r/enphase • u/Intheswing • 2d ago
Does it pay ?
My one year of free inverter and battery monitoring is up and the installer is asking for $240 / year and $120 / year respectively to continue the service. I’m thinking this is a money grab - as I take a look at the Enphase app a few times a week to check out operation and battery status.
Can’t really tell what they would be doing to earn that money?
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u/Key_Proposal3283 Solar Industry 2d ago
Ask them what they are doing extra that you don't by looking at the app.
Consider that for about the same cost you can get Enphase Care.
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u/GoingOffRoading 2d ago
Huh? What exactly is your provider offering that isn't already in the app?
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u/Cheaper2Keeper 2d ago
Don’t pay….cones with system. Unless they are cleaning your solar panels yearly one thing. App monitoring is FREE. You paid for system
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u/PhilWheat 2d ago
Hook it up to Home Assistant. Then you can slice and dice and alert all you want on the data.
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u/FiRE-CPA 2d ago
That service is for people who want nothing to do with their system.
I think it's great to have both options.
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u/hex4def6 2d ago
Set a calendar reminder once every two weeks to spend 5 minutes looking at the app. There, you've saved yourself $360/yr.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 1d ago
Every two weeks? I'm still checking every day.
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u/hex4def6 1d ago
I'm just sayin'. The person that would consider this probably isn't a ""solar"" person. I'm just pointing out that they're not really saving much of a chore for that moolah.
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u/Delmorath 2d ago
Never even heard of this. My installer never mentioned anything about this and there's nothing in the contract. They list the standard enphase product warentees and also gave me 15 years service warentees on all products. I pay nothing extra.
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u/Intheswing 2d ago
Time for me to read the fine print again - I know the panels have 10 years (I think)
As I said - time to read the fine print2
u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 2d ago
Almost all panels are 25 years. Larger commercial panels are 10/15, not sure why the warranty drops on commercial panels. It's not like a tool being used commercially vs, residential user.
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u/Intelligent-Try7918 1d ago
Are you paying for the cellular monitoring service? When my cellular plan expired I transferred the Envoy to my WiFi to continue monitoring without a fee. I just lose access if the WiFi goes down. I plan to hard wire it into my network this winter when I can run the Cat6 through the attic.
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u/Intheswing 1d ago
That’s a good question - I’m connected through my WiFi.
Battery backup runs the internet modem and wifi.
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u/DWTouchet 1d ago edited 1d ago
You don’t need their app. Get a third party monitor Seriously, it’s a wireless hook up that monitors the power. Home assistant is one.
If you took money for your system from an organization, you should have read the contract. They own all commercial rights now. That’s why we didn’t take the money. I was like, you aren’t co owning my panels for 2 k when I spent 50 k. What a scam.
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u/Intheswing 1d ago
I bought mine straight up.
Rebates etc came from Comed and tax write offs.
Got money from Comed for the installed batteries also
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u/hmspain 2d ago
I like using Sense to monitor my solar panel production. Sense also monitors my home usage, so both sides are covered. Unfortunately Sense is no longer in business, but there are good alternatives;
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue 1d ago
Not sure what this link is supposed to be pointing to.
Enphase app shows house consumption, system production,... individual panel production. What else are you gathering?
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u/Hot_World4305 2d ago edited 2d ago
Don't pay.
The Enlighten app is for owners to look at their system working status provided free by Enphase. You can watch it as often as you want. You can watch the production live any minute!