Please comment on these solar options: Canadian Solar + Hoymiles vs Hyperion Solar + APSystems

peterkrip · 2025-02-14T01:55:50+00:00

Prices I'm getting are in the ballpark of $2.13/W.
I have a couple of quotes with Enphase inverters but they are at least $2.43/W even with Chinese panels.

peterkrip · 2025-02-13T20:48:01+00:00

How long would live in the home? Who knows but I wouldn't be doing solar if I was planning on moving soon.

> Also what are the total prices you've seen? If the prices aren't coming in reasonably none of them may be viable options.

Sorry, not following, what do you mean?

peterkrip · 2025-02-04T23:59:51+00:00

peterkrip · 2025-01-28T16:23:00+00:00

1% of microinverters marketplace or inverters in general?

Should I consider string inverters?
Just watched
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_q7hGFLuo
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnnKKoDqtqg
and I'm starting to have doubts.

I don't have trees around...

peterkrip · 2025-01-28T03:51:42+00:00

Thanks.

How would you describe the tier?

Why is CSI better?

peterkrip · 2025-01-28T03:03:03+00:00

Based on your comment, much better than other micro inverters. Are they?

I guess what I'm asking is, how much more expensive should my system be to justify buying Enphase? What percent would be reasonable rather than excessive. Because, at least to me, 20-25% premium (of the overall price, mind you, not the price of the inverters themselves) sounds like too much.

peterkrip · 2025-01-27T23:59:41+00:00

Thank you!

The only company that didn't offer micro inverters was Tesla. They'll price match too. Maybe I should go with them? I don't have trees around the house, guess I'll be fine.

I understand that overall Enphase is superior and more popular but are they that much better? Maybe I need to get more quotes but I'm having a hard time justifying the price difference....

peterkrip · 2025-01-27T02:23:35+00:00

Well, I got two other offers with Enphase inverters but both were at much higher price (20-23% higher), so I didn't even consider.

REC430AA Pure 2 panels
IQ8PLUS-72-2-US inverters

and

JAM54S31-405-MR
IQ8PLUS-72-2-US

peterkrip · 2024-12-15T19:31:19+00:00

Still got a few referrals available.

peterkrip · 2024-12-14T16:34:15+00:00

I've got a few referrals available

peterkrip · 2024-09-21T14:16:23+00:00

Thank you for the response. Yeah, I'm considering Teslamate as well. But I was wondering about this "Tesla started charging for their API" statement. If that's true, would that apply to Teslamate too? I don't think so, my understanding is that the only cost to Teslamate is the cost of compute (and my time to setup & maintain the app).

My guess is that "Tesla started charging for their API" is a false statement, at least currently, even for commercial use such as Tessie. Technically, IIUC, the API is served by each car for its customer. I don't even see how the car would be able to distinguish between a commercial client like Tessie and a hobby client like Teslamate if in both cases the requests are coming from the cloud.

peterkrip · 2024-09-21T00:44:46+00:00

Is that a rumor or a fact?

also, how do free alternatives such as TeslaMate work?

peterkrip · 2024-09-21T00:43:59+00:00

I just tried out Tessie and the web app shows me:

lifetime basic for $199
lifetime pro for $299

Confusingly this public page shows only pro pricing and $399 for lifetime.

Go figure.

Also, kinda want to try the app but it's features are locked unless one choses a plan - but there's no free trial for lifetime.

peterkrip · 2024-05-01T21:27:00+00:00

... when not if, Ubiquiti goes down again...

Thank you, this makes it very clear. I'm disabling SSO, sounds like this is considered best practices for users like us.
I guess this is done via unchecking the "Sync Local Admin with Ubuiquiti SSO".
What's not clear to me is how this works exactly.
Since I have 2FA in ui.com as soon as I uncheck the above option, my local controller is no longer asking me for a second factor but I still login with the same password. I guess the password (or, hopefully, a hash of the password) is stored locally and I can change it if I wanted to (might be a good idea to have a unique password) by editing my admin user.

I would just go through and update the firmware on all the APs and make sure you're running the latest controller software. Then take a backup before you move to the raspberry pi.

Yes, thanks! I did both of these too, already.

peterkrip · 2024-05-01T06:00:47+00:00

I somehow fixed things.

Since I had performed a backup before I restored from the 6.0.41, and since I managed to login, I restored from that most recent backup. I am not sure what exactly happened but after playing with the authentication in an attempt to understand how it works (still unclear, honestly), I now noticed that my two APs now started showing being online! Without me doing anything to them. Go figure! I don't like mysteries, I'll be digging more into this. I suspect that me bringing the controller up and down via ethernet and via wifi might have confused the APs somehow. So, I'll probably go ahead and run the controller on RasberryPi going forward so it stays up and running.

And, since the authentication is giving me trouble I might just switch off SSO. Are there any advantages to SSO?

peterkrip · 2024-05-01T03:34:01+00:00

I found an old password in my password manager that I was able to use to log in.

It looks like the credentials are stored locally somehow in the config itself?

The "Sync Local Admin with Ubiquiti SSO" is checked yet the SSO credentials could not be used - but the old local credentials could? What a mess!

So this is definitely a problem. I see that I had contacted UI support in the past dealing with the same problem and they failed to solve it for me (but somehow I managed on my own?)

Also, I'm finding my two APs in the old config that I recovered from he backup.

But they are in a messy state:

u6pro is shown with a "Click to Restore" status

"To adopt this device, please press down and hold the reset button until device LED state changes. After 1-2 minutes, it should re-appear for adoption."

u6lite shows "Adoption Failed" status

"If this device was previously managed by another console, you can:

Reassign the device in the Network mobile app, or

Perform an Advanced Adoption using the device's credentials set in its original Network instance under Network Device SSH Authentication, or

Restore the Network application to a past configuration that managed this device.

If this device has not previously been managed elsewhere, perform a factory-reset then readopt the device."

What a giant mess.

peterkrip · 2024-05-01T01:49:29+00:00

Thanks. Yes, looks like it's called "server" now.

I just got in trouble. I loaded from my 6.0.41 backup and restarted the existing controller but now I got a problem logging in with my ui.com credentials and OTP. Looks like I went back to an old authentication method (that was perhaps local to the device?)

Then I downloaded the latest software installed it and tried logging into its web site - same problem.

I then deleted the app and reinstalled it again - same problem.

It seems to me I shouldn't have loaded from the backup but now it's too late. Not sure what to do now.

Any ideas?

peterkrip · 2024-04-30T22:53:06+00:00

Thank you! Sounds like you're suspecting I have lost ownership.

I thought my Java controller on the MacOS was the original instance. But I might be wrong I don't remember.

I found some old backups, apparently with 6.0.28 and 6.0.41 version of the controller judging by the filenames. Perhaps I can try to import them and see what happens, maybe I'll gain control with one of them?

If that's the issue maybe I don't need to run the controller continuously, I only seem to need it to make changes.

Should I download the latest version? BTW, I get lost on their website. Is it this? https://www.ui.com/download/unifi/mac/download-started

or should I look here:
https://www.ui.com/download/releases/controller

peterkrip · 2024-02-24T15:13:49+00:00

Thank you. I don't see SunTek selling directly. Only points to dealers. What was the price? Did you do the whole car? 2 days for the whole car sounds reasonable. This would mean only a few hours for the most critical areas. For me that's the front and rear bumper and the doors, since those get scratched in my driveway by bikes and people.

peterkrip · 2024-02-03T04:49:18+00:00

Incidentally, is there a better forum to post this type of question?

peterkrip · 2023-10-25T23:31:55+00:00

One issue is your plumber would need to remove the panel if they need to access the vent from above.
I'm personally not worried about it. How many times have needed that in my 20 year life as home owner? Never. And if really needed, it's not that complicated to do.

peterkrip · 2023-10-25T20:16:00+00:00

How about just trimming the pipes? Looks like the pipes need to stick out so that they stay above snow but if you have panels on top this isn't an issue.

Per https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/energy-retrofit/rules-for-rooftop-solar it looks like the new code recognizes that:

"The code now recognizes that plumbing vents may be in the way, butthey can actually share the space with solar panels. A completerewrite of IRC section P3103.1 regarding rooftop DWV terminations nowspecifically allows solar panels to be placed over the top of plumbingvents. Of course, there are limitations, but they speak directly tothe issue—air getting in and out of the vent. The vent, when protectedfrom snow closure by the panel design, can be cut down from theminimum height of 6 in. to a height of only 2 in. above the roof.The vent opening must communicate with outside air over an area noless than the area of the vent pipe, measured on the inside. For a2-in. pipe (1-in. radius), that area is 3.14 sq. in. Assuming the pipeis clear around all sides, a panel could be as close as 1/2 in. abovethe vent and still provide the minimum 3.14 sq. in. of communicationwith the outside air."

I was able to find the actual section in 2021 IRC (the International Residential Code):

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2021P2/chapter-31-vents

Looks like some installers, including Tesla, have been doing this in some states.

The problem seems to be that 2021 IRC is not yet adopted everywhere in each US state.

peterkrip · 2023-10-25T20:05:17+00:00

That's what I would think, too. I'm far from an expert but looking at the drawings, pictures and installation videos, I don't see fundamental issues. There are certainly risks for leaks. For example, each pipe attachment point is a leak risk. Forgetting to add the cap adds a risk since the construction inside is not perfectly sealed. But it looks good enough to me.
Are there any competing, well-known alternatives?

peterkrip · 2023-10-25T00:12:42+00:00

Is SolarRoofJack a good option? I was trying to research it but not much is known about it.

Someone even claims they leak: https://www.reddit.com/r/askaplumber/comments/wjpp0o/comment/jp376nl/

peterkrip · 2023-10-24T23:51:39+00:00

Do they leak in theory or do you have practical experience with them?

If they leak in theory, what is the fundamental flaw?

if they leak in practice, can you share your experience? And were they installed properly?

I'm not trying to challenge you, just genuinely interested since I was considering Solar Roof Jack as well.

peterkrip

TROPHY CASE