Products that make your Sun2000/1000G2 GTIL even better
The Sun2000/1000 is an inexpensive (under $400) grid tied inverter with a unique feature of having a limiter (current transformer or CT) that prevents power from being exported back to the grid. Unfortunately, the reliability of these units are not on par with similar inverters costing more than 2-3 times. Some might think that's what you get for buying a cheap product. You get what you pay, right? Well, wouldn't it be nice if it doesn't have to be this way? We took one apart and were impressed with the quality so we wanted to find a way to keep the product from failing and make it better at a reasonable price. For under $180, we think we did by offering three products that will improve your Sun2000/1000.
SunScreen. Protection from brownouts This is a DIY kit that you install inside the Sun2000/1000 which can improve your unit's reliability. If you live an environment where the utility grid is unreliable during thunderstorms, construction work or rolling blackouts, then this product is for you. SunScreen is basically a mini UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) that keeps the power flowing to the most critical parts of the inverter (the inverter's microcontroller and the driver circuit) so that your inverter does not experience brownouts. When a microcontroller is in a brownout state, basically partially on and off (as when the supply voltage is right below the minimum recommended level for a period of time), the firmware is in an unpredictable state and outputs are in an unknown state. Brownouts can cause the power transistors to turn on at the wrong time causing widespread damage to the inverter. SunScreen ensures the inverter's microcontroller is running 100% of the time to allow it time to properly shut things down when errors on either the AC or DC side are detected. The included rechargeable battery lasts at least 11 hours on a full charge and when the the battery is low, it will turn off in less than a millisecond never allowing the microcontroller to go into the brownout state.
Installation is easy and involves just unplugging an existing cable, and plugging it onto the SunScreen board and then plugging SunScreen's cable to where the first cable was unplugged.
SunBeam. The most advanced remote control for the Sun2000/1000 This is a DIY kit that allows you to remotely control your Sun2000/1000 via a web browser and/or a MQTT broker using WiFi. Not only can you remotely monitor your inverter's status but you can remotely modify any of the power generating parameters. It is much better than the cloud-based WiFi option which only allows for remote monitoring with no changes to any of the settings of the Sun2000/1000. SunBeam has no cloud dependency so you're in total control of all your data forever. SunBeam's MQTT feature allows you to integrate third party home automation and graphing software such as Home Assistant. n addition, you can have other MQTT devices interact directly with the Sun2000/1000 such as chargers or consumption meters. SunBeam is installed inside your unit. Installation is easy and involves just unplugging an existing cable, and plugging it onto the SunBeam board and then plugging SunBeam's cable to where the first cable was unplugged. The antenna is fed through one of the vent holes.
​
Split CT for split phase power Only a single CT (current transformer) used to limit the power exported to the grid is shipped with the Sun2000/1000. This only works well if you have a balanced load which is not a practical use case. This product is an additional CT with a Y Cable Adapter that is modified to work perfectly and accurately all the time regardless if the loads are balanced. There is also no need for any calibration/adjustments and it works with the existing stock CT to save you money. Note, the Split CT is only needed on the odd inverter if you have an odd number of inverters. For each pair of inverters, you can use the included CTs along with a Y Cable Adapter and Splitter Cable.