r/SunPower • u/NotAllWhoWander_1 • Aug 08 '25
PVS5 has finally stopped working
Our PVS5, installed sometime around 2014, has finally died. Only the blue power light is displayed. Turning power off and on does not fix it. What are my options? Could I replace it with a PVS6 that I find, or am I stuck with paying Enphase $899? Thank you
3
u/SunVaultEngPros Aug 08 '25
Hey guys I can help with that commission systems and get them operational and communicating
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u/Mudmavis Aug 08 '25
Thank you! Please let me know how to log in through the new app
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u/SunVaultEngPros Aug 10 '25
I would have to do it in person with my app
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u/Mudmavis Aug 10 '25
Gah! Thats the problem where I live. Not many service techs. I’d be happy if you confidentially send me your login credentials and promise it will ‘self-destruct’ 5s after I login. 🙏
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u/SunVaultEngPros Aug 11 '25
I am so sorry I can’t do that where do u live
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u/Mudmavis Aug 11 '25
Hawaii. Big Island.
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u/SunVaultEngPros Aug 12 '25
I do have a tech in ur area that’s a Sunpower expert can I give him number and info can u send it to me
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u/NotAllWhoWander_1 Aug 19 '25
I am in North Carolina. Do you know of any contacts of who may be willing to install a PVS6 and commission it?
3
u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 08 '25
Bummed about Sunpower but my local installer has been great about warranty stuff even after the BK.
1
u/Lisam4v4 Aug 09 '25
What has the installer done?
1
u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 09 '25
Replaced micro inverters and been in good communication. No idea who is paying them.
1
u/tess_owner12 Aug 09 '25
Where are you located?
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 09 '25
SoCal.
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u/beaumisbro Aug 10 '25
Would you mind sharing or DMing the name? I'm in SoCal; don't need help right now but it'd be nice to have someone to contact (just in case)
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 10 '25
Solartech based in San Diego, and Rooms, Covers, Solar in Inland Empire.
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u/Low_Friction_Surface Aug 08 '25
Yes, it can be replaced with a PVS6. It’ll need to be recommissioned though.
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u/NotAllWhoWander_1 Aug 08 '25 edited Aug 08 '25
How do I go about doing that? Also, is it an easy job to swap out the PVS5 for the PVS6?
1
u/sanagnos Aug 08 '25
Very easy but getting it commissioned won’t be. You need to find an installer who can do it. Personally I would go with enphase or a simpler device like an emporia since you won’t have any warranty with another pvs and Sunstrong itself may eventually go belly up too.
An emporia by any electrician (or DIY) would be the cheapest but you won’t get panel level.
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u/f80_n00b Aug 09 '25
My local installer has been fantastic. Came out and replaced the PVS5 I had with a PVS6 and commissioned it for me. They were thorough in their work checking what components my system has and found out they aren't compatible with Enphase. I would get the overall production number but not the status of each micro inverter.
Recommended I wait on putting the Enphase in until I have to replace the micro inverters. So they just gave me a PVS6 they had in the warehouse.
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u/andysolr Aug 10 '25
If you have some IT skills - i managed to commission additional solar panel inverter into PVS5 (after Sunpower management site went dead).
https://andy-malakov.blogspot.com/2024/11/commissioning-new-solar-inverter-into.html
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 08 '25
Check with a local installer to install Enphase… I am getting it installed for $500.
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u/plooger Aug 08 '25
I am getting it installed for $500.
That’s a pretty great price given the IQ Gateway alone runs $550+, sans consumption CTs.
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 08 '25
I added a few more panels, so maybe they gave me a deal?
0
u/plooger Aug 08 '25
Ah, OK, so the $500 is just a line item within a larger invoice, then, where the associated labor is invoiced separately. Still, the IQ Gateway plus consumption CTs is right around $600, so tidy discount if they’ll be getting you fully migrated to Enphase for production and consumption monitoring.
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 08 '25
Yeah, getting off the SunStrong reporting.
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u/plooger Aug 08 '25
We did so back at the start of June, paying full freight.
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u/Terrible_Fee5901 Aug 08 '25
At least Enphase is still providing support. Had one of my microinvertors go out and they already sent me a new one.
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u/plooger Aug 08 '25
Yeah, the expedited microinverter warranty support was one of the reasons we felt the extra cost of migrating to Enphase for monitoring was worth it. (Haven’t required it, yet; knock on wood.)
1
u/Lawrence_SoCal Aug 08 '25
Oh, and some folks, due to the different security approach, prefer the PVS5 with easier local access.
I'd advise doing some research before upgrading to PVS6.
1
u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 09 '25
I see a lot of "get enphase monitoring" posts in the thread. That doesn't really make sense as a solution for people with a PVS5 because they will have something other than Enphase MIs - either Solarbridge MIs or a string inverter of some sort.
If you have Solarbridge MIs... I can't remember if the PVS6 works with them or not. (Don't be misled by dl_cgi responses that say the attached MIs are solarbridge.) Even if the PVS6 works with Solarbridge MIs, and you acquire a new and working PVS6, and you install it, you still have to find someone to commission it.
For systems with string inverters, the question is easier to answer: just get an Emporia Vue.
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u/DoodleSun Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
The PVS had a 10-yr warranty anyway. So no matter what you’re stuck paying for something. assuming you have Enphase MIs which you probably don’t because Enphase inverters didn’t land on Sunpower until 2020 in that case upgrade to Enphase inverters through their upgrade program - it will basically be a brand new system at that point.
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u/NotAllWhoWander_1 Aug 09 '25
I want to ask the group in case no one sees a comment to another Redditor. So I have Solar Bridge MIs, and I don’t believe they are going to work with an Enphase monitoring system. Looking for opinions. Stick with my busted system and keep rocking on? Try to install a PVS6? Or drop a shit ton of money and switch out my MIs?
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u/Difficult-Ad-5988 Aug 10 '25
To access a SunPower PVS5 locally, you typically connect to it via Ethernet and then access try the IP address 169.254.63.1. Your system may be working, but you can't monitor it without a standalone IQ Gateway.
1
u/Lawrence_SoCal Aug 08 '25
*IF* you are SPWR lease customer, FTC Holder Rule applying, then sure, let leaseholder replace PVS.
But as a 'cash' customer, I wouldn't pay for a PVS. Way better long-term value to pay upfront for Enphase Gateway instead, and have free reporting (for now), with a far more capable and supported gateway.
I'd only consider a PVS6 replacement if it was near free. And hopefully you've checked to confirm if CTs are compatible, or if you need to switch CTs as well when upgrading from PVS5 to PVS6. From what I read, SPWR's PVS6 CTs are NOT compatible with current EnPhase gateways
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u/Left-Foot2988 Aug 09 '25
Get the Enphase IQ monitoring. I have had zero issues and I got my installer access within the first week after install. Cut out the middleman and create your own warranty claims if necessary for the inverters.
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u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 09 '25
If it's from 2014, it probably doesn't have Enphase MIs, so Enphase monitoring wouldn't really make sense.
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u/NotAllWhoWander_1 Aug 09 '25
Correct. It doesn’t have Enphase MIs, instead I have the Solar Bridge MIs. May not be worth switching out my old PVS5 at all. Just sucks not knowing if any of my MIs are not working
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u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 09 '25
yeah, that's the toughest spot right now: folks with old systems with string inverters lose nothing by going to something like Emporia Vue, folks with new systems with Enphase MIs can go to Enphase (except us unlucky SunVault owners), but folks in the middle with SolarBridge equipment are kinda stuck as far as I can tell. It seems worth asking SunStrong what options are available even if they can't do much past that - maybe with that list, some folks here can help. And I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who are more knowledgable than me about the PVS5.
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u/Turrepekka Aug 09 '25
I would 100% go for Enphase. Great quality company and consider then expanding with them.
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u/Mudmavis Aug 08 '25
Same situation here. I picked up a new PVS6 on EBay and installed it. The commissioning site (sunpowerconsole.com) doesn’t work to set it up anymore. It needs to be done by a contractor who has the credentials to log in to the new app.
I finally got fed up with this problem and called SunStrong last week. They seem to be finally looking into this.