he's probably running into an issue where the that side is overloading. The specs say it can handle up to 20kw surge for 5 seconds, so 10kw on each side would be my guess. I'd be really curious what the startup surge on that compressor is. It must be pretty high.
Great job and vid david and ben solark needs to pay you guys for this infomercial
Re: Compressor Overload
If he had a 220/240v compressor, would overload be less of a concern because he even distributed the load between two lines?
Yes
Adding a Solar Edge Autotransformer to his “transformer less” inverter externally, will also balance the loads.. not sure it can be done with an inverter that already generates 120/240 split phase though. But on a 240V only inverter it does balance out the 120V loads,
It's a good inverter. I am joseph from Sarawak, East Malaysia
Why not a 220 or 230 v air compressor and dryer ?
let me see if i've got this rite. each individual battery is not fused. you just put a fuse in line with your inverter only to seperate the batterys from it. I'm new at this!!!
Can you combined two Sol-Ark 12K Inverter and Solar Charger together so that you can run your dryer and charge your car at the same time?
Up to 9 units in parallel, which would be an insane amount of power.
@@DavidPozEnergy I plan to use Thermal Dynamic panels to produce my own heat for the hybrid water heaters then use thermal generators to turn it into electrical power while also using the hot water to heat my house with floor PEX piping. I do plan on having solar panels combines with it if it's possible to do so, I am still learning, Have you ever heard or use thermal generators before?
@@DavidPozEnergy To do off grid with Mitsubishi 7 tons mini splits ( 4 ton and 3 ton)- what would you recommend for inverter?? 48 volt system with Simpliphi newest batts
Wow this guy is so happy, can't stop loughing himself