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When Manufacturers Have a ‘Beef’ Then Both Suffer

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Being a relatively young industry the solar inverter and back up battery manufacturers need to be close enough to each other so that each can complement the other.

When one sets up an inverter and battery you have to choose certain protocols to ensure the longevity of both the battery and inverter.

Essentially you want both to be talking the same language whilst providing you with the most efficient renewable energy experience.

For some time now the South African market has been experiencing a ‘beef’ between two of the most popular products of the solar industry – Solis Inverters and Hubble Energy.

Some of the claims are the stuff of higher grade electronics and software and all that this has done within the local market is to create uncertainty and make many installers rethink their product choices.

I am led to believe that many are now looking at alternatives for fear that if this ‘beef’ escalates then upcoming firmware updates may target the exclusion of support for Hubble Energy. Not proven in any way but a strong rumour that if left to run will result in heartache, pain and negative marketing for both companies.

Essentially the “beef” between Solis (Ginlong Technologies, the inverter manufacturer) and Hubble Energy (the lithium-ion battery manufacturer) centres on integration issues, communication protocols, and warranty liabilities that emerged within the solar and backup power industry:

The Core Issue: BMS Protocol & Communication Glitches

CAN bus / RS485 Communication Dropping: Installers routinely encountered communication failures between Solis hybrid inverters and Hubble lithium batteries (notably the AM-2, AM-4, and AM-10 models). When the Solis inverter failed to read the battery’s BMS (Battery Management System), it defaulted to error modes or stopped charging/discharging.

Voltage & SOC Misalignment: Solis inverters and Hubble BMS systems frequently disagreed on State of Charge (SOC) percentages and cutoff/over-voltage thresholds. This led to inverters unexpectedly force-charging batteries from the grid or triggering over-voltage faults (OV-Vbatt-H).

The Cloudlink Requirement & Cost Friction

To resolve the protocol translation issues, Hubble introduced the Hubble Cloudlink device to act as a bridge between the battery BMS and the inverter.

Installers and homeowners felt penalized because they were forced to purchase an additional, costly proprietary bridge device just to get a standard 48V/CAN bus battery setup to talk smoothly to a Solis inverter.

Blame Game & Warranty Finger-Pointing

Inverter vs. Battery Warranties: When batteries or inverters tripped out, degraded rapidly, or suffered board damage, both brands frequently pointed fingers at each other.

Solis maintained that non-certified BMS behaviour or out-of-spec voltage spikes from third-party batteries voided inverter warranties.

Hubble’s warranty terms strictly dictated that improper inverter settings or voltage spikes caused by external inverters would void their battery warranty. Installers and end-users were left caught in the middle with voided claims or deadlocks.

Resolution & Current Status

Both manufacturers eventually released official configuration guides, updated firmware versions, and established standardized settings (such as setting the Solis inverters to specific “User Defined” battery parameters or designated CAN protocol modes) to smooth over the integration. However, the historic friction has made installers cautious about pairing Solis and Hubble without double-checking current firmware and compatibility lists.

Time for both manufacturers to hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.