Enphase IQ System Controller 3
The IQ System Controller 3 is the automatic transfer switch and grid-form controller for an Enphase backup install. It's what turns a basic grid-tied PV system into one that keeps the lights on when the utility goes down.
- Type
- Automatic transfer switch + grid-form controller
- Function
- Islands home during grid outage, signals microinverters and batteries to grid-form
- Warranty
- 5-year Enphase
- Enclosure
- NEMA 3R (outdoor)
- Transition
- Milliseconds (UPS-style no-break)
- Configuration
- Between main service panel and backup loads panel
About this product
The IQ System Controller 3 is the automatic transfer switch and grid-form controller for an Enphase backup install. It's what turns a basic grid-tied PV system into one that keeps the lights on when the utility goes down.
The Controller monitors the grid 24/7. When the grid drops, it islands the home in milliseconds and signals the IQ8 microinverters and IQ Battery 5P units to grid-form. The microinverters now follow the battery instead of the grid, the batteries push real power into the panel, and the install keeps the protected loads up without an outage interruption. When the grid comes back, the Controller re-synchronizes and folds the system back into the grid.
Sits between the main service panel and a backup loads panel. Sized for whole-home or critical-loads backup depending on how the loads are wired. Pairs with the IQ Combiner 5C and IQ Battery 5P for a complete Enphase backup stack. NEMA 3R outdoor mount, 5-year Enphase warranty.
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Enphase IQ Combiner 5C
The IQ Combiner 5C is Enphase's all-in-one combiner panel. It holds up to four PV branch circuit breakers, hosts the IQ Gateway for system monitoring and grid-tie control, and provides the wiring point for the rest of the IQ stack. One box replaces a separate AC combiner, a separate revenue meter, and a separate monitoring gateway. The pre-wired internals are what save install time. Production CT clamps are factory-installed, the Gateway slot is hardened for indoor or outdoor mount (NEMA 3R rated), and the branch circuit positions are sized for the breakers Enphase microinverter strings need. Mount it adjacent to the main service panel, run AC out to the panel, run microinverter trunk cables in. For storage-equipped installs, the Combiner pairs with the IQ System Controller 3 (handles the backup/grid switch) and the IQ Battery 5P (modular storage). For monitoring-only installs, the Combiner alone with microinverters gets you per-module production data through the Enphase app. NEMA 3R outdoor mount, 5-year Enphase warranty.
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Enphase IQ8+ Microinverter
The IQ8+ is Enphase's per-module microinverter. One inverter per panel, mounted on the racking under the module, with AC output sent over a single trunk cable down the row. The benefit a string inverter can't match: a shaded panel or a failed bypass diode doesn't drag the rest of the string down, and every module reports its own production through the Enphase app. Spec'd for modules in the 290W to 460W STC range, which covers most current residential panels. AC output is 240V split-phase. The IQ8 family supports grid-forming behavior when paired with an IQ System Controller 3 and IQ Battery 5P, which means the array can keep producing in a grid outage instead of shutting down with the grid. Mounts on standard solar racking. Cabled through the IQ trunk cable system to the IQ Combiner 5C. 25-year Enphase warranty. The right choice when the install is going Enphase end-to-end, or when an existing roof has shading or mixed module orientations that defeat a string-inverter design.
$176