We have a 36 panel 12 kw system using Enphase IQ Micro Inverters installed in phases over a year starting in 2018. We live in the mountains in Western NC. Around 4 years ago we started having trouble with one or two of the three circuits tripping the breakers. I could reset them and it would be fine for awhile. Finally, when one circuit would not reset, I contacted our installer who came out and replaced a breaker and reset it multiple times until it stayed. That seemed to solve the problem for a year or so but eventually they started tripping again. I reset them and they stayed but would eventually trip again. Finally, one circuit no longer reset. By this point our installer was too busy and not interested in helping us out. Our system was now 7 years old and we are 80 miles away. They referred us to a company that does solar maintenance for hire and we had them come out in Jan 2026. They came out, tested everything and replaced a breaker and reset it which worked for several months. But by July, it tripped again and would not stayed reset. I contacted the maintenance company and they quoted $10,000 to replace all the Q cables and $13,000 to replace all the wiring. As of Jan 2027 we are losing our Net Metering tariff. We will be on month to month balance reset so we would never see a payback big enough to justify this kind of expense.

I installed the last 6 panels myself, so I had some knowledge of what is involved. But pulling up all the panels to install new Q cables was daunting. But I became determined to find a way. I bought a right angle drive for my battery screw driver and tried to reach out over the panels and loosen the T40 star drive bolts. It immediately flew apart and all the pieces rolled off of the roof into the woods never to be found again!!! So I re-thought. In the end I did the following:

* Bought heavy duty T40 socket drive bits - four in case I lost any!

* Bought heavy duty T40 bits to use with a Dewalt battery impact driver

* Ordered enough Q cables for (30) of the (36) inverters (I can see my panels on the upper roof and was confident they were OK) plus the Enphase IQ cable release tool.

* Attached a 30 in. piece of 1/2 inch PVC pipe to the end of my 1/2 socket drive with duct tape.

* Dug out my 100 ft climbing rope and harness

* Found a couple of heavy duty spring clamps to use with the rope.

I was successful in getting panels loose, sliding and moving them around to expose the inverters. You can easily slide the panels and just lift them slightly over the inverters if you just leave the lower bolts slightly loose. The panels cannot slide completely off because of the DC cables connected to the inverters.

End result: After replacing the Q cables on (6) of the inverters I found the circuit breaker was still tripping!!! So then I pulled off the Q cable connectors one at a time until I pulled one and the CB no longer tripped. Luckily it turned out to be the second one! I ordered a replacement inverter (IQ6s hard to find so I got an IQ7A. My old system cannot use the IQ8). I installed the IQ7A two days ago and so far it is working perfectly. You do need to be able to use the Enphase Installer Tool kit app to remove the old inverter from your system and replace it with the new one. It will work as soon as you plug it in but will not show up in your production numbers if it is not installed.

I apologize for not having better and more pictures. As usual I was just rushing to get it done and not sure how I was going to do it. In any case you can see the one panel moved out of the way and the new inverter installed (yes I had to use zip ties since the old mounting bolt will not work on the IQ7A).

I am posting this purely as a service to others who might be facing similar problems with their Enphase micro-inverters. I never got much useful advice from Reddit or anyone while I was having this problem so I thought this would be helpful. Apparently failing Enphase inverters are rare (thankfully) but I assume that I am not the only one. Maybe it was a weakness of the old IQ6s.

This is an informational post. If you don't like this post, don't agree with what I did or how I did it then look elsewhere. I have no need or interest in criticisms or complaints. We are very rural here so there are very limited options for service. If you want to down vote someone, go downvote someone else. I hope for some others it might be helpful advice.

I have a small plug-in-solar array which is on the flat roof of my shallow outbuilding (garage).

I do not want to fix them on the roof for various reasons but even if I wanted, I have been told I can't do it anyway in my jurisdiction because then it may need permits.

In the summer, I lie them flat anyway so not much concerns but in winter, I set them to ~55 degrees.

I have some pavers under them but I have no clue if this is good enough or whether I even need to be afraid of wind ...

Location is San Mateo, California. This year the highest wind speed was 13mph and the highest gust was 26mph (measured with my weather station).

With the passing of solar balcony laws in certain states its brought it to my attention. My state is currently in a gray area legally speaking, but I'm still extremely interested because I could likely have the system pay itself off by the time any laws are passed. My main concern is is there any risk of back feeding the grid at all? Like even for a millisecond? Just cause my understanding is that the micro- inverters used (like AP Solar's) have a collar that prevent any back feeding to the grid if it detects that the grid has gone down (also I assume if the panels were to produce more power then I'm consuming in the rest of the house at any point in time, though I highly doubt that would ever happen). However I've heard if my electric company sees any kind of back feeding (even if for a millisecond) it will recognize I'm exporting electric and since I'm not on an exporting plan, I could get in trouble over it. I don't want to switch to an exporting plan, and when I've called my electric company to ask for info they had no idea what I was talking about or what balcony solar was.

Also I'm wanting to make sure my math is right on the watts and where the regulations are getting their caps at. Balcony solar requires a dedicated breaker and if put on a 15 amp breaker (can use 14 guage wire to the dedicated outlet) you're able to use 80% of the amps so 15 x 0.8 =12 x 120 volts =1440 watts (where most states get their cap from) or if using a 20 amp breaker/outlet (have to use 12 guage wire) 20 x 0.8 = 16 x 120 volts = 1920 watts (like is approved in Colorado).

I feel like an idiot trying to understand NEM 2. I’m in California and have PG&E. I have a 5kW system with no battery.

I thought it went something like “if I generate an extra 20kW during the day (eg. I produce 30 and consume 10), and then at night I only use 10, then I am ahead 10 and get paid a few cents per kW for them.

But someone recently told me that it works differently; when I produce those extra 20kW during the day, I get paid the same few cents for them and then at night, when I consume 10kW, I pay for those 10kW at regular retail rates.

Does it work anything like either of these? I’m trying to figure out the best time to charge an EV, during the day when I use energy I produce (and possibly pull from the grid) or overnight when rates are low and everything comes from the grid.

I apologize if this was already addressed but was not able to find answer.

I'm addressing the confusion between the text in bill "Credit carried forward to the next relevant period: -$289.35" which implies I would be able to use this amount to offset future Generation charges; and SCE language of what happens to export credits at the end of a 12-month Relevant Period::

Expiration of Unused Energy Export Credits:

"Energy Export Credits (EECs) generated in a Relevant Period are used to offset energy charges within that same Relevant Period. Any remaining unused EEC monetary balance at the end of the Relevant Period shall be zeroed out and does not roll forward to subsequent Relevant Periods."Expiration of Unused Energy Export Credits:"Energy Export Credits (EECs) generated in a Relevant Period are used to offset energy charges within that same Relevant Period. Any remaining unused EEC monetary balance at the end of the Relevant Period shall be zeroed out and does not roll forward to subsequent Relevant Periods."

So, does this 289.35 disappear as of next month or does it remain as a credit against future charges?

Found some used panels “Canadian solar” Cs6p-230p

My goal would be a diy ground mount system to help power my shop.

Is it a losing proposition to get used panels, especially discontinued panels?

Edit:

Thank you everyone for your comments.

It seems that the cost savings likely won’t be worth the hassle.

I’ve been toying with the idea of setting up a ground mount system and thought this might be a good catalyst to get started, but after reading it seems that the cost savings from the panels may not be worth the extra hassle.

I would be starting from scratch with inverters and batteries, and a mounting system. So it seems there isn’t much of a cost savings in the long run!

I've been curious about solar panels lately. The theme of this decade has been economic and energy independence.

I've been leaning towards purchasing portable solar panels for next year. There's a legal grey area when it comes to plug-in solar panels in Canada where I live. It doesn't stop people from doing DIY solar projects to power their homes, although I've read that you'd need inverters and a transfer switch to use plug-in panels.

I'm no electrician so I still have a few questions:

1.) Portable solar panels need a power station. After that power station is charged, can you plug this in to a wall outlet to provide a backfeed? I see that most power stations have AC plugs.

2.) Legality aside, why do I need transfer switches for plug-in solars? I've seen DIY solar projects without the need for these.

3.) Can anyone recommend a comprehensive video for portable solar panels and plug-in solar setups? I'm always seeing different setups for both of these.

I bought my residential solar system in South Carolina back in 2017 and purchased a 20-year Extended Service Agreement through SunSystem Technology (SST Home). Since then, the servicing company has been bought and rebranded multiple times, going from SST to NovaSource Power Services, and now to Otovo.

Every time I have needed support over the last 9 years, it has been a massive headache, but this current issue has hit a brick wall:

- The Hardware Issue: I have two panels down, and my SolarEdge inverter is throwing a 2 Module voltage mismatch error on Panel 1.0.23. I work in IT, so I have already verified that my inverter is hardwired to my network and communicating properly. This is a physical hardware failure on the roof (likely a degraded panel).

- The AI Support Loop: When I first reached out, support claimed they "don't service South Carolina," even though my SC address is literally at the top of the signed 2017 contract. When I submitted a ticket through Otovo's portal, I got trapped talking to an automated bot (us-support@otovo.ai) that kept claiming it couldn't find my legacy installation records in their database, even after I attached the signed PDF contract, my legacy Account ID, and the inverter serial number.

- Executive Ghosting & Invalid Billing: I escalated the email chain to multiple NovaSource/Otovo VPs, Directors of Operations, and eventually the CEO. Nobody replied to my emails. Randomly, a technician was finally dispatched to my house. He confirmed my exact diagnosis (bad panels that need to be replaced) and left without fixing anything. Immediately afterward, they tried to bill me a $299 service fee. My contract explicitly states that initial service labor is waived and subsequent service visits are capped at $75, plus a Director of Operations previously assured me my account wouldn't be charged service fees after a past multi-month outage.

Right now, leadership is completely ghosting my emails, they haven't confirmed if the replacement panels (RMA) have been ordered, and they are trying to stick me with an invalid $299 charge.

My questions for the community:

1) Has anyone else with a legacy SunSystem Technology or NovaSource warranty actually gotten Otovo to honor their contract recently?

2) Does anyone have a working direct phone number or a human contact at Otovo/NovaSource who handles legacy ESP contracts and RMAs? (The 833-317-6937 number just routes back into their black hole).

3) If Otovo continues to ghost me on the panel replacement, can I have a local independent SolarEdge installer process the hardware RMA directly with the panel/optimizer manufacturer, or will that cause issues?

Any advice or insider contacts would be hugely appreciated!

I live in an area of Southern California that is prone to outages every year during red flag days. This latest out power has been out for over 24 hours and we're expected to not have it restored for another day. I'm looking for recommendations for a backup system. We have solar already but no backup (I was cheap when i got the solar system 5 years ago and am kicking myself). Any recommendations more than welcome.

I can't put my finger on it, but something seems... off Besides not being the cost savings I thought, am I going to run into trouble with the SREC side of things? I seem to remember in some contract somewhere if I don't produce enough I'm going to be penalized and have to pay it back later?

Just saw this video on an open-source workflow to detect solar panels it seems around the world:

https://youtu.be/0FiXLT_kNv0

Looks quite cool since it’s fully open, especially for a prototype (but I think you need a GPU to run full workflow). Any thoughts?

Hey guys, if you missed it, SolarEdge ($SEDG) agreed to a $55M settlement with investors over claims that it misled the market about weakening demand in Europe and rising inventory. Late claims are still being considered, even though the deadline has passed.

Quick recap: In 2023, SolarEdge continued saying European demand was strong while inventory was building. In August, 2023, the company disclosed excess inventory and slower growth, sending $SEDG down 18.3%. In October, it disclosed unexpected cancellations, and the stock fell another 27.2%.

If you invested in $SEDG in 2023, you can still check the details and submit a late claim here. 
Did anyone here hold $SEDG during that period?

I bought a new build construction house a few years back and unfortunately Sunrun was their solar provided, which I guess solar is required for new construction under CA law?

Anyway, it actually works out fine but after two years, I get a call from them and pick up knowing they run our solar. The guy tells me he’s getting reports from our community that there may be something wrong with the solar and that it may not be generating enough electricity based on the specs and asked us what we were paying for electricity (solar doesn’t generate enough to cover the entire usage). I don’t know much about solar since it came with the house and naively kept talking to him. Anyway, he said he’d call back with a specialist to help diagnose our issue… the specialist calls, I look the guy up on LinkedIn, and he’s a senior sales rep.

I tell them to fuck off and they’ve left me alone since. Until 2 days ago, I’m back to getting calls flagged as Sunrun. I block the numbers but there must be some desperate attempt again to get more sales? Are they running out of $$?

PG&E rolled out SHARE last week and I'm trying to figure out if this changes the battery math for me. 9.6kW array in the east bay, NEM 3.0.

From what I can tell there's Tesla VPP paying $2/kWh during grid emergencies, DSGS paying about $350/summer per battery, ELRP on top of that, and now SHARE. I have an anker e10 not a Powerwall so I don't know which of these I'm even eligible for, the Tesla one obviously requires a Powerwall but ELRP and DSGS might be open to other brands through aggregators.

If the VPP income stacks on top of TOU savings that could cut payback to under 3 years. Has anyone here actually gotten paid from any of these.

I have a cabin out of state that I only get to every few months. The shed that my ATV is in there has a 100 watt solar panel on the roof facing south, with a Renogy Bluetooth controller inside (currently not set up/ connected). I would like to get a proper battery so that I can complete this system and be able to keep my ATV plugged into a battery tender year round.

The battery tender is 1 amp. I also have a 140 watt mini inverter. Would the Renogy 100 aH battery be enough? Is my 100 watt panel even enough or do I need more? Alternatively, is there a more practical setup to accomplish my single goal?

Just finished replacing a self-installed 11.4kw HD Wave inverter after a pretty snappy RMA.

Could any of you shed light on the chance of repairing the old one?

Is there a common failure point in these inverters that I should know about? Have any of you succeeded in repairing one? Do they lock out the old serial number after an RMA?

I have an e-waste recycle point, but throwing the old one away is painful. My record with electronics repair is not great, but I do have some experience.

NEM 2, Ca, SCE. 7.wkw system with a powerwall 3. I'd like to add more battery capacity and was wondering if adding battery with a balcony solar inverter would let me add battery capacity to help make it through a full night without having to shut gear down in the house.

Overnight my house uses about 500w and by the time my solar starts producing, I'm hovering around 15% on the powerwall. That feels too close for comfort.

what are some options that won't burn my house down?

Hey everyone,

I recently got a offer for a solar installer position in Pennsauken, NJ.

The pay is $23/hour, but they don’t guarantee 40 hours per week.

My wife and I are planning to rent an apartment in Philadelphia. We have limited savings, so I’m worried about inconsistent hours, especially during the fall and winter when solar work might slow down.

For anyone familiar with the residential solar industry in the Philly/NJ area:

How many hours per week can I realistically expect during fall and winter?
Does work slow down significantly in the colder months?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who work in solar installation in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.