EEVblog 1620 - Deye Solar Hybrid Inverter EXTREME TEARDOWN

Extreme teardown of the Deye SUN-5K-SG04LP1 5kW hybrid solar inverter.
Will it contain the quality components claimed?
Also a topology reverse engineering of all the stages.

UPDATE: Deye have responded and asked me to make this post:

"As an employee of Deye in Australia, I would like to address this issue with complete transparency. Deye, as a globally leading manufacturer of energy storage inverters, has always been committed to providing our customers with cost-effective and high-quality products. Our product failure rates are relatively low compared to our peers in the industry.

During the past couple of years, the pandemic caused significant supply chain challenges, making it difficult to procure certain components while the demand for energy storage solutions surged. To ensure continuous product supply, we had to use alternative components. Please rest assured that all these alternative components are A-grade and have undergone rigorous testing to meet industry standards and certification requirements.

The inconsistency between the components in our products and those mentioned in our catalog is due to our failure to update the catalog （2022-2023 Version）in a timely manner. We sincerely apologize for this oversight. We have taken immediate steps to rectify this and will update our catalog as soon as possible._ "

00:00 - A generous and coincidental donation from a viewer
00:37 - We have the brochure, let's check the claims!
02:44 - Front panel PCB
03:46 - The gigantic heatsink
04:44 - Nippon Chemi-Con Capacitors? REALLY?
05:54 - Heatsunk and potted inductors and transformer teardown
10:19 - Main PCB's and the confusing layout
12:53 - The fused battery input
13:37 - Are the MOSFET's and IGBT's as advertised?
15:10 - SMD high current links for PnP benefits
16:14 - Detailed circuit topology schematic reverse engineering
18:29 - Earth connection testing
19:07 - MOSFET vs IGBT
19:51 - Grid side IGBT switching and tri-level switching
20:46 - Solar Panels are capacitors to earth and that screws the CMRR
21:34 - HERIC switching topology and patent lawsuits!
23:50 - Grid and Load connections
25:07 - The battery bidirectional DC-DC converter
28:14 - H-Bridge and parallelism
30:14 - Switching drive stages
31:25 - Main processor PCB and a TI DSP ripoff?
32:51 - Redundant backup DSP controller?
34:40 - Genrator and Load conection relay switching
35:49 - Panasonic Relays? WHERE?
37:02 - User Connection PCB
38:25 - Conclusion

Datasheets:
Fraunhofer ISE Successful in Patent Infringement Process for HERIC Inverter Technology:

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#ElectronicsCreators #solarinverter #Teardown

[EEVblog]

UPDATE: Deye have responded and asked me to make this post:

"As an employee of Deye in Australia, I would like to address this issue with complete transparency. Deye, as a globally leading manufacturer of energy storage inverters, has always been committed to providing our customers with cost-effective and high-quality products. Our product failure rates are relatively low compared to our peers in the industry.

During the past couple of years, the pandemic caused significant supply chain challenges, making it difficult to procure certain components while the demand for energy storage solutions surged. To ensure continuous product supply, we had to use alternative components. Please rest assured that all these alternative components are A-grade and have undergone rigorous testing to meet industry standards and certification requirements.

The inconsistency between the components in our products and those mentioned in our catalog is due to our failure to update the catalog （2022-2023 Version）in a timely manner. We sincerely apologize for this oversight. We have taken immediate steps to rectify this and will update our catalog as soon as possible._ "

[BrianHG.Ocean.Fitness]

@22:05 - The HERIC patent expired last year. It's now public domain.

[TheDefpom]

Company should be done for false advertising, making false claims about their product, they are obviously using the name brands as a sales point otherwise they wouldn't even mention the brands used.

[andrewmclauchlan]

Just had a visit to a Deye dealer in Melbourne and checked out the 12kw 3 phase hybrid. Amongst other things I was told that Deye make every component in the unit including the resistors. I didn't argue and said thanks and left. I think the product is quite good but have my suspicions about the dealers!

[paulkirn]

An explanation of the DRM interface. A key requirement of AS4777. 2 is Demand Response Mode (DRM) defined in the standard AS4755 Demand Response Standard which enables the inverter to respond to signals sent to it remotely. These signals trigger the inverter to change the mode of operation, potentially turning it off, on, or ramping the output up or down. To allow the electricity network operator to better manage the grid. The RJ45 would be connected to a ripple receiver (decabit/K22 signalling receiver) this device is usually provided by the local distribution network provider for the local area, the RJ45 interface board is simply monitoring contact closures from an attached receiver. DRM modes are: DRM 0 - Operate the disconnection device, DRM 1: Do Not Consume Power, DRM 2 Do not consume at more than 50% rated power, DRM 3 Do not consume at more than 75% rated power / Source reactive power if capable. DRM4: Increase power consumption. DRM 5: Do not generate power. DRM 6 Do not generate at more than 50% rated power, DRM 7: Do not generate more than 75% of rated power AND Sink reactive power if capable, DRM 8: Increase power generation. DRM modes DRM 1, DRM 2 and DRM 3 are also commonly used for controlling domestic loads such as air conditioning.

EEVblog 1283- What is Mains Ripple Injection?

[CornishMiner]

Excellent video. Fascinating. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

[Roobotics]

12:39 I don't think it was merely happenstance or 'running out of room', that they moved all the electrolytic caps away from the switching PCB, where all the toasty FET devices reside.

[Zardox-The-Heretic-Slayer]

you'll probably find a single 10u 16v nichicon capacitor on the board somewhere so that they can still make the claim that they use their parts.

[ajlitt]

There's no secondary side DC blocker because they figure that blowing the 150A fuse is the least of your problems if two of those FETs turn on at the same time.

[zentechnician]

Look how nice and soft that potting is. Super lucky there. The hard stuff I just drop whatever it is into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes and whatever the potted secrets it was hiding become so much easier to to uncover. Some of these ebike controllers I do work on are encased in stone like resins that require medieval methods.

[michaelvw]

I am using this exact type of hybride inverter for over a year now in combination with a solar assistant controller. It's been flawless so far. The solar assistant controller is used as a epex price switching device, buy cheap electricity and unload from the battery when the price is high, ideaal combination.

[appliedengineering]

@27:58 in the video. The reason they are not using a blocking cap on the battery side is because the voltage is not high enough to overcome the losses. You would need a very large cap bank on that side to break even. In the end, it's just better to omit the cap all together. Remember that the current has to go through 2 sets of MOSFETs. So if one set shorts out, the current sensor can shut down the other set of MOSFETs and break the circuit.

[IanScottJohnston]

The planets must have been in alignment for Dave to receive a parts unit like this, and the same as he’s installing himself. Once in a lifetime clearly welcomed!…..nice!

[Glensen]

I have a Deye hybrid 48v 3-phase 10kW. Runs like a dream. Did the initial setup, and never touched it since, never notice when grid goes down. I have 32kWh of battery capacity. Choose a 48v system for safer and cheaper batteries. And to get 3-phase and 48v battery Deye was one of very few manufacturers. And apparently they are the "goto brand" in africa because they just work.

[SansNeural]

Really nice to see the guts and a bit of how it works. Last year I implemented a UPS for my whole home office with a 3 kW hybrid inverter from China. 24 volts of battery and just 400W of PV panels to keep the DC topped up. Works pretty well and has let me ride through numerous 1-3 second power drop-outs and about an hour once when a storm knocked out the power.

Since the batteries spend most of their time at full charge and doing nothing, I'm testing a grid-tie inverter added on to the DC side to kick in only when the air conditioner is running. Should help defray the cost of cool this summer.

[vincei]

I believe Deye makes the Solark 5K, 12K & 15K solar inverters. I've had a 12K for 4 years that has been a happy little camper. I saw a partial non destructive teardown of a Solark 5K and it indeed did have quality components and Nichicon caps. Maybe they take more care when they manufacture for partners? Solark does say they have a lot of control over what Deye manufactures for them.

[deepwinter]

I'd go for a Fronius inverter made in Austria very high quality.
Excellent company they also make some of the best welders in industry.
They've been around for ages too.

[fredfred]

Appreciate the inverter power topology diagram. Interesting. Thanks.

Like you said, the drivers must be super critical- if two opposing switches accidentally overlapped, bang- game over.

[threeMetreJim]

You may have noticed that the Chinese manufacturers don't seem to believe in multi-phase converters to spread the load, just everything in parallel with the fattest inductor possible. The long thing is the mains output filter for the sinewave inverter and the round one is the boost inductor. I have a similar one, part disassembled, a growatt 2.5kW model that was dead before use. You may get a 'bang' for your buck sooner than expected.

[chrisw]

@35:35 The other advantage of series relays is, IF they both open at the same time (or VERY close to it) it reduces or eliminates the arc across the contacts. The path between the two is effectively isolated when they open, so no place for the arc to go.