Enphase released a video detailing the company’s new “grid-agnostic” Ensemble system, which it says will be released in select North American cities around December 2019.

The company said the first release of the Ensemble solution will include the IQ 8-powered Encharge battery for energy storage and the Enpower switch for control. This initial Ensemble solution is designed to be compatible with IQ 6 and IQ 7 systems for either existing or new installs.

Enphase plans to release the IQ 8 in mid 2020.

The company outlined the five key components of its new Ensemble solution:

Kelsey is managing editor of Solar Power World and host of the Contractor's Corner podcast.

It’s 2021. Where is the IQ-8 available for sale?

The IQ8 promise to be good solution for countries like Venezuela where the blackouts are so frequently

I assume that in order for the system to keep working in an outage, the system will have to have the Encharge battery as well as the IQ 8 microinverters as well, correct? I heard someone saying you do not need a battery with the new IQ 8 microinverters and that does not make sense to me. Can someone please confirm or deny? Thanks…

The Encharge battery has IQ8’s inside to operate during a power outage. There are up to 8 inside based on the size battery you buy and the Encharge battery will work with IQ6’s and 7’s on the panels. The second release of stand alone IQ8’s, midyear 2020, that are on the panels, are designed to not require a battery for you to go off grid and have your panels supply power to your home during an outage. Of course, when the sun goes down, you will be with power unless you have a battery. And I’d assume, based on the load you’re demanding, they might shut down sooner during early morning and late afternoon sun.

Is Enphase actually coming out with an off grid system. IQ8 INVERTER ?????? In my previous home i had M250 inverters and was very pleased. Iam a retired Electrician and i am moving to Wyoming with no grid accesible. I wkuld just like to knowif Enphase is actually cominv out with an offgrid capable inverter or not

Information for installing the IQ8 as well as the Enphase Switch has been sparse. my understanding of the IQ8 is that you need to install roughly the same number of IQ8’s as you have IQ6’s and 7’s. The generation of power by the IQ8’s will keep the 6’s and 7’s generating power similar to being tied to the grid. Any information about the connection and purchase of the Enphase Switch would be greatly appreciated.

Wow, Thomas you’ve pretty much laid out every EXCUSE one could use to try and discredit a solar PV installation in one’s home. You don’t need AEPs permission if the system is solar PV roof mounted or otherwise that goes to a battery charger, into a 48VDC or 24VDC battery back up and directly to a secondary Circuit Breaker panel that would use D.C. to power some lights, fans and perhaps some small appliances directly off of the D.C. all of the time. At 24 to 48VDC, a simple knife switch is all that is needed next to your electric meter, to shut down any type of solar PV systems output. Proper signage alerts the EMS personnel where to disconnect the system. Goes to your KISS statement.

Natural gas or propane powered generators are not as great as you think. Most remote sites need them, they are regularly exercised and alarms are sent to a central location to dispatch a mechanic or electrician to the site to see what’s wrong. Most folks don’t exercise, check or maintain the generators for things like oil changes, checking for leaks, checking for nominal or cracked gas regulators and rodent infestation that can cause chewed wiring to arc and start fires, instead of the generator.

As for economics, (73) and counting, do you have your home paid for? Drive a car, what’s the ROI on that car? The ROI on solar PV has been proven to be a lie with every rate increase the electric utility files with the PUC. I’m talking about DOING something about an industry that’s 100 years old, is still depending on an industry that’s 150 years old and still needs tax breaks to make ends meet. I’m talking about leaving a legacy to future generations of energy responsibility, not energy dependence.

I’m a hobbyist/homeowner/Jack of all trades. I know not to touch some projects. Others I can do. Solar is not cost effective with the current 30% tax rebate. Installing the Enphase MID or “g200” device requires “mucking” with the grid side of the tie. My power company “AEP” is very restrictive in “allowed devices and equipment”. If I install a solar grid tied enphase system “NOW” I incur the expense of suitable “appliances” to be grid tied. If I choose to go for Isolated solar generation with battery backup I incur repeat installation costs for installation of the MID, perhaps I will find my new load center incompatible, etc. My utility “REQUIRES” bottom entry (underground feed) of the grid to the meter panel. (With other requirements) . With no firm engineering date available as of yet, planning an (expandable) system , seeking power company approval, — well given the economics of solar, the payback period for a complete system is beyond my life-span. (73 and counting).

The regulatory burden, (aggravation factor) and in some cases the “needs of the many” are all necessary for safety and security. Fire departments, EMS, need to know what they are getting into during an emergency. Uniformity is one way to achieve safety. These requirements can achieve that uniformity, but a piece meal approach will unduly impact the overall cost of the systems when it requires extensive “field work” to refit components with the “latest bells and whistles”.

“Keep it Simple Stupid” is an old principal that still is true. All our solar industry folks should also remember that if you can’t keep it cheap, at least keep it economically feasible. The current outlook is rapidly making the backup power use of solar and attendant storage unfeasible for all except life critical applications. Simply put a propane powered Generator on a manual or automatic switch is the max outlay that the market can afford. Solar may be nice and ecofriendly, but it is hardly economic to begin with, and the regulatory mish mosh of Powers that be seem to be competing to see who can come up with the most innovative road block (cost) to throw in the way.

America was built by rugged individualists who innovated and experimented until they got it right. That spirit still exists, but when the spirit is thrown against a wall of regulatory and financial burden , corporate isolation, and a political climate that denies the rising tides, well the once bright solar future looks quite dark.

You really need to clean your glasses and have another look. Guy I know upstate NY installed a cheap/chinese based system, taking advantage of fed/state incentives, about 6 years ago. Assuming he continued on the same trajectory that he showed me on year 4, his ROI was 6 months ago. Tesla will install in blocks of 4kW at about 2.50 W. After incentives you should be less than $2 W. The larger the system you install, the better.

Encharge batteries will have three size options that are all AC coupled. 3.3kWh, 10kWh and 13kWh which means they are modular and salable to whatever your needs are. So don’t get stuck on the current 1.2kWh battery size. Also the ac coupled battery uses multiple microinverters inside that will provide true redundancy. If one inverter were to fail the others will continue producing power at a reduced rate but with the same total capacity available from the batteries.

Thomas K, It depends on your particular situation but the real answer is you can not go wrong with enphase… there are many situations where the competition are vulnerable.

Thanks, Al. How were you able to determine the Encharge battery sizes?

Encharge battery sizes were mentioned during the Analyst Day presentation, I have posted a link to the Analyst Day presentation pdf, you can find the battery size info on page 38.

https://investor.enphase.com/static-files/cb6f701b-311e-4e9f-be46-b19c648ce4e0

I opt for micros instead of the optimizer route. Though the efficiency is similar, it eliminates the single source of failure of the string inverter, plus the expense of replacing it after its 10 or 15 year life (or sooner).

I”m really glad that Enphase is coming out w/ a solution to power outages. I just hope that the price point for having solar electricity in the home during power outages is affordable. I, for one, would be very interested if that were the case. I recently installed solar in my home, w/o a battery backup (too expensive), and was bummed out about having my system going down during power outages. I realize not having a full battery backup would not provide coverage during night time, but from past experience, most outages in my area occur during daytime, especially during very hot days, when PG&E fuses get blown from lots of people using their A/C. A relatively inexpensive Enphase/Ensemble solution, coupled w/ a short-time generator for night time would be a great compromise solution for myself.

My home consumes between 8 to 10 kWh per day in summer and between 10 and 16 kWh in winter. On a summer day, my PV system produces between 8 and 26 kWh. On a winter day, my solar system produces between 4 and 12 kWh. Worst case (sunless cold winter day) my PV system produces 4 KWh, and I use 16 kWh. That means my battery back-up needs to provide 12 kWh. Ten of those 1.2 kWh batteries at a cost of $2500 per battery, makes the “off-the-grid” solution cost at least three times more than the $8000 cost of my PV system components. I’d say the price point makes the solution untenable. Call me when batteries are ten times less expensive, or ten times more efficient.

Just my thinking here: For daytime purposes you shouldn’t need too much battery back-up. As I see it, the battery backup would generate a sine wave to replace the missing grid power, the PV system would see that wave and start producing power again. Thus the battery doesn’t have to be huge because the PV ends up doing the heavy lifting.

Edward Shi, it depends on what components were installed to make up your system. Several of the well known inverter manufacturers are designed for battery backup. In your case if the power goes off during the day, the inverter still has to stop making A.C. to isolate from the grid. The solar PV panels still feed the battery storage which still charges the battery for later use. Inverters like SMA, Schneider XW6048, Radian have the ability to be set up, grid tied, grid tied with battery backup or off grid with the same product. The way the inverter is programmed determines the operating mode.

I have been able to peruse a tract home with a Sonnen 10kWh ESS, that has the battery storage and Radian inverter built into the same cabinet. This particular system is using minimal solar PV panels. Just six panels on the home’s roof putting out 1.2 to 1.5kW peak power, the battery pack, programming use extra stored energy for peak demand hours of the day. It appeared the Sonnen system was set up for off peak charging used as arbitrage for the home system. In this case, a large array isn’t needed during the solar production times of the day, but when peak demand kicks in during the 3PM to 9PM hours, being able to use stored energy to keep peak demand power rates in check.

Solarman, you are correct. You will see people using technology from solar/battery integration that can charge their batteries from the grid during off-peak rate times (likely at night) and then supply power from those batteries during peak rate times (3pm to 9pm) based on time of use rates, and in the end, they will be better off on the financial end of things than solar, without ever putting a solar panel on their roof. They will just arbitrage the time of use rates with their batteries. Of course, a few solar panels are nice too, but not required. I’m expecting some new laws from solar hating Warren Buffet to make this illegal. He doesn’t mind you using energy, as long as he sells it to you. If Warren Buffet ever buys a chain of food stores, he will make it impossible to buy seeds for your garden. He won’t mind you eating, as long as you buy the food from him.

The battery storage is 1.2kw? Is this some sort of a joke?

While the current Enphase AC Battery does have a capacity of 1.2 kWh, we aren’t sure if this same battery will be used as the “Encharge” product. Safe to assume it will be the same though.

Kelly Pickerel, Yousef Ismail, from what information I have been able to find so far, most of these systems are modular in design. It seems the Encharge so far can be incrementally enhanced by 1.2kWh up to 4.8kWh from some of the information I’ve come across online. Tesla seems to be a little of the if side of the same conversation. The only two battery backed systems I’ve been able to actually see and touch is LG Chem RESU a 10kWh energy storage block and a Sonnen ESS that has a built in inverter/charger and battery pack(s) that are increments of 4kWh per battery module. The Sonnen can be fitted with 4kWh to 20kWh with a programmable hold back for emergency use. So a small 4kWh pack would be good for 2.5kWh and the 20kWh pack would be 16kWh with 4kWh emergency standby.

Microinverters are FAR superior to string inverters…..

Tim since the Enphase micro-inverter was introduced in about 2006, many manufacturers have come up with their own device the conditioner. These units connect directly to the panels as does the micro-inverter product does. The converters are switching power supplies that keep the D.C. buss voltage stable even with a shaded panel or panels or a bird dropping loaded panel that is putting out much less than maximum power.

The ‘thing’ with the converters to string inverter component setup, is the inverters can be battery backed enabled for future battery storage that doesn’t have to be online now. You’re adding assets to an already existing system, instead of having to replace inverters with IQ8 inverters, then add energy storage. Since about 2017 there has been a movement towards the hybrid solar PV system with energy storage. The adder here is one can do with less solar PV on the roof and rely on the energy storage unit to take care of when to run the onboard inverter for best energy savings.

I am really tired of companies announcing new products and then explaining they plan to bring them to market sometime next year. How many years have we been waiting on that little steam punk looking modular system from Midnite Solar? Ive seen it at the show for at least two years, maybe three. Hell, I’m 69 years old, I cant wait four years for a product to get to market. I’ll have my problem solved and be gone on to something new before that.

Are microinverters superior to string inverters w optimizes? How does the consumer get to the bottom of this question in shipping for residential solar?

A few ideas on this. The DC optimizer is attached to each panel, but also must be installed in a string of panels, there is a minimum and maximum number of panels allowed in the string, the minimum is maybe 8, the max is maybe 24, it depends on the main string inverter and the capacity of each solar panel. The central string inverter will support some number of strings like one to four, and it needs to be mounted somewhere, maybe in a garage or on an outside wall. The wiring for each string has high voltage up to 600 volts depending on the number of panels in the string, and that wiring must be in conduits that are labeled for high voltage. But an advantage of having the high voltage DC at the string inverter is that it lends itself to easier integration of batteries if that is part of your installation.

The micro inverter also connects to each panel, but there is no minimum, you can install just one. The output is 240v AC. You generally connect several to a trunk cable that can take up to 20amps, the number of panels on a trunk line depends on the capacity of each panel, which is around 16 to 24 panels. The trunk cable can run directly to your electric breaker panel and is connected to a 20a breaker, this is just regular inside the house wiring, no high voltage conduit is needed and no special high voltage labeling needed on the wires. Also there is no central inverter to mount in the garage or outside the house. There is less engineering required than a DC string, just keep the current under 20a, and then set up another trunk line if you need another one. I have five 20a breakers running to 60 panels, some breakers run 16 panels, some run just 8. It is more difficult to add batteries to this setup, because you don’t have access to the DC. You can do batteries but they must have an AC interface, it needs to change AC to DC to charge the batteries, and also an inverter to change the DC of the batteries to AC to use the power. Enphase and Powerwall both have AC coupled batteries for this purpose.

In my environment and being DIY, I opted for the AC microinverter. I used Enphase. I didn’t want to pull high voltage DC cables through conduit or run the conduit, deal with the high voltage safety issues, and also the string limitations needed for the optimizers and central inverter didn’t fit my needs. But I like the technolgy and I miss having the DC available for batteries, or being able to use the central inverter to provide AC from the batteries. I have a 24Kw lithium battery pack that is not beeing used yet, I will have to design an AC coupled controller to use it, so I’m waiting to see what shows up on the market. It would have been easier with a DC interface between the battery and the central inverter. People have different needs and priorities.

What is better, a car or a truck? A truck if you want to haul wood or a refrigerator, but a car if you want comfort and fuel economy for a road trip or a daily driver to work.

Both DC optimizers and AC microinverters are here to stay, neither one is better than the other, they have different advantages and meet different needs.

I look at the DC to DC converter as almost as complex as a micro inverter. They have to be priced less than the microinverter to be competitive. You still need a string inverter and a more complex installation/building permit.

Browse the current issue and archived issues of Solar Power World in an easy-to-use, high-quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading solar construction magazine today.

Solar policy differs across state lines and regions. Click to see our monthly roundup of recent legislation and research throughout the country.

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS