Solar and your Wi-Fi

Inverters in lofts and garages with poor signal.

What this kit needs from a network

Inverter or gateway in a loft, garage or utility room — nearly always the worst-covered part of the house.

Bands: 2.4 GHz only on most models. It will not see a Wi-Fi name that is 5 GHz only, and setup fails silently if your phone is on the 5 GHz half of a split network.
How it's found on the network: Cloud reporting, with local monitoring on some brands.
Background discovery traffic: Low.
Guest networks: Setup fails.
Separate IoT network (VLAN): Fine on an IoT network.

• Ask the installer to run an Ethernet cable while the work is being done. It is far cheaper then than later.
• Check the signal at the inverter before sign-off.
• Stand next to your router while you set it up, then move the gadget to where it lives.
• Put your phone on the 2.4 GHz network name for the setup, or use one name for both bands so the phone can follow.
• If your router splits bands into two names, turn the 5 GHz one off for five minutes rather than fighting it.
• Turn mobile data off on your phone during setup — some apps quietly use it and never find the gadget.

• A powerline adapter or a wired mesh box in the garage beats trying to push Wi-Fi through a loft hatch.

GivEnergy inverter & battery 56/100
Connects through a small dongle on the inverter, which is nearly always fitted in the worst signal spot in the house.
Most common complaint: Portal shows no data, so you can't see whether the battery charged overnight.

Tell us what's happening in your own words — speak it, type it or send a photo.