Component Guide

Planning an Ensemble Technology System – North America

Note: The IQ Envoy will not communicate with M-Series microinverters and M-Series microinverters

will not communicate with the IQ Envoy.

• Enphase Consumption CTs enable home energy consumption monitoring and are required for Ensemble to

operate correctly.

Ensemble Technology Systems Common Configurations

Regulatory Background – National Electrical Code

Grid-tied only PV inverters are required to shut down in the event of a utility grid power outage. They cannot form an

un-intentional island, and their anti-islanding technology prevents the formation unintentional islands. Ensemble

technology systems could provide backup to some or all of the load circuits in a home by forming an intentional island

according to 2017 NEC sections 690 and 705. The Enpower smart switch with MID function in conjunction with the

multimode inverters in the Encharge energy storage system comprise a microgrid system that forms an intentional

island entirely within the bounds of the local electric power system (EPS). Figure 1 below shows a drawing of an AC

coupled multimode system based on 2017 NEC section 690 and 705.

Figure 1: Microgrid system components based on 2017 NEC 690 and 705

Backup Configurations

Ensemble technology system flexibility enables many backup configurations for different customer goals and needs.

There are two common configurations that allow the Encharge storage system to provide power to customer loads

independent of the grid.

Whole-home Backup – Enpower Installed on the Line-Side of the Main Load Panel

In the whole home (main load panel) backup configuration, Enpower smart switch is installed on the line-side of the

main load panels rated up to 200A. This allows a properly sized Ensemble technology system to provide power to all

loads in the main load panel in the event of a grid outage. In this configuration, the Enpower smart switch can be

configured with a main breaker to act as the service disconnecting means. The PV system can be interconnected to

the Enpower smart switch on a dedicated breaker or may be interconnected to the main load panel. This configuration

typically supports larger PV and storage system sizes and may allow avoiding expensive utility service and/or main

service panel upgrades. Examples of this whole-home (main load panel) backup configuration are shown in Figure 2

for IQ-Series microinverters based systems and Figure 3 for M-Series microinverters based systems.