Enphase Ensemble Technology System Planning Tech Brief

Planning an Ensemble Technology System – North America

Partial Home (subpanel) Backup – Enpower smart switch and a backup subpanel installed on load side of the

main load panel

The Enpower smart switch can also be installed on the load side of the exiting main load panel or service equipment.

This configuration can be used when the Ensemble technology system is configured to provide backup to a number

of pre-selected load circuits. This configuration is recommended when Encharge storage systems with smaller energy

and power capacity and some basic load backup is desired by the customer, or when existing constraints prevent

main panel backup or other installation methods. Figure 3 below shows an example of a partial home (subpanel)

backup configuration.

Figure 3: Always-On Ensemble technology system with partial home (subpanel) backup. Enpower is installed on the

load side of the main load panel with select loads backed up in a backup subpanel.

Multiple Enphase systems on single site

In some situations, when the size of a PV system at a site is larger than the maximum amount of PV that can be

paired with installed Encharge storage system, the PV system may need to be split into two separate systems. See

the IQ Microinverter PV System to Encharge Pairing section for guidance. One system operates in both grid-tied and

backup operations, and one system only operate during grid-tied operation. This may be necessary to accommodate

physical, AHJ, or technical requirements. Best practice is to install a second IQ Envoy with a line communication filter

(LCF), such as Enphase Q-LCF-064-1P, electrically between the two systems to prevent power line communications

between the two systems. The LCF can be installed either as shown in Figure 4 or alternatively between the IQ

combiner and the Enpower smart switch. This configuration does not support power export limiting.

Figure 4: Ensemble technology system and an additional grid interactive Enphase system on a single installation site.