*UPDATE*: If you follow me on Twitter you might already know this, and as many people have commented on below. The 5.1kW LG panel system will only output 4.13kW using the Enphase IQ7+ inverters. Because if you read the datasheet it only has a maximum output capacity of 290VA (295VA peak). So 14 x 290W = 4.06kW (4.13kW peak). VIDEO HERE: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rpp1hZl6nb-dl3U.html This is Enphases response, it's about about solar clipping and solar rating , I'll have to do a video covering this. Basically, it's not a problem for most system in many parts of the world, but it means there will be clipping and power loss (undercapicity) on high solar insolation days in summer. With my old 3kW (12 x 250W) panels they did in fact output the full 250W rating in summer on many days because in Sydney we regularly get 1000W/sqm solar insolation in summer time, not 800W like they work from. I have almost 8 years of data that shows this to be true. If I hooked these 14 x 370W panels to a >5kW string inverter I have no doubt I'll get 5.1kW peak out of it in summer time. So UNDERSTAND if you are using Enphase microinverters, they do not manufacture a module that will give the full 370W peak output power if you are in a high insolation area in summer time. As I said, most likely not an issue at all outside of summer time, or in many parts of the world. Of course that will only be for a shortish peak during the day, but still, you are potentially limiting your panels when your inverter's output power does not match the panel. For this system I am already peaking at the maximum 4.13kW peak in April. So my system will definitely cklip in summer time, it's just a matter of how much energy this wastes. I estimate as high as 10% on a really high solar insolation and completely clear day. Their response: "In order to increase the total energy yield over the lifetime of the system it is common practice to oversize the PV module (DC rating) to the Inverter size (AC Inverter maximum continuous power output rating). In Australia, the most common system size is 6.6 kWp on a 5 kVA string Inverter, this is a 133% DC:AC oversizing ratio. The maximum oversizing allowable in Australia for STC rebates is 133% or 0.75/maximum continuous power output of the inverter. Although Microinverters convert DC to AC power at the panel level, oversizing is still important to generate a greater energy yield over the lifetime of the system. For 370 W PV modules we recommend the IQ7+ which is rated to 290 VA, a ratio of 127.6% (less than 133%). More information can be found in the following documents: enphase.com/sites/default/files/downloads/support/IQ7A_Vs_IQ7plus_in_Australia.pdf and enphase.com/sites/default/files/downloads/support/Enphase-Tech-Brief-Why-Larger-EN-US_0.pdf The commonly paired modules information on our US website, is a bit mis-leading as we would not recommend any PV module be paired with less than a ratio of 1:1 at an absolute minimum, the peak output of IQ7A is 366 VA so the minimum PV modules size for the IQ7A would be 365/370 W. However as per the documents above we always recommend oversizing by at least 125% as in most circumstances it will be beneficial with greater energy yield over the lifetime of the system. The other important factor to consider is that the PV modules do not always operate at Standard Test Conditions (STC lab) values, they often operate at Nominal module operating temperature (NMOT) values which are also given on the PV module data sheet. For the LG 370 W PV modules you can see the NOCT values below: ttps://www.lgenergy.com.au/uploads/download_files/c368443778f812ed588ab828f94d48665c29a89f.pdf Here you can see that the 370 W LG PV modules at NMOT only output 279 W which is more realistic than STC values which are tested in a lab at perfect conditions. Other factors could reduce this further these are; soiling, shading, angle and orientation."

Imagine having Dave leaping around while you are trying to get the job done!

I was just about to think "why in earths name would the panels be facing north, the sun's never shining from the north" Then I remembered that I live in europe and that the world is round

Dave: "You can't do a teardown on these inverters, they're completely potted". BigClive: "Were just going to soak these in a tub of acetone for about 6 hours and then we'll begin the teardown" :-D

You missed the oppotunity to do an april fools joke about installing a solar driveway 🤣

46:30 typical. Brand new and it's got a big greasy pawprint on it already.

Thanks Dave for the business hope you enjoy the system and our service we are available anytime. Regards Vini team Finese see you soon when you want to install the battery

It's so weird to me that people complain about being able to see solar panels on a room. Personally, I love seeing solar panels!

this reminds me, how long i have been watching dave

Put some cover on them so they don't get damaged from rain 😎

46:30 that hand print on the panel setting anyone's OCD off?

Hi Dave, Just finished single handedly constructing/installing and doing all the wiring for the 11KW solar install at my place. So nice to see my insanely high electricity bills drop 90+%. Didn't do a roof mount because that requires way more red tape/systems. Also didn't do grid sell either because that gives the "authorities" the leg in to stick their nose into your business. I can't say I'm surprised that they'll start to penalize you for grid sell - I'm sure that'll be coming to the US before the drop of a hat. Most of my neighbors are going solar too and one whose been on Solar the longest said he's now starting to owe the electricity company money again! ... figures :-/ It gets super windy here in my corner of Connecticut so I'll be adding a small wind turbine for those days when the sun doesn't want to cooperate. Good luck with the new system!

Hi Dave, I Long to cover my house and barn with solar panels. However, as a Ham Radio operator I live in fear of R.F.I. after hearing horror stories on inverters from many Hams. I never believe sales Wank about this ( How to do know a salesman is lying? His lips are moving. ) Constantly fight R.F.I. here. Printer power bricks that wipe out 2 meters, Computer monitor power bricks that wipe out HF and even "Clean" Ham Radio power supplies ( Yaesu and Astron switchers ) that produce tons of "noise" on ELF/VLF. I am forever throwing out power bricks and replacing them with analog supplies. I think it would make a great video for you to invite an R.F.I. compliance firm to visit your installation with their "Sniffer" gear and go over the system. Have them cover from 10 KHz to 450 MHz. Thanks for a great video. Vern

Hey day I think the date code is YY/MM/DD

@EEVblog That manufacturing date is going to be in YY/MM/DD format - none of this DD/MM/YYYY rubbish! That missing century though... that's gonna to piss off the ISO 8601 aficionados!

Remember watching when you first installed the solar system and it’s awesome to see you’re upgrading it even more! :D really enjoyed this video

I think you could have put two rows of panels on that roof - idea for future expansions. Dave powering the entire continent!

It's basically a sponsored video but, I'm very happy for you and the channel ^^

Anti-seize paste prevents problems with old screws that refuse to work many years later. It has proven very effective in high corrosive conditions with steel-on-steel, aluminum-to-aluminum, and many other applications.

Hi there Dave I'll be watching your KZfaq quite a few years now and what I've learnt now about solo panels and how it is installed and the right inverters and the LG side panels I didn't realise there was a lot of work involved yes what a top job those guys did and I learnt a lot to

This is the best solar installation video I've seen on KZfaq, thank you Dave!

I got the Enphase system. Boosted my confidence in it to know Dave was willing to put it on this roof. I thought it was great, now its even better. The Enphase API is great, as is hacking against the local Envoy. I hope you look into a battery. Be great to see what you select.

If you walked on a tile roof in the USA, you would hear 'Crunch, Crunch, Crunch' as all the tiles break.

We have microinverters on our 10.5KW system (2 strings). Only had one fail in the last 3 years, but most importantly didn't bring down the entire grid. Great stuff!

Can you monitor the Enphase controller directly without connecting to the dodgy cloud service? I can see horror stories about trying to get per-panel monitoring out of Enphase Australia and many Australian installers, I also don't want my data in some corporate database or my system to be remotely controllable via the Internet.

Thanks for making me feel inadequate with my “measly” 6kW system!

Looking forward to see the 5 year performance summary for those expanded panels

Perfect timing on this video. I am in the process of planning a 7KW system that revolves around a Sunny Boy and Sunny Island. I agonized over the thought of using Microinverters but chickened out based on the possible maintenance issues. The inverter is the most common part to fail and my Solar Tech insisted that having 12 of them is going to be a lot more problems than using just one, especially if that one is a Sunny Boy. BTW I am also going to be using LG 370W panels and an LG Lion battery system.

Excellent. We are going solar this year and are using the Enphase micro-inverters

Dave: You want the panels in the north. Me: What!? Also me: Ah, yea. He is down under!

Hi Dave, at 03:43 "I've seen no degradation of performance", do micro-meteorites making holes in them not count degradation? :-) did you ever find out what it was that make the hole in the that Solar panel?

Thumbs up for all the guys and gals that do these installs. Most of us work in comfy ac all day long.

Interesting as always👍👍 Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us👍😀

As an accredited CEC installer, watching these guys that are described as LG's top installers is just disappointing. Where to begin. -Everyone starts off having their harness *actually connected* to an anchor point and then quickly abandons that. Like wearing one but not connected offers you any sort of protection. -Using plastic/nylon cable ties (the cable restraint system has to last the life of the system. Nylon cable ties last approx 2-5 years out doors so can't be used. If you use cable ties, the stainless steel variants are the proper ones to use) -Reusing a 7 year old D.C isolator. This is just annoying. A brand new and better designed unit costs $35 excluding GST for god's sake. We all know how water/moisture ingress in the RTI is usually the cause of most solar fires, so why risk it by using an old one when a new and better designed one costs just $35? -Using dektites designed for tin roofs instead of the proper, much larger, versions for tile roof penetrations -Incorrect IP rating junction box used on the roof (with a questionable gland). Don't even get me started on the silicone job they did there ffs. -Having different length end rails is just such poor workmanship. -Tiles at some rail bracket locations are clearly not correctly seated and in turn pushed up risking water ingress (CEC claim that not me) At the end of the day, ultimately, you can have the best hardware but if it's installed poorly then each one is just a point of failure. The fact that they did all of this while being recorded just shows they genuinely don't know and just haven't been trained correctly. One of LG's top installers.

28:38 I think the date format is YY/MM/DD, so the manufacture date would be October 26th 2020.

I love my LG Neon2 black 320 panels! Installed 13 of them exactly 2 years ago. ( South facing at a 40 degree angle, with optimisers and connected to a SolarEdge inverter. Produced 9,66MegaWatt so far.... roughly 4700kwh per year. Living in The Netherlands with our climate that is so amazing to me! Best descision ever.

Your neighborhood is beautiful look at all those neat trees! Have to visit Aus and NZ someday

Cool to see the new system going in! Correction on the US installs: our solar inverters are also 240v output, unless it's a really old panel. Centre-tapped neutral for the home loads, but the panel is fed with 240v.

"WARNING: Hot Surface: To reduce the risk of burns, do not touch." Hehehehe yeah that'll reduce the risk alright.

I got mine two years ago. My mains cable came preconfigured with a "tap" for the microinverters so there were no splices in the cable on the roof. Thanks for sharing.

Microinverters are so nice. i wish more installers would use them. So easy to expand afterwards and if one fails its cheaper than the whole big inverter going down.

The unpleasant truth about claimed output of the panel - is that it is almost unreachable under normal or even ideal circumstances, because of the infrared heat wavelenghts from the sun. I have 7500W system in ideal conditions, and it has been able to produce 7kWh only few days per year - it's when it is abnormally freezing cold day and super sunny at the same time. The 99% of the time my 7500W system will produce about 5400W max at direct 100% sun light in Phoenix, Arizona.

They're finding out that the "25 year expected lifespan" on panels was very pessimistic. Given what we're seeing in the field with panels approaching that lifespan, it seems like they're still putting out a heck of a lot of power at 25 years and people are now saying they'll be good for 35 or even 40 years or more.

Hi Dave. Great upgrade. Here in the UK I have had a 4 KW system split between east and west roofs since Nov. 2011. With the feed in tariff and allowing for power used paid for itself Jan 2019. March 2021 a big upgrade to 9.2 KW adding another 16 panels. All now in roof. 2 inverters and one 8.2 KW battery (which will be added to later). Since completion I am now only importing between 0.1 and 0.3 KW per day off the grid and able to charge the Hyundia Kona.

Hey Dave, Amazing setup! Hopefully I'll install one for my brother.

Hey Dave Long time viewer and enjoy your content even though it's often over my head. I up until very recently used to install solar in Brisbane. I can definitely say your job looked like it would have sucked to put it lightly. Those poor guys were only smiling on the outside. Terracotta roof, system decommission, system decommission and new system.

It's South in the UK aswell. I used to install them, A 4Kw system about 12 - 13 years ago was about £14k but 4Kw was the max you could have on a domestic property. The governmental payback was £0.48 ph at the time if I remember correctly. It dropped substantially within a 2year period though. People were furious

You can tell Milan is genuinely excited about the quality of the panels. He doesn't come across like a trained LG salesman.

Agh! That junction box is a bit how-ya-doing!

No ferrules on the wiring in that controller box - amateurs!

Have had a 13.5kW Enphase system running 17 months. LOVE IT! Net Zero, as my electric supplier banks my exported kWh.

Love the running commentary and the comments about you wondering at how sealed they are (and it shows "They're fully potted.") It makes it really fun! Thanks for sharing with us! Edit: And I think the data plate at 29:15 that shows 201026 for the date may be YY/MM/DD so it would be the 26th of October, 2020 which is completely likely as they're not bleeding edge but still close... That aside, you're by and large one of my favorite KZfaqrs from Down Under. Have a great day, and much love from Washington State in the USA. And as to the double isolator system, it would make sense to cut off any power closer to the point of generation (the panels) whenever possible to prevent electrocution hazards. And firmware update right after install would make me feel good knowing it is fully up to date.

46:30 Might want to clean the fingerprints off for maximum efficiency.

Each pannel is 370W and it's dedicated inverter is 290VA I assume 290W as power factor should be 0.99. So maybe better with a big inverter as you lose almost 80W at peak...plus lower efficiency with microinverter.

Dave already marked his new panels with his signature hand print! Coyprighted until the sun don't shine! ;-)

I look forward to the new production curves.

The down point with enphase IQ7+ is that they need an internet connection to be regulated from Inphase servers in order to claim the 5y warranty. My house, here in Greece, has no ground internet connection what so ever. More over, who knows if Enphase will still be in business in 10 or 20 years? What happens then? Your entire collection of micro inverters turn into bricks or something?

The guys had fall protection on, but they never connected their lanyard. That fall protection is useless

I've recommended LG Panels to a friend because after a massive amount of research they are no doubt the BEST ! 🤳👍 Philip from Bowdon in Cheshire 🇬🇧

Nice, my last installment of solarpanels was 35 panels on a roof. That covered the house energy expenditure and they even put some back in the grid summertime.

Yep, being charged to deliver electricity would push my buttons too.

Wow... from all the previous roof shots, I was under the illusion that your house is in the middle of nowhere :D

I have a 10k system with the Enphase Micro inverters and so far I have great results. The web based app is very good and gives lots of details and history right down to the panel level. I have been in a cherry picker all day (tomorrow too) today topping trees that block morning and afternoon sun. Only 2 small electric bills this year, hopefully cutting down these last few (25ish) trees will mean no electric bills......until more grow back..... One drawback they need to see utility power before they will work so if the power goes out you get nothing...

Nice Video Dave!

48 minutes of Dave enthusiastically waffling on about the new solar system. I've got my coffee in hand, lets ride.

I wish you build a battery storage module, so you dont send it back on the grid, but use it later that day. Aka teslawall, but home made.

Can't wait to see the data and go over the calculations! It'd be interesting to compare the cost of this system (or what it would've cost anyway) to the original, calculate the payback time, and talk about how adding a battery would factor into the equation. Then in a few years time we can go back and compare the calculations with the real-world numbers to prove whether or not it performed as advertised, and whether it hits the calculated payback date.

The hand-prints on the finished new install...your trademark, Dave? If the Govt. says you gotta pay them to export, will you install a bigger 'power-wall' or the like? Those micro's don't look like they're easy or cheap to replace but it makes sense to have the panels paralleled in case of, as you often said, one fails or gets pooped on! Fantastic, every home should have one! Cheers for letting us see the installation Dave. Keep well, you and the family.

I worked with major solar farm "group". They would only touch branded Japanese & Korean panels.

This is definitely my dream, be able to power my house all day and night without having to deal with local electricity company

One of those Enphase microinverters deserve a tear down 😎

46:30 hand print on the panel, like a seal of approval!

Nice dirty handprints on the new panels. I thought washing down the new panels also would have been a standard commissioning task.

How does a 290VA inverter on a 370W panel add up? In Germany we are charged for for using our self-produced electricity (for systems > 30kW). Still feed-in tariffs though. Of course coal power plants can use their self-produced electricity free of charge (pumps and stuff). Friggin fossils

Enphase Envoy is the way to go, also the controller you can interface directly to pick up power usage if you want some real smarts.

Dave, glad to see you get some free stuff; you work hard on, and have invested a lot with your KZfaq channel; so, you deserve a break. Keep up the great work. BTW, I'm personally very interested in solar energy generation, so keep these solar energy oriented videos coming - would like to hear if your electrical car battery pack could be used for excess solar energy storage. Take Care & May God bless you and your family

"they had these ones lying around" whaaat ....

Legrand breakers ! 👍 The best ! Hello to your French viewers 🇫🇷

The silver used in the manhatten project was to make electromagnets for a cyclotron mass spectrometer i believe. It was used to poke a piece of uranium with the right isotope to get it to a high enough concentration to go critical. Yeah, they got practically all of it back including sweeping the dust and swarf up while it was being engineered. Clever stuff.

I love these "real life" video episodes!

Countries like Australia should make solar PV installations and air heat pumps, mandatory in new constructions.

Pff! Those you tubers, getting all the good stuff for free! 🙄 Get as much as you can!!! 😁👍

Interesting switchboard there: rewireable fuse and old meter alongside the solar components.

I have a beautiful south facing roof but the structure wasn't ideal so I wound up with 4.8KW each facing east and west. It actually only reduces system output by about 20%

I wonder how many YY/MM/DD comments we'll see? I have counted six so far, including mine.

Not misses Evblog approved 😅

I also have Enphase. The microinverters in the US are 240V. Most homes have 240V. We split the phase so each phase to neutral is 120V. There's also a phone app for the Enphase. I've had mine running for 5 years with no issues.

Well done! These new LG modules have many thinner busbars that are also tubular shaped. This kind of grid is supposed to leave more surface area available for photon absorption and the tubular shape is supposed to reflect some scattered photons back down to the module instead of reflecting it back as a normal busbar would. This and packing the cells closer together and reducing the chamfer are some of the ways you can increase the declared module efficiency from say 19.8% to 20.3% or get a 21.8% to 22.0%.

1:26... So sell your surplus to your neighbors.... There is no way I'd get charged to increase the energy company's output or just keep it to yourself and store it. 18:31... Don't like the rat's nest.

370W solar panels but the microinverters are limited to max 290VA on the AC output. I guess the inverters can not drop in price as fast as solar panels so cables, inverters and mounting racks start to become the bottleneck dropping the price.

Just updated my solar system as well, went from 180w to 340 watt panels. Looked at the N-phase stuff and decided it wasn't worth the expenditure for me as we have no trees. The only thing I would say is make sure the inverter exceeds your panel output. Most installers will give you an inverter 10-20% smaller than your max panel output. What I have noticed is panels these days are really dam efficient and will easily blow past the recommended smaller inverters max input. It doesn't damage the inverter, it just means the excess is turned into heat and not power.

I have my 6kW system facing north, east and west (2 strings). Went that way because I have been working from home since 2007, so I get all day generation with the system very rarely going below 5kW for most of the day. (5kW is max here in WA to ensure you still get the FIT, etc...). Put my system in in 2015 as a 3.3kW (with a 5kW inverter) then later added the east/west string in 2017 to take it to the full 6kW max that the 5kW Fronius Primo would take. Also got the Fronius smart meter installed with the 2nd lot, best investment I ever made :)

Weird that your wife wants to hide the panels; i'd want to show them off. Different kinds of people i guess.

how is the RF noise from the micro inverter's? here they r starting to have a LOT of problems with that. they have put airfield radar and communication out of service.

The panel's 41.80V open-circuit voltage is spec'd at 25C, but at colder temperatures such as 0C it will be -25C times that panel's temperature coefficient of -0.26% for an additional 1.625V in cold weather. This can be appreciably on high cell count panels and/or long strings.

17:17 i think fluke 117 is one of the best field multimeter you can have ... I love the LoZ function of this multimeter :)... Only one down side for the 117 - he is a water sponge :))

Dave, should have paved your driveway with them. Much better street appeal.

not putting panels where you want is how you stay married

Time flies so fast!

Dave, have you seen the SolarEdge system that uses a string inverter and controllable boost inverters on every panel? I have that setup on my 7.8kW system on my house here in Florida. The boost converters bring every panel up to the same line voltage on the string so one panel being shaded doesn't cause a massive dropout. They also can shut off the DC power from each panel instantly so its "safe" when the inverter shuts down.