Identify your hardware
What's on my wall?
Go to the wall by your electrical panel, or the garage, and find the box. Every one below is drawn front-on at the same scale, in its real colors, with the same four things marked. Match the shape and color first; the brand name printed on the box confirms it. Then follow the link to that brand's guide.
1 Brand name printed here
2 Serial number label
3 Screen or status lights
4 Where the lifetime kWh lives
Gateway · about the size of a paperback
Enphase IQ Gateway (Envoy)
- White or light gray plastic, wider than tall, often inside a larger gray box (below) or on its own near the panel.
- Four small lights along the bottom. Green means it's talking to Enphase.
- Serial is on a sticker on the front or the side, a long number under a barcode.
- Lifetime kWh: Enphase app, Energy, set the range to Lifetime. There is no screen.
Combiner · about the size of a shoebox on end
Enphase IQ Combiner
- Gray metal box with a door and a latch, usually next to the main breaker panel. The gateway above lives inside it.
- Brand plate on the door. Serial label inside the door or on the gateway itself.
- Open the door only to read a label; the breakers inside are live.
- Lifetime kWh: Enphase app, same as above.
String inverter · about the size of a carry-on bag
SolarEdge, older, with a screen
- White body, taller than wide, with a gray strip down one side. Small dark screen near the top with four buttons under it. A small red "solaredge" mark low on the left, and a black round switch knob at the bottom. That knob is the DC disconnect; leave it alone.
- Serial label on the right side or under the screen. Starts with SJ or SE.
- Lifetime kWh: press the green button through the status screens until an energy total appears. Also in the SolarEdge app.
- If the app went dark when the installer folded, the inverter may have been on a cellular plan the installer paid for. See the guide.
String inverter · same size, no screen
SolarEdge, newer, no screen
- Same white box with the black knob at the bottom, but three lights instead of a screen. Settings are changed through an installer app, not on the unit.
- Serial label on the side or bottom edge.
- Lifetime kWh: SolarEdge app or web portal only. If neither works, use your utility statements for the check.
String inverter · plain white slab
Tesla solar inverter
- Plain white rectangle with rounded corners, no screen, a faint TESLA mark near the top and one small light low down. Often next to a Powerwall, which looks like a larger version of the same thing.
- Serial label near the bottom edge.
- Lifetime kWh: Tesla app, Energy, Lifetime. Tesla is still in business; transfer the system to your account if a third party installed it.
String inverter · red face, common on older systems
SMA Sunny Boy
- Red front with silver or gray sides and rounded corners. Older ones have a screen; newer ones have lights and a Wi-Fi setup page.
- Serial on a label on the side or under the front, usually starting with a long number and the model name.
- Lifetime kWh: on the screen as E-Total, often shown in MWh (multiply by 1,000). Also in Sunny Portal once you have an account.
String inverter · gray with a dark center panel
Fronius Primo or Symo
- Light gray body with a darker gray panel down the middle holding a small display, three buttons, and a round vent. Small red Fronius mark near the bottom of the panel.
- Serial label on the side, or on the rating plate under the display.
- Lifetime kWh: on the display as TOTAL, a few button presses in. Also in Solar.web once you have an account.
Inverter · white with an orange stripe
Generac PWRcell
- White unit with an orange diagonal stripe across the front and a small dark display. Usually beside a matching white battery cabinet with the same orange stripe.
- Serial label near the bottom of the front panel.
- Lifetime kWh: the PWRview app or web portal. No total on the unit itself.
Gateway · white, taller than wide
SunPower PVS5 or PVS6
- White box, taller than wide, SunPower lettering near the top, with a cover that lifts off to reveal the ports. Enphase microinverters usually sit under the panels; this box is what reported to SunPower.
- Serial label on the front or underside; model PVS5 or PVS6 printed beside it.
- Lifetime kWh: the SunStrong Connect app (the old mySunPower app), or an app that reads the box over your home Wi-Fi. See the SunPower page for all three routes.
Help the next person. These are drawings, made to be compared at a glance, and they simplify the real thing. If you'd let us put a photo of the box on your wall beside the drawing for your brand, email it to jon@solarstillworks.com. First name only for credit, or none at all. And if a drawing is wrong for your unit, say so; it gets fixed the same day.
Found yours? Run the free check with the lifetime figure from the place marked 4, then read the guide for your brand to get monitoring under your own name.