Sol-Ark (Portable Solar LLC) - Profile & Reviews

I built my own offgrid home in NH (7.5kw PV, 16kwh lithium batteries), and debated quite a bit between a Schnieder and Sol-Ark system. My engineering background was drawn to the componentized nature of a Schneider system, and the ability to replace/repair/upgrade individual components. But as a DIY installer and amateur electrician, I ended up choosing the integrated Sol-Ark system. I was swayed by the PV->DC->AC total efficiency, integrated wiring panel (1/2 as many places to make a mistake), and excellent documentation and compatibility with my Kilovault HAB batteries and Tigo TS4-R-F RSS modules.

The system has been in use for about 6 months now, and no issues at all so far. The only thing I would improve is adding a full remote shutdown of the inverter (RSS only shuts down the PV input, not the battery). I haven't had to contact Sol-Ark directly, but I've gotten great support from Alt-E, my local distributor.

I haven't setup WiFi or the mobile app, as I don't have cable internet. While the touch panel gives you all the basic information needed for setup and operation, I do wish it had some kind of local website that I could access locally for detailed info, without requiring internet connectivity.

I installed the Sol-Ark 12k inverter and 8 of the PCC-230 batteries. Coronado Solar of Central Florida did an excellent installation. I already had a solar installation that was 6 years old and wanted to add power backup to the system. The 12k fit the bill very nicely.

As a lifelong renewables contractor I can NOT stress enough how awesome this manufacturer is!! We've worked with them from early on as their inverter just does SO much and has such an astounding capacity. Why buy charge controllers, why purchase two inverters to run in parallel? THIS UNIT DOES IT ALL!! And it does it all with a smile on its face the whole time. RULE21 and UL compliant, RSD integrates very easily. Even though they essentially had to create their own monitoring platform and software/GUI (which had some display learning curves to overcome) it just keeps getting better and better weekly!! The entire staff over there is AWESOME as well, friendly engineers and great, helpful humans. MADE IN THE USA and one of the ONLY EMP hardened inverters in existence. Battery ready, but also capable of grid-tied function until you can afford some LiPo4 batteries to stack onto it. I can not say enough good things about SolArk!!

Best inverter on the market and easy to install if you have basic electrical experience. Plus it is the only gardens inverter on the market to my knowledge. Technical support is very good also.

As a DIYer it's sometimes difficult to find companies willing to work with you. Sol-Ark is happy to answer questions or help with specific set up situations. I've had the unit for nearly a year now and I am extremely happy. Customer support has been responsive when I've had questions, and the unit itself is helping to eliminate my energy bill. Great product! Great Company!

Great company with an even better staff. Looking forward to our future relationship.

As a solar installer, I was extremely impressed by the Sol-Ark inverter....a fantastic design. Now after installing a number of Sol-Ark systems over the past two years, I'm further impressed by the company. Their tech support is superb and very helpful. Sol-Ark's exceptional service starts at the top of the company and is part of their ethos. It is a pleasure working with them.

I have always wanted solar power and finally moved to a state where it is feasable to have it. So we pulled the trigger and purchased a Sol-ark invertor and Fortress batteries. Sol-Ark has been great for me (as a layperson) because all I have to do is call them with any questions and to get times changed to get the most out of my system. Everything is working as it should. Seems to be a high quality product. We think we will get one more battery in the future because wintertime has less sun, but all we have to do is purchase the battery and the sol-ark team will walk the installer through getting it set up to their existing product. I'm very pleased. Thank you Sol-Ark.

My name is Jason Murphy, operations manager for an Energy company in Alaska called Susitna Energy. We do 99% remote, difficult, off grid installations, and we need not only good products, but good support when those products mean so much to the livability of our customers.

Tom and Dylan have bent over backwards to help solve some issues with some new equipment in the world today. Sol-Ark answers the phones on Saturday and Sunday, have excellent people there to help you and even if they cant solve it RN, they never work until its resolved... I have two very happy customers today with multiple Sol-Arks at their properties in Alaska.

There were a couple hiccups along the way, and only now after having the pleasure of Tom, Dylan, Dustin and several (i'm terrible with names) others that have helped also I can say that Sol-Ark will be there for you, with absolutely every tool in the tool bag, and every explorable option on the table. It means more to them to be successful than it does to fail. 100000000% thumbs up company to work with and as we continue to see improvements in the software and hardware of the Sol-Ark along the way, the sky's the limit.....

Thank you
Jason Murphy - Susitna Energy Systems - Anchorage Alaska.
907-521-9766 Cell - Feel free to call and ask questions.

The installation was easy when I upgraded my solar inverter to the Sol-Ark. The integrated transfer switch eliminated my need for an external switch for my generator. The dual onboard charge controllers allow the PV panels to be wired directly to the inverter instead of using external charge controllers. The GUI display makes checking the functionality of the unit a breeze. Being able to receive software updates via WiFi ins a bonus.

I have had my 12K for about 6 months now and it has worked flawlessly. I did most of the install myself and the technical support was very helpful with the design and programming questions I had. The monitoring app has also been great, I can see my daily production and current loads etc. all from my phone. Overall Sol-Ark has been a great choice and I highly recommend giving them a try.

My 8 KW Sol-Ark has performed flawlessly for almost 2 years. The new remote monitoring system has added to the already great features of this unit.
One of the outstanding features are the remote software updates that are done as needed by Portable Solar LLC. They are constantly improving the Sol-Ark and continue to automatically pass this on to the units in the field via a wireless connection to the internet. This is all at no charge to the customer!

We started with an 8K late 2018 with Simpliphi 3.8KWh x 3 batteries. I wired the system and critical loads panel and got solar installers to install the 7.3KW solar array on the roof. Because of the online tools, I have learned so much about my energy usage, solar generation, and battery usage. Sol-Ark engineers taught be so much via YouTube, manuals, emails, and calls.

I finally decided to zero my home and ordered 2 x 12K systems to run the entire home (easier because we have gas for heat, dryer, W/H, stove top). Adding another 12.8KW on the ground so I can install and 30KWh lithium batteries. I am planning this will run my 3ton A/C (maybe not 5ton) and Tesla level 2 charger.

Thank you Sol-Ark

My Sol Ark was installed in late 2018 and has operated well. The customer support to answer quick questions online has been quick and when questions become to involved the support staff has been available to talk by phone.
New software updates have continued to improve the system operation. The latest update overcame an error issue from battery use that I wanted to have.
Most of my questions on operations are due to my not being so technically inclined so the staff puts things in plain English that I can understand. I love the App to monitor the system from remote locations and look forward to the new dongle to increase my abilities there,

11-17-2020 Update

Sol-Ark has made a good faith effort to resolve all of the issues described below. Hopefully they will have a 9540 offering in the near future, so this should not be a long term problem. It is however something to be aware of that may effect your local install as options maybe limited.

Sol-Ark has excellent management and product. Hopefully no one else runs into the issues I did however I believe they either have addressed these issues or are resolving the issues stated below so I'm changing my rating from a 1 star review to a 5.

Original Review
___________________________________
Skip to the punch line - Find out if your city requires UL9540 prior to spending the money and effort to install this equipment. At the time of this writing Sol-Ark does not have it.

1st to clarify this rating is not intended to reflect on the quality of the equipment, it is a reflection of Sol-Ark's pre-sales support and business practices. I understand they are a young growing company so hopefully they will use this as constructive criticism to fix some of their problems.

Sol-Ark 12K sales pitch (from prospective user perspective) unit is an all in one unit for either grid tie or offgrid use - Awesome, this is what I have been looking for for 10+ years its finally here.

Reviewing youtube video comments on Sol-Ark related products and on blogs - best customer support in the business - Great.

Lightning/EMP Hardened/Capable - Can it get any better

Website Supplier support - Great multiple local companies support the product.

Certifications - UL, NEC, Military, etc. looks like they have everything

HALT testing - If you know anything about this testing it basically means it is a rock solid product.

Actual Experience

Customer Beware - I'm out my solar deposit and can't get a system installed due to incomplete advertising and insufficient knowledge of local installer in relation this this product.

Pre-sales support - I contacted multiple well rated (google rating) installers that were listed on the Sol-ark installers network.
https://www.sol-ark.com/distributors/
Prior to contacting multiple vendors I was under the impression that their installers actually understood their products and were trained on them. - Wrong again

Apparently anyone that has ever installed (maybe this is wrong but this is my impression) a unit is listed on the website. Some of the vendors I contacted didn't even know they sold the product. Others sold it a few times but would rather sell something else as they don't sell it frequently. One local company actually knew what the product was and focused on it as a main product.

The process was very frustrating - I called Sol-Ark for assistance, "Which company in my area do you do the most business with?" Simple questions I thought. Sol-Ark response look at our distributor tab that's all I can say.

Reading the response to the other negative response on google sheds further light on the fact that there is a serious lack of training installers.

Getting a quote. i knew exactly what I wanted ~5-6kw solar + Sol-Ark 12k + Qty 4 Eflex 5.4 batteries.

This is getting too long. Condensed version:

Sol-Ark can't provide information on what batteries work well with their system. Installers aren't trained, not sure what they are quoting. Pricing changed multiple times. Stick and Carrot, I don't think it was intentional i think Sol-ark needs to provide training. Installers don't know how many batteries are needed to properly operate and maintain warranties.

Sol-Ark does not have all of the UL ratings necessary to meet national code (The code is however not enforced everywhere so they get away with it. In my area it was a no go and I'm out a lot of money because of it. This should not be a consumer beware type issue. Sol-Ark should provide better training and pre-sales information)

From the inspector:
"The following plan review comments address non-compliance with governing 2017 NEC and 2015 IRC, as adopted by the State of Utah"
"energy storage systems are required to be listed per NEC 706.5. The UL listing requirements for an energy storage system is per UL 9540 (see Annex A in the NEC, under energy storage systems)"

I dIdn't want a Tesla Powerwall, the Sol-Ark is what checked all the boxes but Powerwall is not too far off. NMC batteries and the lower cycle life is really not attractive to me but it's what's available with UL cert that the city will approve. The Tesla installed price is also significantly cheaper and has a lot more solar power 8.16 kw vs 5.4kw, that will make up for the efficiency gap.

Quite easy to understand and install/operate. Sol-Ark is most helpful, and can walk you through your questions from on phone to your actual site problems. I got up and running in the first phone conversation (to get rid of the battery beep). The staff was patient and explained any and all questions I had along the process of the install. The essence of proper (customer) learning is to have the tech person answer my (the customer) most specific questions.

Even found a part that was rattling inside the cabinet upon delivery; which we discovered fell off the breaker assembly, and tech allowed me to open the cabinet (not voiding the warranty), find the loose part, and install it correctly to secure the breakers. Now that's service (from advise to solution)!

The ability to call and get a person to technically talk with you is the most cherished quality in doing successful business transactions. Never once was I answered or dropped by a recorded message. Thanks to the tech department!

Our company Hudson River Solar specializes in solar+battery design and installation. The Sol-Ark 12K is the best solution we've found for solar + backup and off-grid systems. Everything in one box! Makes installation and programming and monitoring much easier. Much more efficient than the other inverters we've used, and easy to operate. All our customers are loving them as well. The monitoring system allows full control and tweaking of the system settings. The Sol-Ark PCC lead-carbon batteries with racking are also a boon to making a complete package that is long lasting, but still easy on the budget.

Robert Baerga
Hudson River Solar

I bought an emp hardened solar system from Sol-Ark a little over 4 years ago. The system included the pv panels, battery bank, and integrated inverter and associated controls. When the system arrived they were very responsive in answering any questions I had concerning installing and setting up the system. The system ran flawlessly. Several years later Sol-Ark came out with a more powerful system. At that time I upgraded to the new system. Once again Sol-Ark customer support was very helpful in answering my questions when I converted to the new system. I have been using that system for several years now and have been quite happy with it. It provides a significant amount of electricity that reduces my usage of grid supplied power. In addition it provides backup for critical loads when the grid is down.

I highly recommend Sol-Ark. In my experience they have a first rate product and they have the personnel, experience, and commitment to support the product. You will not be disappointed.

I recently purchased a Sol-Ark 12K to replace an SMA Sunny Boy inverter that failed.
It was easy to install the Sol-Ark, and the unit has many great features, such as the easily accessible breaker panel and a WiFi app that let's me monitor the PV energy production and battery charging from my desktop computer or phone.
The solar installation is in the barn about 200' from my house -- it's the only south-facing roof on my property. The WiFi signal from the Sol-Ark would not reach our house because of the great distance. But I was able to buy an inexpensive extension cable and put the WiFi dongle on the outside of the barn, and now I can conveniently monitor the system from the house.
I use the Sol-Ark for Grid-Tie as well as Stand-Alone. It's great to have both these features in one unit, and less costly also.
My set-up is more complex that most installations, and the friendly and knowledgeable Sol-Ark tech guys were very helpful with helping me get set up.

I am using two 12Ks to power my home. I installed the system myself. The folks at Sol-Ark have put a lot of thought into making the process as simple as possible and also provide exceptional technical support. I reached out to support a few time via email and was impressed with their expertise and responsiveness (in my case, less than an hour turnaround time). The 12Ks touch screen user interface is straightforward and easy to configure. I have set up other non-integrated solar power systems (separate charge controller, inverter, ground fault, disconnects, etc) and Sol-Ark has created a complete integrated package that simplifies everything.

This company has rare qualities always available to answer questions and are passionate about what they do.

After, a full year working with other hybrid inverters, we shifted to Sol-Ark.
My staff could not be more pleased; the first five systems were installed and operational
on the first day.

We have standardized on the 12kW Sol-Ark units for all our battery-ready projects.

Timely, patient and completely competent. Product works great. Straight forward instructions.

I am a contractor but never have done solar but with Sol-Ark it was straight forward.

I have owned and used the Sol-Ark 8K and two of the 12K systems for the past year. As someone who lives completely off-grid, I will not put my family's quality of life on the line for nothing but the best systems on the market today. The CEO, Sales Team, and Technical Support Team of Sol-Ark have provided me with outstanding service throughout my off-grid adventure. They know the true meaning of "Customer Service". I am grateful for their dependability and responsiveness to my requirements. I highly recommend them to anyone who needs what they have to offer.

We are installers in SE USA and Caribbean. We are on our 9th Sol-Ark installation and it has proven to be the best unit we have ever used easy to get and Teck far superior to any other inverter sales. Soon as this Virus lets up we have 4 more to install. With it being a complete unit it has saved us a multitude of time and money to install and we are able to pass on some savings to our customers.
Larry. LARenewables inc

I Recently install a sol-ark 8k at my friends home and we found the installation process simple and much less complicated then trying to install a traditional inverter with a separate solar controller. Note I am not a solar installer nor do i profess to being and a solar expert. I am only a process research chemist with a technical back ground. My friend asked for my help and this time I took the my time and did a significant amount of research and helped him select a cost and energy efficient system. Once we setup the two series of 9 panel, each string running a total of 330 volts and 9 amp (this is called high voltage system, low amps). Just after the each string i placed and an inline 15 amp 600v fuse on the positive line, and brought each string down to the sol-ark 8k using 10 awg cable a pleasent surprise. That's it no combiner box with breaker and no heavy gauge wire to controller. This alone was a time and cost saver. Wired up the load, Grid and solar to the sol-ark, which was "easy a pie" and i was ready to go. Place the battery online, first charging up the capacitor as per instruction manual and then connecting the battery. Turn the unit on, programmed my battery info on a very nice touchscreen display, used the default off grid setup and i was running the house on a 48v 520 ah battery bank. Once i had it running off the batteries, turned on the solar panels (already late in the day) and installed the app on my android phone as described in the manual. I setup the account, and send Sol-ark a message about our newly created phone app and PC account and in a few hours i clicked my phone and i was monitoring the sol-ark on phone app and online. No communication, combo box or any other add-on to buy. This is great, now i had a way of making sure all is running well and i did not have to be there. Ten days later i called Sol-ark and they assisted me in programming the sol-ark with the grid for use as a third source of power, just in case there is no solar and the 25 kw of Lifepo4 batteries were low, the grid would kick in and partially charge the batteries to a programmed 50%. This is a very nice Hybrid inverter, I should have done my homework 2 years back when installing my solar system at home using the traditional transformer inverter with the extra cost of a separate solar controller (low voltage system, high amps), lot's of heavy cable (4 awg), installed from the solar panel combiner box, no communication software and very little flexibility with this inverter. Worst yet i spend almost as much as my friend did on his sol-ark 8k. All these little add on's is what actually make the Sol-ark 8k cost effective and easy to install, and i have not even mentioned my transformer base system draws 200 watts/hr or 5 kw/day, which makes the sol-ark energy efficient as well. Well, no point in crying over spilled milk, a lesson learned.

Professional, pleasant, helpful, knowledgeable. I appreciated Bhawna's assistance with our purchases.

I recently retired and with more time at home the wife and I thought about the reliability of the grid in our area. We had had multiple outages due to weather and grid maintenance, once for nearly 24 hours- once our local and only cell phone site went dead we realized something has to change. I researched for months and found Sol-Arc, kept up further research and decided to call up and order Sol-Arc. We purchased an 8K, 21 panels, and four PCC-230 batteries. I installed the system with the panels on the metal roof of our adjacent garage building after strengthening the structure. We called Sol-Arc technicians a couple of times during installation to get great technical advise promptly. I had electrical experience that helped allot with the install yet it helped mostly to avoid problems with the city electrical inspector and they can get detailed in their inspections for city approval. Our system has been online for just over one year and have no regrets except wishing we could have purchased more batteries initially witch we are planning to purchase. If grid power goes down my computers and internet modem doesn't even reboot, the 8K is so quick to take over with the load. I am an Amateur Radio Operator and my kilowatt HF station is on the air no matter what. That is reassuring to us. Sol-Arc is the premier supplier of quality, efficient, products. Can't be happier with our choices.
Don Jones
Nevada, Texas

Being a licensed solar contractor and in the industry for 7 years, I can say that I see this inverter as THE best inverter out there. Versitile and high quality. I always recommend them to my customers and it's what I use on my own house! Nothing comes close in the battery based inverter realm. You can tell this thing is build with the highest quality standards and did not cut any corners. I sing their praises to everyone.

Licensed electrician, NABCEP PV installer, 10yr solar industry veteran here. I've installed every battery inverter and Solark beats them all. Easier to install and use. Company is easy to deal with, no long waits for tech support . Power class of the inverter(10kDC) fits in nicely with most residential products. Customers love the easy to use touch screen. The inverter easily does time of use, load shedding, behind the meter zero export, energy monitoring out of the box. Works with any battery. Monitoring is easy to setup and Solark actually helps setup the monitoring account. I would be surprised if Solark doesn't change the whole industry because its kicking Schneider, SMA, Outback, and Magnum's butt right now!

My experience with Sol-Ark:
I’m an engineer and have an existing 10KW Solar system that I designed myself, their worst nightmare. :-)
After many questions, all answered clearly, patiently and surprisingly well, I pulled the trigger and
got the 12K, EMP Hardened unit. (EMP Hardened, because as a Ham, I know what our Sun can do.)

The day before it arrived, my electrician went on vacation, so I had to wait to get it installed. Gaaahhh!
That gave me more time to cogitate, and yes, they got more questions.
Again, best customer service ever.

It’s now installed and working like a champ, along with a custom welded battery rack and 20KWhs of an AGM battery bank.
I’ve waited all my life for my dream system, technology and my wallet to converge and this system rises to the challenge, as has Sol-Ark with their superb customer service. This will keep my home and Tesla Model 3 running thru extended power outages and supply power for emergency communications via my Ham station to boot.

Some quick notes:
Li batts cannot be EMP hardened, so I went with AGM.
2 banks @ 48v with a max of 40A each bank gives a max of ~4,000 Watts peak output. (being conservative.)
(I may add a 3rd bank just to get to 6,000, or just reduce the max from each bank. My tested need is 3.8kw peak.)
Quick switchover means computers don’t get wonky with grid power burps.
I used Load side A/C coupling of 7.75K max Solar. This keeps things well inside limits.
(The remaining 2K is on a separate circuit that stayed on Grid side between Main breaker and Sol-Ark, so isn’t used to charge batts if power goes out.
That was the only compromise I needed to make.)

I’m not perceiving any ‘hash’ on received radio signals, so it’s not hampering the amateur radio station.

Bottom line:
Great Unit, Great customer support, Happy customer.
Go git’chew one!

I am very happy with the system I bought from Sol-Ark. The 8K inverter, panels and wiring to put it all together were all included. The install manual was accurate and easy to follow.

I have had a 5kW system for 10 years. Enphase offered a legacy inverter updgrade I could not refuse which allowed me to add a Sol-Ark 8K eight battery backup system.

It works well.

Typically, my home uses 23kW on March days, but the past threeI have used only 2kW each day.
The Sol-Ark technology becomes easy to understand in a few days. Their tech support has responded to this new users request for "how to" answers.

Going to make some of my friends jealous or maybe sell a system.

My experience with sol-ark has been a tremendous blessing . I am one who researches a product before going with it and with sol-ark it was no different . I searched for several months for a solar solution and found that sol-ark is second to none . It’s product and service is best that is available at this time. It’s most affordable inverter and system that can meet all of your energy needs on the market!!

I’m surprised that not more have heard of it ...it is the most efficient inverter that I have ever seen...I hope and pray that if you are in the valley of decision that you will give sol-ark a try it is well with it .

We Installed sol-ark 12k ( it was easy and fast to install if have just a little diy experience ). And shortly after we installed the system the storms ripped through the south
Earn portion of the u.s. and knocked out all the power in our area ... but praise God ...while our utility grid power went out ..sol-ark switched seamlessly to batteries and it was like nothing happened !

I will definitely continue work with sol-ark and will recommend to friends and families alike . You can’t beat this system and everyone seems so friendly and kind. I praise God for sol-ark and you should give it a try today - you won’t be disappointed!!

Most affordable and reliable hybrid inverter in the US. You can have solar + battery + Grid + Generator to power your house or your business. Outstanding customer service. We are proud installer of Sol-Ark now.

We just completed installation of our Sol Ark 8K Inverter and battery backup to replace our 6 KW Sunnyboy inverter. This was the first installation of a Sol Ark for my electrician who specializes in commercial and residential solar installation. We were both impressed by the construction quality, performance and ease of use in programming. The system turns on so quick when the main power is turned off, that you really cant tell when the power goes down. This is a superior product and its made in the USA.

The Sol-Ark 8K solar generator has cut our energy costs in half and their customer support is outstanding. The system had an issue on Sunday of the recent Labor Day Holiday weekend. I reached out to Dylan and Tom via email and text. Dylan was travelling and still reached back to me via text. Tom then called and I was able to get the controller's WiFi back on my network with his help. Minutes later he had updated the software ! This on Labor Day Sunday ! On Tuesday I worked with Dylan to determine that a fuse was blown in the system's AC disconnect. I was directed to Lowe's to get the required fuse and installed with Dylan's patient and expert direction. This is an amazing system and the after sale support has been consistently superb. You will not find a better system or a more helpful company to work with than Sol-Ark !

My journey began into the solar realm by contacting a local solar proponent in town. My goal was to prepare for off-grid scenario and had no idea of where to begin. Local proponent gave me numerous websites to research but he specifically had me focus on Sol-Ark as he was familiar with YouTube videos of their products and installations. I've always believed you get what you pay for. I'm sure it would be possible to piecemeal a system, cut corners and just hope you don't regret those few dollars saved. I wanted one source offering the entire package. Sol-Ark team and business manager was very helpful creating a proposal that would fit my needs. Got off to a great start by superb packaging for LTL carrier. Next was to find a local installer and this also came from Sol-Ark business manager. Installer and his team did a very nice job. Sol-Ark tech support was right there on the phone any time we called. Kind of nice that after setting up WiFi, tech support can connect to the 8K unit to check on all systems, even update software. There is a learning curve for someone like me that has no background in solar and Sol-Ark made that easier for me with user guides and videos. Sol-Ark definitely met and exceeded expectations.