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sOm2y

1 post

Wannabe Geek


#310604 5-Nov-2023 09:08
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Hi Teams,

 

Thinking to get solar system installed for our home and would like to get your opinions on solar system choices.

 

I got a quote that a 8.82kw system for $35k+ inc gst (Auckland based). It comes with an Aplha Ess G3 5kw hybird inverter with 10.1kw battery, 21 x REC410TP5.

 

From the research I did, the Alpha ESS tech is quite promising but bit lack of quality/warranty/after sale support.

 

What brand would you go if looking for a solar system that has hybird inverter with battery?

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers


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SteveXNZ
59 posts

Master Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #3156134 5-Nov-2023 13:23
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Hi - I have an AlphaESS hybrid system.  Mine's the T10 3-phase 10kW system with 16.4kWh of battery storage.  In general the system is working well, but there are niggles.  Happy to share my thoughts.

 

The good:

 

  • Good pre-sales design (Solar Group)
  • Good installation and configuration of my backup circuits (Chris Stear, BoP/Waikato solar installer)
  • Good cloud data storage, web interface and smart phone app
  • User-accessible API available for smart home integration, but I haven't got round to it yet
  • Good integration with the ChargeHQ app for EV charging
  • System is working as designed and delivering results
  • Payback on investment is as expected (though not stellar).

The bad:

 

  • As an end user you do not have access to event logs.  You can't see faults, and you don't even get notification of mains outage/restoration
  • Support is marginal at best.  The local team are responsive, and I have a colleague whose system was replaced when faults became evident, but anything tricky goes off-shore to Australia or China, and there your results will vary.  I'm still waiting for responses months after I logged issues
  • Downloading detailed stats from the cloud is marginal, especially for me with a 3-phase system.  I cannot do this myself, and need to request the Solar Group support team to obtain 3-phase stats.  Single phase should be better, but understand your requirements
  • The Alpha EV charger is 3-phase 11kW.  If it had been a 22kW unit it would have been fine for my single phase 7kW EV, and integration into the inverter is good.  But at 11kW it's not suited to most NZ EVs.  I went with a 22kW Wallbox Pulsar Max which meets my requirements and integrates nicely with ChargeHQ.

All in all the good outweighs the bad, and I would likely choose the same system again, though I'd take a closer look at Fronius if there was a next time.  If some features and post-sales support for AlphaESS systems were improved I'd give it a better rating.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers - Steve


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