4 ms·

> and costs about a tenth of what a self shaping inverter costs I'm using a Fronius GEN24 Plus (10 kW) which can be used off-line/off-grid (called 'Full Backup

> and costs about a tenth of what a self shaping inverter costs I'm using a Fronius GEN24 Plus (10 kW) which can be used off-line/off-grid (called 'Full Backup', to use it you need some extra switching gear between the inverter and the utility hookup, which gear that is differs from country to country) and provides single-phase power in its default configuration (they call it 'PV power', basically a 3 kW single-phase connection which comes alive when the utility hookup goes down). While this inverter was slightly more expensive than the Chinese alternatives the difference was more in the range of 30%, not '10 times'.

Scoundreller 1y ago
Are there any systems offered that don’t have all the extra switch gear but just provides a socket you can plug something into? I figure people would be happy plug their fridge/freezer in manually to tun during the day and charge some stuff. Or is that what you’re suggesting with the Chinese inverters?
- DamonHD 1y ago
  https://www.myenergi.com/product/libbi-battery-storage/ https://www.myenergi.com/product/libbi-battery-storage/
- hagbard_c 1y ago
  The extra switching gear is needed for a utility hookup to ensure the inverter does not feed power into the utility hookup during a power-out. If the inverter is only to be used in island mode - without a utility hookup - such switching gear is not needed. You need to configure the inverter for island mode and you'll want to connect battery storage - this is a hybrid inverter which can be connected to one or more high-voltage (150V-510V) batteries - to power the system when the sun is down/low/obscured. There are Chinese inverters which support island mode as well, my reason for choosing a European manufacturer is not related to this type of functionality. He who controls a large fleet of inverters can control the grid - and bring it down. I prefer to keep sole control over what my inverter does and do not allow it access to the internet, keeping it on a separate wired network (wireless access to the inverter is disabled) which is only accessible by a dual-hosted container on the server-under-the-stairs. It is through this container that I control the inverter and extract data for power management purposes - turn on heavy loads when the sun is doing its thing and/or imported electricity prices are at the lowest rates for the day. While I could (and would) do the same with a Chinese inverter I'm not convinced that would be enough to keep third parties from accessing the device though either some embedded 2/3/4G, LoRa or similar device. I installed the panels on a barn I built in 2019 and installed the inverter in 2022 - long before my suspicions about the potential for such covert control channels were 'proven' [1] so my initial caution turned out to be justified. [1] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/ https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-...

Scoundreller 1y ago

Are there any systems offered that don’t have all the extra switch gear but just provides a socket you can plug something into? I figure people would be happy plug their fridge/freezer in manually to tun during the day and charge some stuff. Or is that what you’re suggesting with the Chinese inverters?

DamonHD 1y ago
https://www.myenergi.com/product/libbi-battery-storage/ https://www.myenergi.com/product/libbi-battery-storage/
hagbard_c 1y ago
The extra switching gear is needed for a utility hookup to ensure the inverter does not feed power into the utility hookup during a power-out. If the inverter is only to be used in island mode - without a utility hookup - such switching gear is not needed. You need to configure the inverter for island mode and you'll want to connect battery storage - this is a hybrid inverter which can be connected to one or more high-voltage (150V-510V) batteries - to power the system when the sun is down/low/obscured. There are Chinese inverters which support island mode as well, my reason for choosing a European manufacturer is not related to this type of functionality. He who controls a large fleet of inverters can control the grid - and bring it down. I prefer to keep sole control over what my inverter does and do not allow it access to the internet, keeping it on a separate wired network (wireless access to the inverter is disabled) which is only accessible by a dual-hosted container on the server-under-the-stairs. It is through this container that I control the inverter and extract data for power management purposes - turn on heavy loads when the sun is doing its thing and/or imported electricity prices are at the lowest rates for the day. While I could (and would) do the same with a Chinese inverter I'm not convinced that would be enough to keep third parties from accessing the device though either some embedded 2/3/4G, LoRa or similar device. I installed the panels on a barn I built in 2019 and installed the inverter in 2022 - long before my suspicions about the potential for such covert control channels were 'proven' [1] so my initial caution turned out to be justified. [1] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/ https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-...