Comparison with alternatives
How Barnex compares with Deye Smart Load, Solar Vampire, Fronius Ohmpilot, my-PV AC•THOR, myenergi Eddi and Zappi, and Deye Smart EV Charger. Each device has a frank note on when to choose it instead.
| Criterion | Barnex Lite | Deye Smart Load (GEN port) | Solar Vampire | Fronius Ohmpilot | my-PV AC•THOR | myenergi Eddi + Zappi | Deye Smart EV Charger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation | smooth (burst-fire SSR, ~1% step) | on/off at full power | Not verified | smooth, 0-3 kW / 0-9 kW | smooth, 0-3000 W | smooth, up to 3.68 kW | Not verified |
| Battery-aware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Partly | works alongside a battery, sees only the grid current | Not verified |
| Independent of inverter brand | Partly | No | Not verified | No | Partly | Yes | No |
| Number of loads | up to 10 boilers and up to 4 chargers | no priorities between consumers | one boiler | one Ohmpilot per inverter | one load up to 3 kW per unit | Eddi: two heaters in turn; Zappi separately | EV charger only |
| EV charging | Yes | No | No | No | Not verified | Yes | Yes |
| Main-breaker protection | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | No |
| Setup | Modbus to the inverter over Wi-Fi/LAN, no cables | nothing extra to buy | owners report rewiring for boilers with electronic control | needs a Fronius Smart Meter and a Fronius inverter or Datamanager | surplus data from the my-PV WiFi Meter or a compatible inverter | CT clamp on the incoming cable, wireless harvi sensor if needed | needs the Deye Smart CT (SUN-SMART-CT01) and a LoRa transmitter (SUN-SMART-TX01) |
| Price | 2999 UAH | included with the inverter | costs less than Barnex | about 775 EUR in European shops | Not verified | Eddi and Zappi together cost more than Barnex | Not verified |
"Not verified" means the vendor does not state it on the page we checked.
When to choose something else
Barnex Lite
A coordinator: boilers, EV charging, breaker protection and the battery in one.
Barnex is not the cheapest option. If you need one boiler at minimal cost, Solar Vampire is cheaper.
Deye Smart Load (GEN port)
Built into Deye hybrid inverters: the GEN port switches a load on by SOC and PV power.
Choose it if you have a Deye, one small boiler and spare inverter capacity.
Solar Vampire
A Ukrainian device that diverts surplus into one boiler together with a hybrid inverter.
Choose it for one boiler with a mechanical thermostat when the lowest price matters.
Fronius Ohmpilot
A Fronius diverter: smoothly regulates heating from 0 to 3 kW (single-phase) or up to 9 kW (three-phase).
Choose it if your whole system is Fronius and you need one powerful boiler or three-phase heating.
my-PV AC•THOR
An Austrian diverter with linear 0-3000 W regulation and up to four temperature sensors.
Choose it if you want a standalone diverter regardless of the inverter brand, with a touch screen.
myenergi Eddi + Zappi
British diverters: Eddi for heating (up to 3.68 kW), Zappi for EV charging.
Choose them if you want established brands and do not need hybrid-inverter battery awareness.
Deye Smart EV Charger
A Deye charger that sees the surplus through the Deye Smart CT and a LoRa transmitter.
Choose it if you only need EV charging inside the Deye ecosystem and you use Deye Cloud.
Sales start at the end of February. Features are being finalised, so details may be refined.