Beacon Smart Power M5

The Beacon Smart Power M5 Grid Tied with Battery back-up Inverter is a newly engineered power conversion system designed specifically for grid-connect photovoltaic applications with battery backup. It offers high-efficiency electronics and instant, continuous backup power capability -day or night- in one integrated, outdoor-rated (NEMA3R) package.

The Smart Power M5 is a reliable and efficient solar electric power conversion system. Its unique hardware and software architecture enables safe, continuous and efficient operation. Even in the event of grid outage, the Smart Power M5 system with battery backup will continue to provide you with PV and/or battery power for critical loads up to 5000 watts - making it a true power source. The Smart Power M5 comes as a fully integrated, single-box solution in a compact outdoor rated enclosure that houses the inverter, battery charge-controller, associated switchgear and ground fault protection. Installation and testing are faster and easier than with separate components and connections.

The Beacon M5 is highly efficient at 93% peak 90% CEC. It has very good MPPT to get the most from your PV array.
The optional monitoring software for the computer is the best I have seen. With it you can monitor current inverter operation, everything from PV power and volts to battery charging and grid\inverter load. It is all displayed on an easy to decipher screen. It has data and event logging to keep track of it's performance and history. You can also adjust charging setpoints with the software. Built in DC disconnects are also a great feature.

For being so expensive there are a couple major complaints I have about the Beacon Smart Power M5.
First, it does not charge batteries from grid power. It only charges from PV power. If you have a power failure in the middle of a cloudy period and you run your batteries down, you have to wait for sun to recharge them even if the grid comes back up. This could be serious if there is another outage and the batteries have not recharged. This to me seems like a design flaw that could have easily been added.
And second, two M5 units will not operate with one battery bank, this also seems like an easy fix if the engineers wanted to.

The Beacon M5 does well what it was designed to do, but was not designed to do everything that I personally feel it should. If you're on the grid with battery backup your batteries should be able to charge from the grid!
If you know it's 'limitations' and feel you can live with them, then this is a great inverter for you.

My Overall Rating 5\10

List Price: $6999

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