ᐅ Assistance with Solar Panel Decision-Making

Hello dear members,

We are planning to install a photovoltaic system and currently have two offers shortlisted.

We have a newly built house (2020) with a hip roof and want to cover the south/west and east sides.

Approximately 7.5 kWp can fit on our roof, and we are considering a 10 kWh (10 kWh) battery storage.

One offer includes Sharp modules and an Ecoflow Power Ocean Kit (inverter with battery), and the other includes Axsun modules, a Fronius inverter, and the new Fronius Reserva battery.

Since the second offer is almost 3000 euros more expensive, we are leaning towards the first one.

We have only read positive things about the Ecoflow storage so far. However, it has only been on the market for a short time. Fronius has been around much longer and is reputedly very reliable.

We wanted to ask here if anyone has the Ecoflow system and how satisfied you are with it?

Hello neutri 80,
Unfortunately, I cannot contribute much regarding the modules or inverters.
I have a system from Huawei and am very satisfied.
May I ask how high the offers are?
Best regards, Flo

Hello,
there is a separate photovoltaic forum where you can get detailed answers to questions about technical components.

However, as a principle, I would not install a Chinese inverter in the basement. Ecoflow is a Chinese company, and by law, they are required to provide all customer data to the government. Also, any communication or web interfaces likely run through Chinese servers. In other words, if the Chinese government decides to send a strong message to the West, your system could be compromised.

Best regards,

Andreas

Why is only 7.5 kW suitable for the roof?

I have never heard of Ecoflow and I’m not an expert, but I often read in various forums.

neutri80 schrieb:

We wanted to ask if any of you have the Ecoflow and how satisfied you are with it?

Ecoflow comes from the battery technology sector for mobile power supply in the consumer market and offers very good quality. I have a small River2 installed in my camper van. I fully trust this company to also build larger battery systems. Their experience in this area is definitely solid.
Fronius specializes in inverters for professional applications and has, over time, also developed smaller solutions. Fronius has an excellent reputation and I trust this company to deliver very high quality. What Ecoflow considers a "large system" is a small system for Fronius. Their approaches differ accordingly.
I would have no issues with Ecoflow.

neutri80 schrieb:

And we were thinking about a 10 kWh (10,000 Wh) storage.

Why this size? Proper sizing is key to the economic efficiency of the system. Only by knowing the typical daily consumption does a consultation become valuable. I wouldn’t buy from anyone who doesn’t engage with you on this, neither Ecoflow nor Fronius.

If you want it to be economical, definitely don’t choose a storage system that is too large. Those who prioritize energy independence can go bigger.

In February, we installed 13 kWp on all four sides of the roof and initially started operation without a storage system. Since March, I have shifted heating times more to daytime. Since then, we have drawn less than 5 kWh per day from the grid on average. The smallest battery (9.6 kWh) for our system would have actually been oversized for at least the last two months and the coming 4–5 months. The 230–250 full charge cycles that suppliers calculate for the battery capacity are not easy to achieve at first. We are planning to monitor the system for one year before recalculating whether a storage system makes sense. Since the legal situation changed at the beginning of this year, I would not build without any storage now.

Check again if more modules can fit on your roof. We have a relatively small house but still managed to install significantly more kWp. Also, consider having a calculation done for the north-facing roof. With a 30° pitch, it proved cost-effective for us.