Deryck Posted November 28, 2023 Report Share Posted November 28, 2023 On 8/28/2022 at 5:13 AM, chapalence said: Contact Ron Magen at STI. He goes by Go Solar here on the board. We are extremely happy with both the solar electric and solar hot water he set us up with. His continuing excellent service is a rarity, IMO. It's worth gold to us. I would not recommend STI anymore. I have a problem with the unit that reports the production and it has been months now that nothing gets fixed. The one inverter was replaced with no success. I have send numerous emails and if there is a reply it is usually another excuse about a company called AP Systems. We bought from STI, so I guess they just pass the bug elsewhere. I don't trust them anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiko Posted November 28, 2023 Report Share Posted November 28, 2023 I had a problem with a different solar vendor. I finally emailed/called APS in the US after the APS importer in Mexico failed to answer my emails/calls. Within a few days the installer came and tested all of the APS mini invertors. They were good but we had some defective panels. So another two months of getting authorization from the Chinese manufacturer to replace the panels under warranty. You might want to try Profeco. https://mexlaw.com/know-consumer-rights-mexico/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deryck Posted November 28, 2023 Report Share Posted November 28, 2023 9 minutes ago, Kiko said: I had a problem with a different solar vendor. I finally emailed/called APS in the US after the APS importer in Mexico failed to answer my emails/calls. Within a few days the installer came and tested all of the APS mini invertors. They were good but we had some defective panels. So another two months of getting authorization from the Chinese manufacturer to replace the panels under warranty. You might want to try Profeco. https://mexlaw.com/know-consumer-rights-mexico/ Thank you for the reply. Profeco is my next step. I am even thinking of getting my lawyer to talk to STI and Ron Magen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Solar Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 6 hours ago, Deryck said: The one inverter was replaced with no success. For full info to all interested, the energy production of this system has not been affected. There was a data issue from one micro-inverter, that part is correct. STI contacted AP Systems the mfr and a replacement micro was supplied and installed under warranty. The energy output and production from this one is also correct, however the data connection is still not showing. STI has worked diligently with APS on behalf of this customer and so another micro has been authorized to try to resolve the data communication issue and should be installed shortly. It is important to note: Not a kWh of energy production have been lost, there has been no impact with CFE as a result of any of this. If this customer chooses to, they are free to pursue this on their own, STI has 16+ years continuous service to the lakeside community with top ratings and reviews and referrals and repeat clients and prides itself on taking great care of any and all issues but will not be denigrated or dragged through the mud in a public forum (by a understandably frustrated person who nonetheless has NOT been financially impacted by this) when working to resolve an issue that it is not responsible for. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virgo lady Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 All I can say is, I am very happy with the service and care from Ron and the STI team, as are many people I know who have also used them and who referred me to them. Nothing but first class service and great prices from very nice people. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoons Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 I have an STI system with these made in China AP Systems microinverters and have had a number of failures, supposedly only of the data transmission side of them. STI has replaced all of them under warranty but is now charging labor on the replacement and that is a significant expense. As I have 9 of them I expect more failures. The problem here is once they stop sending data there is no way to determine if it is just a data failure or the unit has stopped inverting without getting up there with the microinverter and taking direct measurements. STI has suggested they are failing because of our less than optimal CFE power. If this is the case, they are probably not a good choice since we all know CFE power fluctuates a lot and will continue to do so. With a single inverter it is pretty easy to diagnose a failure. These are generally located near the panels in a readily accessible location. In hindsight, the mistake made with the part of my system over the garage is the microinverters are located between the two rows of panels instead of at the top where they could be readily accessed for service. As they are over the center of a sloped garage roof covered in tejas it is pretty difficult to access them. Newer versions can handle up to 4 panels which would reduce the number of microinverters in a system like mine and simplify maintenance. Also, if you are contemplating a rooftop install, design for both cleaning and maintenance as both will be required. == I'm a lot more satisfied with STI and Ron then I am with these failure prone AP Systems microinverters. I expect they will continue to fail until I finally spend a significant amount more money to replace all of them. If you are putting in a new system I would avoid using the AP Systems microinverters and if you are using microinverters at all, try and design for easy access for checking and replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deryck Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 12 hours ago, Go Solar said: For full info to all interested, the energy production of this system has not been affected. There was a data issue from one micro-inverter, that part is correct. STI contacted AP Systems the mfr and a replacement micro was supplied and installed under warranty. The energy output and production from this one is also correct, however the data connection is still not showing. STI has worked diligently with APS on behalf of this customer and so another micro has been authorized to try to resolve the data communication issue and should be installed shortly. It is important to note: Not a kWh of energy production have been lost, there has been no impact with CFE as a result of any of this. If this customer chooses to, they are free to pursue this on their own, STI has 16+ years continuous service to the lakeside community with top ratings and reviews and referrals and repeat clients and prides itself on taking great care of any and all issues but will not be denigrated or dragged through the mud in a public forum (by a understandably frustrated person who nonetheless has NOT been financially impacted by this) when working to resolve an issue that it is not responsible for. STI pulled out of the customer service and we are left hanging 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Solar Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 For full info to all interested, the above post is simply not the case. STI has made a further complete and detailed report to AP Systems LATAM, the mfr, with online documentation and proofs of the work and tests that have been done, and has asked them to step in and assist directly to resolve it and we are confident this will be done. We are sorry to see this client so unhappy and frustrated and wish him nothing but good things. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La-de-di Posted November 29, 2023 Report Share Posted November 29, 2023 5 hours ago, Go Solar said: For full info to all interested, the above post is simply not the case. STI has made a further complete and detailed report to AP Systems LATAM, the mfr, with online documentation and proofs of the work and tests that have been done, and has asked them to step in and assist directly to resolve it and we are confident this will be done. We are sorry to see this client so unhappy and frustrated and wish him nothing but good things. I have complete faith that Ron Magen does his utmost best - as well as above and beyond - to solve any problems. But I have only been using his services for the past 12 years or so - can't speak to before that time. I don't think it's fair to post negative comments in an open forum about how you think he hasn't come through for you. Sounds to me like he cares and is doing all he can. We are all only human (for now, anyway) ... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moderator-2 Posted November 30, 2023 Report Share Posted November 30, 2023 10 hours ago, Deryck said: STI pulled out of the customer service and we are left hanging Funny, I just looked at a whole series of pictures of your system showing rather detailed diagnosis was done and your claim they pulled out is just not true. Like yours, mine didn't stop making power, they just stopped reporting it. So in the most important aspect, converting the output of the solar panels to electricity, they have continued to function. I'm a bit annoyed with these AP Systems microinverters as well but STI's response has been prompt, thorough and a great deal better than is usual in this country. They didn't make these units, I believe they've done their best to verify reliability (which hasn't been fully realized) and they are doing their best to compensate for it and stand behind their installs. I suspect they've spent most if not all of the profit they made on my original system providing backup for my microinverter problems. Putting it bluntly, I think your claims and accusations are excessive. In any case, they have been addressed directly by STI so do not repeat them further here. This last bit is why I posted this as Mod 2 rather than Mainecoons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm1mex Posted November 30, 2023 Report Share Posted November 30, 2023 I’ve only had experience with Opiere and Nyah for many years. Local and WhatsApp Nyah and techs come out right away as they are in Riberas. Never had any problems with our panels in over 10 years and CFE bill 57 pesos every 2 months for maintenance account. We use 00 energy every 2 months and the energy we produce from the sun is more than we use so the different not used goes back to CFE as a credit to our account. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deryck Posted November 30, 2023 Report Share Posted November 30, 2023 14 hours ago, La-de-di said: I have complete faith that Ron Magen does his utmost best - as well as above and beyond - to solve any problems. But I have only been using his services for the past 12 years or so - can't speak to before that time. I don't think it's fair to post negative comments in an open forum about how you think he hasn't come through for you. Sounds to me like he cares and is doing all he can. We are all only human (for now, anyway) ... Part of Ron's email to me and APS engineer ..... At this time, since APS has not resolved it and Sr. Smith is very frustrated, Gustavo, STI will withdraw, and we ask you to take over fully in this case. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moderator-2 Posted November 30, 2023 Report Share Posted November 30, 2023 For whatever reason, STI and this customer got crossways and STI elected to turn the problem over directly to AP Systems. AP Systems has assumed the responsibility for resolving this issue and will be handling it from here. It is not correct to suggest STI just walked away and left the customer hanging. Let's leave it at that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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