Hey everyone! I'm a newbie looking to set up an EG4 battery system to tackle shading issues. Can anyone guide me on how to connect it to the grid and manage everything? I'm curious about the equivalent of a Tesla meter collar or gateway 3. I believe that the EG4 system management app should work with their hybrid inverters, but is that correct? Also, are there any other EG4 products I should consider for this setup?
3 Answers
If shading is a concern and you want a battery setup, I'd stick with a hybrid inverter instead of microinverters. You could use short strings with power optimizers instead. Modern MPPT algorithms and bypass diodes in panels are getting pretty efficient at managing shading too; if space isn't an issue, adding a couple more panels could offset any loss from shading. This way, you don't even need the extra optimizers!
Connecting microinverters directly to batteries isn't exactly easy or straightforward. You'll need a hybrid inverter that has built-in MPPT charge controllers to handle the solar panels. Basically, the panels (without microinverters) go to the charge controller, which then manages the power to charge your batteries. The hybrid inverter then converts that stored DC power back to AC to use in your home. Microinverters are great for directly converting sunlight to AC power, but you can't just plug them into batteries without some additional components. It gets a bit complex, so just keep that in mind!