I had a blast at NABCEP's conference last week. So many of the PV industry's brightest and most inspired minds... many of them captive in booths. My favorite booth was MidNite Solar's (thanks so much to Logan, Ryan, and Charlotte for the patience and openness). I'll be including MidNite equipment in upcoming quotes.
Here are random notes from my time with the MidNite crew:
A benefit to installing the Rosie inverter + charge controller instead of the All-in-One (AIO) hybrid inverter with integrated charge controller...
If the Rosie ever fails, the battery bank can still be charged. If the charge controller ever fails, loads can still be powered by the electric grid (pulled in thru the Rosie's generator input).
eGauge is "the cat's meow" for collecting battery-health data.
Along with MidNite user interfaces, Logan uses SolarAssistant for system monitoring. He runs it locally on a Rasberry Pi (with Linux). It's local first, with optional remote access. It can collect data at second-by-second granularity. (Logan showed me a photo of a wall-mounted monitor by his MidNite equipment with a SolarAssistant user interface (UI) displayed, and showed me a real-time SolarAssistant UI on his phone.) (It has a very clean user interface.)
MidNite offers SunSpec-compliant rapid-shut devices (RSDs), for PV modules with MPP current up to 12 amps. MidNite might offer RSDs for up to 20 amps in the future. TBD if further investment is justified on this front.
The AIO has both arc-fault protection and insulation-fault protection.
With the default zero-export setup... most systems never export to the grid. But occasional minor export is possible if the site has one or more large loads (e.g. a hot tub). The logs would show if exporting ever happens.
MidNite's 5-kWh and 16-kWh MNPowerflo batteries are UL 1973 listed. Paired with other MidNite equipment, they're also UL 9540 listed and have gone thru the UL 9540A safety tests.
MidNite batteries are very competitively priced. MidNite's priority is to sell inverters... offering tightly-integrated batteries is a means to that end.
Mike the nerd asked if MidNite supports commissioning thru the command line. Some commands are available to users... but it's not comprehensive because MidNite doesn't want to make it too easy for users to screw things up. But, in general, MidNite is very open for power users.
The Rosie inverter is currently capable of exporting power to the grid, but the expense of getting formally approved for this isn't justified.
Logan leads support for the AIO, and Ryan leads support for Rosie.
I mentioned my appreciation of the Zonna Energy distributor. Logan appreciates Zonna too... he said it's a great distributor to buy MidNite equipment from. Very good pricing.
Zonna provides tech support for MidNite systems (purchased from Zonna). I asked if I should contact Zonna or MidNite with technical questions. Either one is okay. For more general questions, probably Zonna. If I ever have a possible warranty claim, it's best to contact MidNite.
I asked about the AIO's (amazing) handling of surges (i.e. inrush current) (e.g. when motors start). The AIO has a separate 5kW inverter for each leg. They can each surge 11 - 13 kW for up to one second. They ramp up and down together.
MidNite inverters are designed to be field serviceable. MidNite provides replacement boards.
Logan would generally choose two paralleled Rosie's over one AIO. Logan likes modular systems.
Rosie inverters are made in the U.S.A. (AIOs are made in Asia.)
There are Rosie versions for mobile applications. They're UL-458 listed, with a neutral-to-ground bond switching relay. This is really important... people have been killed by conventional inverters in mobile contexts. (Mike needs to learn more about this.)
Again, thanks to the MidNite crew for taking so much time to educate me. And thanks for offering super-legit equipment.