The Sungrow SGK-D solar inverter is a good option if you are on a tight budget. This Chinese solar inverter brand offers a standard 5-year warranty on parts and labor plus an additional 5-year parts only warranty. The inverter also allows monitoring of real-time performance through your iPhone or Android phone with the iSolarCloud App.

In case an issue comes up, we have put together a list of error codes, faults and solutions from the Sungrow SG2-8K Solar Inverter user manual. The list describes the fault code and the recommended troubleshooting procedures. When faults occur on the Sungrow SG2-8K-D solar inverter, “Fault” state will be shown in the smartphone application interface.

Please note that the error codes listed below and the inverter user manual are applicable to the following Sungrow inverter models:

• Sungrow SG2K-S
• Sungrow SG2K5-S
• Sungrow SG3K-S
• Sungrow SG3K-D
• Sungrow SG5K-D
• Sungrow SG8K-D

The number on the model code above signifies the kW rating of the inverter with the “S” or “D” signifying whether the inverter has a Single or Dual Maximum Power Point Tracker.

For further details please check the Sungrow SG2-8K solar inverter manual’s Troubleshooting section. Should you follow the troubleshooting steps above but the issue is not rectified check if it’s still under warranty, if it is you can contact Sungrow for further assistance. Be ready with the serial number, fault name and code with a brief description of the fault.

If your Sungrow SG2-8K solar inverter is outside the warranty period we suggest that you contact a local solar power expert. If you need further assistance please enter your details in the following form.

Got A Question About Solar Power? Click Here For Answers!

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KNS Marble & Granite is a local Gold Coast business specialising in stone benchtops. By utilising the latest technology in laser templating, inline polishers, and CNC bridge saws ensures KNS Marble & Granite create a quality product every time. These high-tech tools do however consume a large amount of power. 

As the business has expanded so too have the power bills, which is why Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions were approached to look into a cost-effective solution.

On inspection of the business premises and examination of the electricity accounts, Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions designed a 38.4 kW SolarEdge optimised solar array connected to a SolarEdge 30kW 3 phase inverter to offset the sites weekday power consumption.  The weekday power consumption could have allowed for a slightly larger system however any solar system does require approval from the electricity distributor, in our case Energex, before being connected to the electricity grid. As soon as you go over 30kW of inverter capacity Energex’s requirements for connecting to the grid become a lot more onerous and expensive. A solar system with a 30kW inverter is the sweet spot before expensive grid protection controls, engineering costs, and application fees need to be factored into the costs.

The solar proposal utilising a quality SolarEdge solar inverter and 96 x 400W 144 cell Seraphim Solar panels optimised with SolarEdge P850 power optimisers complete with long warranties was presented to the owner. With the system’s estimated Return on Investment (RoI) of 4 years and estimated power bill savings greater than $200,000 over the next 25 years the green light was given to move forward with the installation.

In December 2020 Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions supplied and installed the 96 Seraphim 400W panels on the business connected to the 3 phase 30kW SolarEdge inverter with zero downtime for the business as the switchboard work, electrical connections, and testing were carried out outside of the normal business hours.

With the installation of a SolarEdge Smart meter, KNS Marble & Granite management are able to keep an eye on how the system is performing and how the consumption of the business is being offset by the solar power system. The SolarEdge monitoring portal also allows Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions to keep a close eye on the performance of the entire system and ensure the very highest yield is achieved for the customer, a win-win for everyone.

Learn more about commercial solar power systems for businesses here.

Read more commercial solar power case studies here.

A large home complete with a swimming pool and ducted air conditioning can be expected to use a lot of power, and the small existing solar power system at this Helensvale property just wasn’t cutting it. Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions removed the existing system and upgraded the property to a 13.32kW system.  This system will more than cover the customers day time consumption, whilst also providing plenty of surplus solar power to offset their nighttime usage.

Paulene from Helensvale: “We were highly impressed with the professional job which was completed in a timely manner by the Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions team. We would recommend them any time.”

Solar power Helensvale: Paulene’s 13.32kW Solar Power System was proudly installed by Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions in April 2021.

Solar Power Specifications:

• System Size: 13.32kW
• System Location: Helensvale, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Solar Panel Type & Quantity: Seraphim 370W x 36
• Solar Inverter: Sungrow SG5K-D x 2

Since 2008 Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions have been installing solar power systems on the Gold Coast and the surrounding areas. Our experienced and friendly team is local to Helensvale and can provide you with no-pressure advice to help determine the best solution for your specific needs. When you have a system installed in the Helensvale area, Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions will liaise with Energex & your electricity retailer for the upgrade of your electricity meter.

We also provide system maintenance checks and solar panel cleaning, solar power system upgrades, and additions, as well as repairs and replacements on solar panels and inverters.

If you’re in the Helensvale area and are after a solar power system, Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions can help you today!

Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions specialise in:

• Commercial solar power systems
• Residential solar power systems
• Off grid/stand-alone/battery solar power systems
• Service, maintenance and repair of solar power systems

We are the Gold Coast solar power experts!

Read more solar power testimonials from Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions customers

Robina solar power – what about shading? When you’re looking for a solar power system but have shading issues at different times, what do you do? Choose an optimised solar power system from SolarEdge of course! Standard solar panels are connected in series, and when you have shading on one panel it’ll affect the performance of all the other panels it’s connected to. The great thing with SolarEdge is each solar panel is individually optimised, so the shading on one panel doesn’t affect the rest of the system.

Shading. Enemy no.1 of solar panels

Robina Solar Panels – Note the morning winter shade

At Simons’ home in Robina there’s a number of large trees that shade the North roof at different times of the day. This shade is especially problematic in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky. As these trees aren’t on Simons’ property, removing or trimming them isn’t really an option. The only viable solution is to try and minimise their effect as much as possible.

Simons’ property is a perfect example of how SolarEdge power optimisers can help achieve maximum performance when shade is an issue. In the pictures you can see how the morning shade in winter is affecting the panels closest to the trees, the other panels however are still working away at full capacity. The lower image is taken from the SolarEdge monitoring portal, it shows how much power each panel is producing. It’s also great for locating faults with solar panels as well.

Note the top panels in the shade but that isn’t affecting the other panels as with SolarEdge optimisers they are all working seperately

Simon from Robina: “Great experience from initial enquiry, through quoting and install. Simon, Hiro and Ben and team were all very professional. Communication was constant, install was completed on time without fault. The Solaredge system installed is exceeding our expectations. Thanks again.”

Robina Solar Power: Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions proudly installed Simon’s 10.36 kW back in May of 2021.

Solar Power Specifications:

• System Size: 10.36 kW
• System Location: Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
• Solar Panel Type & Quantity: SolarEdge 370W x 28
• Solar Inverter: SolarEdge 10 kW single-phase inverter

Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions have been installing solar power systems on the Gold Coast and the surrounding areas since 2008. Our team are experienced, friendly, and local to the Robinaare, in fact, our office is just across the highway in Worongary. We are more than happy to provide you with no-pressure advice to help determine the best solution for your individual requirements. When you have a system installed in the Robina area, we liaise with Energex & your electricity retailer for the upgrade of your electricity meter.

We also provide system maintenance checks and solar panel cleaning, solar power system upgrades, additions, along with repairs and replacements on solar panels and inverters. We have hybrid and off-grid battery systems available too!

If you’re in the Robina area and are after a solar power system, Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions can help you today!

At Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions, we love to see our customers maximise the return on their investment in solar power and the system we recommend to achieve this is a SolarEdge inverter working in conjunction with SolarEdge power optimisers underneath every solar panel.

• SolarEdge background
• The Complete Residential Solar Solution
• Industry leading warranties with SolarEdge inverters and power optimisers
• Greater system up time compared to other solar power systems
• Greatly increased safety features
• Web based monitoring system to ensure all components are functioning correctly
• Compatible with Tesla Powerwall Home Battery

SolarEdge Background

SolarEdge invented the Power Optimiser which revolutionised the way power is harvested and managed in a solar system. In a SolarEdge installation, each panel is connected to an intelligent electronic chip called a power optimiser. Power optimisers maximise solar energy production from each panel separately and therefore reduce power losses. If an individual panel underperforms, it won’t affect the performance of any of the other panels in the string. The bottom line is SolarEdge Power Optimisers help to harvest more solar power per panel.

Check out this video on how SolarEdge Power Optimisers work

The Complete Residential Solution

SolarEdge is one of the only solar technology providers to offer a complete solution. All products are designed to work together and come with market leading warranties from one manufacturer.

The SolarEdge complete residential solution consists of;

Smart Energy

Use excess solar production with a range of smart energy products to power high loads such as heat pumps or pool pumps. Smart Energy products are designed to use more of your solar energy to reduce electricity bills. Smart Energy products can be easily controlled via the mySolarEdge app.

See how SolarEdge performs in Australia

Industry Leading Warranties

SolarEdge inverters come standard with 12- year warranties, which is far longer than a standard solar inverter warranty of 5 years. What’s more, SolarEdge inverter warranties can be extended to an incredible 25 years if the homeowner desires.

SolarEdge power optimisers come standard with a 25-year warranty, which is the same length as the performance warranty on the solar panels they are connected too.

As a SolarEdge Preferred Partner, SolarEdge will assist in covering our labour costs for any warranty work within the relevant warranty period.

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• Greater system up time compared to other solar power systems

MySolarEdge Performance Monitoring

The mySolarEdge app provides real-time visibility on energy use and production. You can use it to measure and manage solar energy more effectively maximise energy savings and manage activities like electric vehicle or battery charging.

For Gold Coast Power Solutions, we are notified if there is an issue with your solar system, and the detailed performance monitoring even shows us which panel is affected. This helps us diagnose and resolve the issue more efficiently

Greatly increased safety features

Most solar systems sold in Australia can create high uncontrolled DC voltages that can pose a fire risk. Electrical arc faults cause solar fires.
Electrical arc faults are cause by simple things like loose connections, corrosion, water ingress, extreme weather events, rodent damage, and accidental damage.
SolarEdge has a comprehensive safety suite to reduce the risk of electrical arc faults that may cause a fire.

In this article we are going to have a look at how you can get the most out of your Fronius solar inverter by maximising your self consumption.

Power is quite expensive to buy from the grid yet if you have surplus solar power – that’s solar power you’ve produced but aren’t using- you don’t get paid much at all for it.

If you’re not going to be paid much for the power you’ve produced it’s in your best interest to try and use this power yourself by maximising your solar self consumption. With a Fronius inverter there’s a few things you can do to achieve this, starting with the Fronius data manager card, like this one here.

The data manager card is installed inside your inverter and allows it to connect to the Fronius Solar web monitoring portal by wifi or a wired network connection. Solar Web is a free service from Fronius and is a great tool as all the information from your solar power system will be saved and presented in an easy to understand graphical interface.

Another great benefit is that solar web can be set up to send you email alerts of any errors the inverter may have so you can sort out any issues quickly, which means your system will have as little downtime as possible.

With a datamanager card connected you’ll have all the information about what your solar power systems doing but to take this information to the next level you want to combine it with data about your power consumption, and to do that you need a Fronius smart meter like this one here.

The Fronius smart meter is installed in your switchboard and collects all your power consumption data and displays it on the Solar web portal so you can get a good idea about what power your using and when – and when this information is combined with your solar power production data it highlights what you can change in your consumption habits to maximise self use, such as having the pool pump running a bit earlier or turning the washing machine on later in the day.

Here’s an example from our office, as our office fridge isn’t opened after 5pm or before 6am we’ve recently set it on a timer so it turns off at 5pm and starts up again at 6am.

Here you can see the fridge load pulling in and dropping out all night long, but when we installed the timer you can see how our night time standby load has dropped substantially. Just that one little tweak is saving about $100 a year on our power bills as now the fridge is running on free solar power about 95% of the time.

I wouldn’t recommend ever doing this with the fridge in your kitchen at home but it’s certainly a possibility for any storage fridges and freezers which are rarely opened, as if there not opened and are relatively full they tend to keep their temperature quite well when turned off overnight.

When you have a Fronius datamanager card and Fronius smart meter setup there’s a great little function that you can use called the Fronius energy management relay. It’s a function on the data manager card that can be setup to automatically control loads such as pool pumps or hot water systems when certain conditions are met. Say for example you have a hot water system that has a 1.8kW element. We can set it up so that when the inverter sees that 1.8kW of power is being produced surplus to your consumption it automatically turns on the hot water, and if surplus drops below a set amount, say 1.8kw it’ll automatically switch off, ensuring only surplus solar is used to heat your water.

We set this all up through our special control box like this one here:

-it has a 3 position switch that you’d normally leave on auto to run automatically via the Fronius energy management relay, or off to turn the load off altogether, or a bypass mode which bypasses the energy management relay and turns the load such as your pool pump or hot water system on- full time – you would use the bypass mode if say you wanted to clean the pool or if you had visitors staying over and needed more hot water than usual. It’d also be helpful if there was ever a problem with the inverter and the energy management relay wasn’t running properly for whatever reason- as this bypasses it altogether.

The energy management relay also has a function to set a minimum run time per day which is really important for loads such as hot water systems as if you have a miserable day and your solar doesn’t have enough surplus power available you still want hot water! This function works by setting a minimum run time per day and a start time to trigger this function -for example it can be set so that if the hot water hasn’t heated for 3hrs before 3pm it will automatically be turned on to run for however long is still required for the system to run for 3hrs. This is important as it ensures you don’t end up having cold showers! If your using the energy management relay to control a pool pump the number of hours it runs on a miserable day isn’t nearly as important, so for a pool pump this feature could be left off.

Unfortunately at the moment the energy management relay can only be used to control one load, so either a pool or hot water system but not both, however you could have the pool pump connected to the energy management relay and use another device from Fronius to control your hot water called Ohm-pilot.

The ohm pilot is used for resistive loads which are pretty much heating elements as used in traditional electric hot water systems and things like heated towel rails and underfloor heating.

When any surplus power is available at all, even as little as 10watts the ohm pilot will send this surplus power to the resistive load it’s connected too! So you don’t have to wait until the whole 1800w of surplus is available as with the energy management relay, whatever surplus power you have will be utilised. This is a great way to use your hot water system like a battery to store your surplus power for later use as hot water.

Another great benefit of solar web with the Fronius smart meter that’s worth mentioning is that it gives you valuable information about your power consumption in relation to your solar production- this information will help you choose the right sized battery in the future, which is yet another reason why the Fronius smart meter is a fantastic addition to any solar power system with a Fronius inverter.

So you can see by the things we’ve covered that your Fronius inverter is quite a capable piece of equipment and with a few small additions can really help you maximise your solar self consumption which in the long run run will save you even more money on your power bills.

Thanks for watching this video, I hope it helps you get the very best out of your solar power system and if you like what you’ve learnt don’t forget to hit the subscribe button for more helpful solar power information from Gold Coast Solar Power Solutions.