In the world of solar energy, where major headlines like big product launches or new efficiency records grab centre stage, smaller developments often remain relatively unknown. One such development is ‘PV Point’ by European giant Fronius. Let’s discuss what the PV Point exactly is, and if it is worth it.
What is Fronius’ PV Point?
The PV Point by Fronius is ‘an integrated basic backup power supply’ that can be used with the brand’s Gen24 and Gen24 Plus inverters - two of the best inverter options on the market today.
Where the PV Point is different from typical backup solutions is that it does not necessarily need a battery storage system. The system can power appliances in your home with available solar power, supplying up to 3 kW of power to essential single-phase loads.
Schematic of the working of PV Point
In New Zealand, as in most parts of the world, your solar power system is wired in a way that the PV power supply to your home stops in the event of a power outage. However counter-intuitive this may sound, this eliminates the possibility of power flowing from your solar panels into the grid and possibly harming any linesmen working on a nearby distribution panel or other equipment.
The main words to note in Fronius’ definition of the PV Point are ‘integrated’ and ‘basic’, meaning the feature is integrated into your existing inverter, and that Fronius doesn’t promise anything extravagant - just basic, 3 kW power that can run a few light appliances.
As you can see from the diagram above, the PV Point can also work with a solar battery, offering more than just 3 kW of power and possibly for longer than you’d have with just your PV array (without battery). The benefit of such an arrangement is that you probably won’t need a separate device for automatic switching.
How to Use the PV Point?
Here’s the not-so-fun part. Fronius advertises the PV Point as an integrated feature, but that doesn’t mean it is ready to use once your inverter goes on the wall. The PV Point needs a socket to be placed beside it to run the desired appliances from that socket. Fronius specifies an A-type, integrated-RCD (a type of circuit breaker AKA safety device) socket with a 30mA fuse, something like the Busch-Jaeger model shown below:
Example of fused socket to be used for PV Point
Alternatively, you can also use a socket box with a simple household outlet and an RCD along with it, which will be cheaper than a branded, integrated RCD socket like the one shown above.
To make the PV Point usable, your electrician or solar installer will need to
- Drill a hole on a template on the Gen24 inverter
- Connect multiple cables to the PV Point terminal
- Attach a cable gland on the inverter
- Route the cables out
- Install the fused socket
- Configure the Fronius app to activate the PV Point
Once all this is done, you are ready to use the PV Point feature. But as you have guessed, every time there is a power cut, you will have to get up from your comfortable sofa and walk to the inverter to plug your appliance into the newly installed socket.
PV Point Comfort: Added Convenience
If you feel as uninspired as we do to plug and unplug appliances every time, Fronius also offers the PV Point Comfort, which removes the need for plugging devices into a socket, as emphasized by the word ‘comfort’.
With the PV Point Comfort, you can choose which devices you want to run during a power cut, and the device will run them in a parallel grid operation. To do this, you need to install the ‘PV Point Comfort Print’ - an additional circuit board in the inverter’s connection area. You can do this at the time of installation or at a later date.
Essentially, the PV Point Comfort Print is a small PCB unit that you install into a pre-designated space inside your Gen24 or Gen24 Plus inverter. The device is quite tiny, and looks like this -
The process of configuring the PV Point Comfort on your Gen24 or Gen24 Plus inverter has a couple of added steps. Here’s a quick list of all the involved steps:
- Drill a hole on the Gen24 inverter’s provided template
- Connect multiple cables to the PV Point terminal
- Attach a cable gland on the inverter
- Mount an insulation foil and then the ‘PV Point Comfort Print’ (a PCB)
- Connect the cables to the Print
- Route the cables out through a ferrite core and then the cable gland
- Install the fused socket
- Configure the Fronius app to activate the PV Point Comfort
Unfortunately, the PV Point Comfort is not yet available in New Zealand, but we expect it to become available soon.
Is the PV Point Worth It?
It is hard to objectively call the PV Point a good or bad piece of tech, because it depends on what we expect from it and what we compare it with. For instance, the device may be quite useless when your solar array isn’t generating any power, such as at night. Therefore, in comparison to a battery, the PV Point is quite unimpressive as a ‘backup solution.’
However, when you think of the fact that the PV Point is way cheaper than a solar battery, it suddenly makes it an interesting gadget. Since the PV Point is basically just a sophisticated printed circuit board, it is relatively cheaper than pretty much anything else that carries the label of a ‘power backup solution’.
The real question is if the PV Point or PV Point Comfort justifies its cost for the level of power backup it can provide. Now for the PV Point, all you need is three short cables for the inside and one for the outside, with an RCD-integrated socket or a simple socket box with an outlet and an RCD. Altogether, this can cost anywhere from $100 to $300.
As for the PV Point Comfort, you’ll need to shell out a bit more money when it becomes available. Nevertheless, it is still ridiculously less expensive than a typical solar battery. The Tesla Powerwall, for instance, can cost up to $20,000 with installation.
In closing, we think the PV Point is a worthwhile addition to your Fronius inverter, particularly if you live in an area where blackouts have been common, or are becoming more common with time.
Ultimately, when you think that the cost of configuring the PV Point or PV Point Comfort to your system is anywhere between 2-5% of your entire solar power system’s cost, it does feel worth it.