Sol-ark counterfeit inverters bricking

[solarken]

I am in the process of installing a system using a sol-ark 15K and just heard about issues some owners are having where counterfeit units made by Deye were bricked by some kind of firmware update. From what I understand, many did not know their unit was a counterfeit and their system just stopped working. Some bought their equipment from distributors like Northern Arizona solar and wind. I believe this started several days ago. Anyone have any knowledge of this?

 

[pv_n00b]

They are grey market inverters. Sol-Arc has exclusive distribution rights in the USA for Deye inverters that are white labeled Sol-Arc. Some people are importing grey market Deye inverters and installing them. It's those grey market inverters that are being shut down remotely by Deye. This is a good description of what is going on.

Sol-Ark manufacturer reportedly disables all Deye inverters in the US

Seemingly, at the drop of a hat the morning of Friday, Nov 15th, Deye-branded inverters across the US were intentionally bricked.

solarboi.com

This does show the problem that a manufacturer, or hacker, can remotely shutdown an inverter anytime they want. Most likely all modern string inverters are subject to this. Do you really own something that the manufacturer can shutdown remotely?

 

[solarken]

They are grey market inverters. Sol-Arc has exclusive distribution rights in the USA for Deye inverters that are white labeled Sol-Arc. Some people are importing grey market Deye inverters and installing them. It's those grey market inverters that are being shut down remotely by Deye. This is a good description of what is going on.

Sol-Ark manufacturer reportedly disables all Deye inverters in the US

Seemingly, at the drop of a hat the morning of Friday, Nov 15th, Deye-branded inverters across the US were intentionally bricked.

solarboi.com

This does show the problem that a manufacturer, or hacker, can remotely shutdown an inverter anytime they want. Most likely all modern string inverters are subject to this. Do you really own something that the manufacturer can shutdown remotely?

I saw that article on solarboi, and there are a few sol-ark enthusiast Facebook groups that have posts from users including one that appears in that article that are reporting they purchased Solr-Ark branded devices, not Deye branded, but that appears to be counterfeit, and some said they bought from distributors in the US like Northern Arizona Solar and Wind. What worries me is if the counterfeits that are out there maybe coming off the same production line and with the same branding, same packaging as those that are made for Sol-Ark, and that it may be difficult to tell them apart.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I expect NAWS will stand behind anything they sold, they seem like a very good company to work with.

As for manufacturer shutting down remotely, I do not think I have any customers with Sol-Ark connected to the internet. They just don't seem to care about that feature.

 

[pv_n00b]

This is where knowing your distributor is very important. Don't just order from the cheapest distributor that comes up in an internet search this week. Only Sol-Arc can import and sell Deye inverters in the US and those are all under the Sol-Arc label. Deye is not counterfeiting there own inverters.

 

[retirede]

This is where knowing your distributor is very important. Don't just order from the cheapest distributor that comes up in an internet search this week. Only Sol-Arc can import and sell Deye inverters in the US and those are all under the Sol-Arc label. Deye is not counterfeiting there own inverters.

Difference between “counterfeit”and “black market.”

 

[GoldDigger]

Difference between “counterfeit”and “black market.”

Units not branded or authorized by the manufacturer for sale in the US are generally referred to as "gray market", as their import and sale in the US is a civil rather than a criminal matter. Units that are not legal under US laws (such as consumer protection) might be considered "black market".

 

[retirede]

Units not branded or authorized by the manufacturer for sale in the US are generally referred to as "gray market", as their import and sale in the US is a civil rather than a criminal matter. Units that are not legal under US laws (such as consumer protection) might be considered "black market".

Yeah, I debated using gray vs black when I posted that.

 

[pv_n00b]

Difference between “counterfeit”and “black market.”

Counterfeit would be when some manufacture that is not Deye builds an inverter and sells it as a Deye. Like a fake Louis Vuitton hand bag.
Gray market is when someone imports a Deye inverter from another country where it is legal to buy, to the US where Deye inverters are only legally available through SolArc and are branded as SolArc.
Black market would be importing Deye inverters into a country where Deye inverters under any branding are illegal to sell or own.