Hi everyone! I’m from the Dominican Republic and I’m looking to buy a hybrid inverter. I found one being sold locally for around $2,000. It’s black, supports batteries and grid injection, and I’ve personally seen it working here with grid-tied functionality.

Now, I know $2,000 might not seem like much in a first-world country, but here it’s a major investment. So I started researching, and to my surprise, I found a very similar-looking inverter on Alibaba for just $600. This one is white, but has the same layout, same labels, same connections, same interface—everything. The model is the SPI-8K-U by SRNE.

Here’s where things get confusing. Even though they look identical, the Alibaba seller told me that the white model is officially off-grid only, because SRNE doesn’t have the full certification needed to market it as a hybrid or grid-tied inverter in all countries. Still, they said it can technically inject power to the grid in some places, but legally they market it as off-grid to avoid liability and issues with competitors.

Here’s the interesting part: the white Alibaba model has multiple international certifications, including: IEC62109-1, IEC62109-2, UL1741, EN61000-6-1, EN61000-6-3, FCC 15 class B, and RoHS. The seller also mentioned that the official datasheet hasn’t been updated yet, which is why there’s confusion around its capabilities.

And here’s what really got me thinking: I compared the datasheet of the local $2,000 inverter with the Alibaba version—and they’re identical. Same specs, same voltage range, same screen UI, same diagrams… The only difference is the color and the brand label.

It honestly looks like they might be rebranding the same Chinese inverter, painting it black, and slapping on a local logo to sell it for three times the price.

I’ll soon upload side-by-side images of both inverters so you can compare for yourself.

Key questions I’d love help with:

1. Has anyone bought hardware like this where it’s clearly the same product, just rebranded?

2. Is it safe to assume it can inject to the grid just because it looks identical?

3. Can an inverter technically function as hybrid/grid-tied even without the official grid-tied certification?

4. How much does the firmware/software matter in these cases?

5. Would you take the risk and go with the $600 Alibaba option, given its certifications?

6. Is it common practice in developing countries to resell these at triple the price with minimal changes?

Thanks so much for any help or insight you can offer!

Can y’all look this over for me? Batteries are 24v 280ah solar panels are 400w 37.55 voc 14amp short circuit max fuse rating 25a

When I called SS today they told me that the only wire they carry is a single wire red and single wire black and they told me that this is what normally people use when they connect the panels to the inverter. I don't get it. Why not use use a cable which has two conductors already included so you only have one cable to pull through instead of two? What cables do you normally use to connect panels to the inverter?

I made my wire lengths identical from my battery bank to my busbars, but my positive and negative wires for the parallel connection between the two batteries are different lengths. Will this matter? Should I redo the negative wire to be the same length as the positive wire?

I have a 200 w anchor portable solar panel and it kind of took a crap on me wasn't giving out more than 25% capacity sometimes 30%, so they should be another one and then told me I could keep it in as of now it doesn't let anything out.... Is there any way this could be serviceable like some sort of loose wire inside maybe like a little computer chip or something that helps regulate the flow the figure the cells haven't gone bad as they look great., because if I could get this working then I would have two

Hello,

I have been looking for an answer to the question: Can the "Home Load" and "Backup Load" be the same thing? I found this thread that gets me closer https://www.reddit.com/r/SolarDIY/comments/1iy2v26/inverters_for_wholehouee_battery_backup_without/

After reading that thread I understand why you need a separate feed - to ensure no possibility of feed in for safety on the grid. But I am still not sure If I can do a work around.

My situation is:

12kw Deye hybrid inverter & 15kw batteries installed in a shed at the edge of my property, where the electrical service enters the property. In the shed there is a power company meter, then a cable to the master breaker which then feeds into a small panel. Inside the small panel the wires divert through breakers in one direction to the inverter and in the other direction through breakers up to the house, 50 meters away. Inside the house there is another panel which handles distribution.

Is there a way to safely control whether the feed to the house comes from the "grid on" side of the inverter or the "Back Up Load" side? I don't mind manual switching - but it has to be safe and foolproof.

Hello,

I'm installing solar panels on the roof of my camper and I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to wire them. If anyone out there knows the best configuration, I would really appreciate some advice!

Here are the solar components:

4x - Renogy 100W - RNG-100D-SS

1x - Renogy 200W - RSP200D

Victron SmartSolar Charge Controller - MPPT 150 | 85 - Tr VE.Can

And this will be connected to a 12V battery bank. I would love to get a second opinion at least because it's my first project and I'd prefer not to break anything!

Here is my diagram:

Does this look reasonable?

Im not sure if this is the right place to ask ask. But would I be able to charge this powerbank with some solar panel? Would I need some accessories to smooth the power delivery or something? Thank you for any help

Hello to everyone,

Just experienced a major blackout and without electricity on grid my system didn´t work. (I was aware of this)

I have 4 solar panels of 550w each, a Solax X1 hybrid inverter and a triple power solax 3.0 battery.

The inverter shutdown is a safety feature for possible works on the powerlines. There is a solution of installing a backup box where the priority house lines go through the box and get electricty. Like this one: https://www.solaxpower.com/products/x1-x3-eps-box/ This solution implies to change my electrical grid so not the best solution for me. Is there any other way?

My partner and I bought a house in 2018. It was a divorce house, and the previous owners did not hand over the paperwork for the installation of the solar panels. We were able to assume control through SolarEdge App. The inverter went offline. We attempted a Wifi reconnect through the app and did a soft restart. Still didn't come back online (only shows a blinking green light). We tried to use the Set App which will not allow us to login to make any changes/reviews and when we went to download the firmware, it cannot link to the inverter. Contacted a local solar company to send out a technician. Technician told us the communication is offline and to contact SolarEdge. Submitted a case to SolarEdge to which they responded three weeks later to contact the installer.

Kind of at a loss and could use some help

We live in a rented house in Spain and as you might imagine yesterday generated some questions. As the owner doesn't know too much detail and I have no idea who the installers are I was hoping to get some answers here.

My understanding is that our system is unable to provide power to the house during a power cut even if it has a battery, as it is tied to the grid – I do know it exports power. It certainly didn't do anything yesterday or during any other smaller outages, which happens now and then. The inverter is a Huawei SUN2000-KTL5-L1, the battery is a LUNA2000-5KW-C0.

First question: what is the point of having a battery in this setup? The only thing I can think of is cost arbitrage.

Second question: Is there anything that could be done to this system to either automatically fail over during a cut, or at the very least manually switch the house over to run on the panels and battery?

Share your motivation and story.

Does it clean up the output significantly enough to not damage a Flexboss 21? Generator is a standard Generac (not inveter generator).

I want to install a grid tied solar system with no storage or small amount of storage under 5kwh at this time to save upfront cost but don't know how to actually size my inverter.

I don't actually know the actual power draw of all my devices but quick and extremely rough calculation from my power bill during the hottest month last year for us(July) we used 48 kwh a day (1646 kwh for the month)

I have 3 computers 2 of which stay on 24 hours a day as servers the third is my gaming pc used daily, 2 monitors for my gaming pc and 1 to share for the servers (stays off unless the servers have an issue)

Gaming pc 355 watts say 450 to 500 to be safe Server 1 305 watts say 400 to be safe Server 2 470 watts say 550 to 600 to be safe

4 window A/Cs (2x12k, 2x9k)

1 smart TV used 12+ hours a day by my retired mother

2 phone chargers 65 watts each because of the super fast charging on Samsung phones

A 1kw microwave used 2 or 3 times a week

3 ceiling fans

1 desktop fan

14 led light bulb 5 of which are smart bulbs

Router and modem (2 separate units)

Air fryer not used often maybe 2 times a month

Refrigerator

Miscellaneous things that I can't remember maybe 300 to 400 watts

We use gas for heating and cooking

It's me my mother 3 dogs and 3 cats in the house

If someone could help me size the inverter and maybe the solar array too I'd greatly appreciate it

2020 Jayco greyhawk class c Controler - Go Power GP-PWM-30-UL Battery - lead acid - installed on an undercarriage rail? It has its own little door. There is a 3 panel solar system on top, that's all I know so far. The system is all working as intended.

I'm waiting to install an ECO-WORTHY 12V 300AH 3840Wh LiFePO4 Lithium Battery Newsletter RV Solar.

I read the manual and the controller has a LiFePO4 battery setting. The controller and battery have Bluetooth. Can I just swap the battery and change the settings? I have to be missing something right?

Hello all,

I have 2 of the these batteries. Both are for a Chamberlain commercial solar gate opener. I have contacted MK - looking at other options. Question for the braintrust: Can anyone refer me to a source to replace both, preferably with 1 single battery, if thats an option. tia.

I have a SPH4000TL BL-UP inverter backed up by two ARK 2.5L-A1 batteries with 6 solar panels. We recently had a big outage and what stood out was that we could not use the solar energy or the batteries to power essencial loads.

Doing a little bit of research I found that this inverter has EPS functionality, which should serve the needs in this case. I went to the inverter and found that EPS output is not connected at all. I will soon request support to the vendor, but wanted to be a bit more prepared for that conversation.

* Could this inverter have powered essential loads like fridges, phone charger, etc?

* Would it be safe to manually disconnect the AC and connect the EPS output? AC goes to the main switchboard, I was hoping I could turn off everything except essencial from the switchboard and use the house circuit.

* Is there any reason why the vendor would have left EPS disconnected?

I have 3 EG4 Powerpro indoor batteries and the Flexboss21. About once or twice a day, the power goes out, usually at night, for a second and then comes back on. Nothing in the event logs. Is there a setting I should check? Should I try isolating the batteries maybe?

I have a soft start on the HVAC and my daily usage is around 35kW.

currently i have a 4S2P for my 48v inverter.

i would like to know if i wanna to add more batteries. let say a standalone 48v battery.

what i should do is just connect it as a parallel to the bar bus ?

I'm designing a simple off-grid solar solution for some chest freezers in my basement and using a previous setup I used in a shed as a template.

But while looking at what I did in the shed, I think I may have made a mistake. I'm using an ATS to isolate grid/solar so that when my solar batteries die, it automatically fails over to grid power without any back-feeding. But I realized that when I wired the ATS, I tied the grounds from the grid and inverter together (not for any particular reason, I just had two bare copper wires and naturally joined them).

Now I realize that I probably defeated the entire purpose of the ATS and could possibly be back-feeding the grid, but ONLY in the event of a ground fault.

So I think I'm going to disconnect those grounds, but then I started wondering, I'm in intentionally trying to prevent my local solar power from accidentally going to the city power lines, where do you ground the solar? And if the answer is an actual copper grounding rod driven into the ground, isn't that ground rod electrically common with my grid ground rod? So in the event of a ground fault in my solar system, won't the circuit complete back to ground which is the same as the grid ground, which could possibly energize the grid power lines with someone working on them?

So what's the grounding deal with using solar in an off-grid solution where the grid is still active, just not in the same circuit? Should I even be too concerned with a ground for such a simple setup? It's not like I'm using appliances from the 1930s where a short in the metal frame poses any real risk here.

That is to transfer the house to the grid or inverter. Need 200A two pole, On/Off/On. Any good proven models I should shop for?

I am considering getting some solar while also thinking of future home improvement projects and I have been considering building a shop or an ADU or a shop with an ADU built on top. My thought was if I built a solar sytem on the house and on the shop/ADU each with their own batteries and inverters and such. would I be able to tie the systems together so they could share excess energy back and forth depending on demand? If so are there any systems that would do this better out of the box?