TerryO Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 Interesting article just put up on the ABC News site saying that Solar Panels, actually the inverter, can cause TV picture issues. Not only TV I reckon, I have tried my HiFi system with both solar on and off and there is a difference/improvement in SQ with it off. Equally so once it gets dark and all the other neighbours solar is no longer generating power the sq again improves Anyone else noticed this? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-04/solar-panels-interfering-with-tv-signal/100569280 cheers, Terry 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April Snow Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 wow that is an interesting article - I don't have solar panels myself but some neighbours quite close to me do - and I have noticed that at night my SQ is significantly better at night than during the day, in fact I do not enjoy my music so much on a Saturday afternoon for example as it just does not sound as good as of an evening, so I have long suspected some sort of degradation somewhere during peak times. I have noticed this whether I am playing CDs, Streaming or spinning an LP. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 No doubt the solar panels and inverter affect SQ. But so do the power tools used by the tradies nearby, the factories etc. Which is why the best SQ is at night, helped by the glass of red.... 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 The cheaper inverters do tend to throw off some dirty AC (HF noise, DC offset, poor regulation etc.) and a bit of EMI RF noise, but that's nothing that a decent power filter can't clear up. Good inverters are reasonably clean, but that's why they cost twice as much as the cheap ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky500 Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I was a little worried before getting Solar as read a few people mention that it did effect their stereo to a degree. After it was installed, I actually thought the sound was as good as before. I even think it has improved for me during the days, a bit more consistent. My thought/guess is that my suburb is near the Osborne Park Industrial area and now in the days I totally run off Solar with no input from the grid. I do run most components off a Balanced power supply, have been for years. Amp plugged direct to mains. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrC Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 I live in Stirling ... across the freeway from Osborne Park and I can't say that my solar panels (or anyone elses) have any impact on my SQ. That being said, I have 2 Sigma Isotek power conditioners in my system, so that would be the end of any contamination for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky500 Posted November 3, 2021 Share Posted November 3, 2021 (edited) 21 minutes ago, MrC said: I live in Stirling ... across the freeway from Osborne Park and I can't say that my solar panels (or anyone elses) have any impact on my SQ. That being said, I have 2 Sigma Isotek power conditioners in my system, so that would be the end of any contamination for me. Did you have no solar then install solar? As in I have been her for the last 10 years+ and recently got the Solar installed June this year. So have been used to my system without it for a while. Plus I think your even closer than me to Osborne Park. Edited November 3, 2021 by rocky500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrC Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 1 hour ago, rocky500 said: Did you have no solar then install solar? As in I have been her for the last 10 years+ and recently got the Solar installed June this year. So have been used to my system without it for a while. Plus I think your even closer than me to Osborne Park. I have always had solar .... but installing my Sigma Isotek power conditioners made a big improvement to my SQ. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, April Snow said: wow that is an interesting article - I don't have solar panels myself but some neighbours quite close to me do - and I have noticed that at night my SQ is significantly better at night than during the day, in fact I do not enjoy my music so much on a Saturday afternoon for example as it just does not sound as good as of an evening, so I have long suspected some sort of degradation somewhere during peak times. I have noticed this whether I am playing CDs, Streaming or spinning an LP. I saw that article. I thought it was talking about the frequencies that inverters and other devices give off, being picked up by the television antenna, and thus interfering with the signal causing picture problems. This isn't relevant to a hifi system, unles you have an FM antenna still. Edited November 4, 2021 by aussievintage 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April Snow Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 30 minutes ago, aussievintage said: I saw that article. I thought it was talking about the frequencies that inverters and other devices give off, being picked up by the television antenna, and thus interfering with the signal causing picture problems. This isn't relevant to a hifi system, unles you have an FM antenna still. I don't know, and don't understand it - was just an observation on my part, but sounded like a possibility - there is still a whopping big TV antenna on my roof that covers three of us townhouses. But likely that is something different then. But the SQ I do notice varies from day to night and I just assumed that was because of the grid being overworked/taxed - especially of a Saturday afternoon when many are home in high density living. Of a night music definitely sounds way better and the later in to the night the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 10 minutes ago, April Snow said: I don't know, and don't understand it - was just an observation on my part, but sounded like a possibility - there is still a whopping big TV antenna on my roof that covers three of us townhouses. But likely that is something different then. Antennas are tuned (by the length of the receiving element) to particular frequencies. It just so happens that things (like solar panel inverters), other than the TV station transmitters, might also give of frequencies in the same range as digital television. Also, because they are closer to you than the TV transmitters, they don't even have to be as powerful, to interfere with your TV reception. Your antenna receives all the above, TV signal and noise, and the TV receiver has to try to sort it all out. Too much noise, and it can fail to produce a clean picture and sound. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Well, we upgraded our solar system this year from a 2.5KW system with Italian made Aurora inverter to a 13.32Kw system with 10kW Sungrow inverter..... I guess the new inverters are better than the old as I got a very significant uplift in sound quality in my system. Actually the change it made got me into trying linear power supplies on everything (big improvement) and most recently upgrading the fuses in my audio gear. Surprisingly these make an audible difference too. Even inexpensive $3.80 silver fuses from Chinese vmaker Aucharm make a significant difference though I'm finding that the material the filament is made of affects sound in a similar way to that very same material if used as wire in the signal path. Silver is transparent and a little brighter with cheap fuses, silver/gold alloy is transparent with a hint of warmth, copper quite natural/neutral. That said the biggest improvement came from Synergistic Research Purple fuses though I must say they're incredibly poor value compared to the Aucharm fuses which net you about 97% of the gain for a tiny fraction of the cost of the SR fuse. That said, no way I'm removing the SR. But yeah, anything affecting power supply seems to impact overall sound every bit as much as other components in the chain. I may look into better quality fuses for the house fuse box at some point too though that's probably as far as I'll go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Again, the article linked by the OP https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-04/solar-panels-interfering-with-tv-signal/100569280 was about TV reception, not power supply quality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_m_54 Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 I find that due to large solar arrays sunlight in the local area seems to be diminished. Would it be the solar panels sucking up so much sunlight? I also find listening to music at night seems to have sound noticeable improvement benefits, that just seem to get even better, the later it is... But because 90% of the ambient noise has also disappeared, I have to turn the volume down as well, so as not to disturb the sleeping neighbours... Spooky isn't it? 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assisi Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 In my case I do not know whether the TV is impacted. No difference with solar and audio. I have a 5KW solar with microinverters. The microinverters may make a benefit difference? As well the power goes through an Edge IQ regenerator at the switch board As of 3PM yesterday I now have a whole of house battery. I need time to reflect on the battery and any impact on audio. Audio system is fronted with Gigawatt PC4 conditioner. I consider that the treatment of power provides SQ benefits. The final outcome always begins with clean power. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niktech Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/the-audio-impact-of-solar-panels-and-battery-backup-introduction-installation-initial-listen-r1058/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) On 05/11/2021 at 4:46 PM, bob_m_54 said: I find that due to large solar arrays sunlight in the local area seems to be diminished. Would it be the solar panels sucking up so much sunlight? I also find listening to music at night seems to have sound noticeable improvement benefits, that just seem to get even better, the later it is... But because 90% of the ambient noise has also disappeared, I have to turn the volume down as well, so as not to disturb the sleeping neighbours... Spooky isn't it? some nights, I can hear the snails walk across the concrete path to get to my veggie patch……. Maybe I need the sun to shine so the micro details isn’t so obvious! And the title that link is: Is your TV signal a bit dodgy some nights? An expert says there could be many things to blame they can’t even get the title right, no measurements to show what could be effected all word of mouth! Edited November 7, 2021 by Addicted to music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 On 05/11/2021 at 5:22 PM, Assisi said: In my case I do not know whether the TV is impacted. No difference with solar and audio. I have a 5KW solar with microinverters. The microinverters may make a benefit difference? As well the power goes through an Edge IQ regenerator at the switch board As of 3PM yesterday I now have a whole of house battery. I need time to reflect on the battery and any impact on audio. Audio system is fronted with Gigawatt PC4 conditioner. I consider that the treatment of power provides SQ benefits. The final outcome always begins with clean power. John If and if everything was working as intended I doubt there is any effect from the inverters, they have certain accreditation to pass and some are under strick EU guidelines for RF and EMI emissions. I’ve got 2 strings 6.6KW with a 5KW SMA inverter, no difference here for TV reception or SQ from HiFi. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryO Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) … Edited November 7, 2021 by TerryO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godot Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 Broadcast tv? I can’t find much that’s worth watching, my solar inverters don’t seem to have any effect on video streaming quality. Maybe that’s because I’m using an audiophile network switch? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepthought Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 Has anyone referenced this article in this discussion? https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/the-audio-impact-of-solar-panels-and-battery-backup-introduction-installation-initial-listen-r1058/ FWIW. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugPowderDust Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 4 hours ago, deepthought said: Has anyone referenced this article in this discussion? https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/the-audio-impact-of-solar-panels-and-battery-backup-introduction-installation-initial-listen-r1058/ FWIW. On 5/11/21 at 9:08 PM, Niktech said: https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/the-audio-impact-of-solar-panels-and-battery-backup-introduction-installation-initial-listen-r1058/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 On 04/11/2021 at 11:40 AM, aussievintage said: I saw that article. I thought it was talking about the frequencies that inverters and other devices give off, being picked up by the television antenna, and thus interfering with the signal causing picture problems. Yes... that's what it was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 On 07/11/2021 at 8:27 PM, Addicted to music said: If and if everything was working as intended I doubt there is any effect from the inverters, they have certain accreditation to pass and some are under strick EU guidelines for RF and EMI emissions. I’ve got 2 strings 6.6KW with a 5KW SMA inverter, no difference here for TV reception or SQ from HiFi. That depends very much on the strength of the signal, and the quality of the antenna cabling (and also, perhaps the specs of the tuner). In some instances it is easy to knock out TV reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerslave Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Have yas ever wondered why ya Car Stereo sounds better at night? Cuz its all in head unit lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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