6 Best Solar Inverters 2020 Review: Fronius, SMA,...

6 Best Solar Inverters 2020 Review

Thursday, March 12, 2020, 9:00 (GMT +7)

Currently, many leading manufacturers have released new advanced product lines with online monitoring, increasingly intelligent and effective energy management. Home battery storage systems or Solar Hybrid systems are also developing, but most installed systems choose solar inverters because of the efficiency savings that come from it.

Solar Inverter function & problems

The solar inverter is the most sophisticated part of any grid-tie solar system and unfortunately it's also the part most likely to have issues. This is not surprising considering inverters are usually located outside in harsh weather conditions including rain, humidity and extreme heat, all while generating thousands of watts of power for up to 10 hours a day. This is why it's important to use a quality inverter and mount it in a sheltered location if possible. Due to changes in humidity and temperature, it is likely that outdoor frequency converters will fail at some point throughout their operating life. However, the life of a solar inverter can be significantly increased by installing it indoors or in well-ventilated locations and away from direct sunlight.

Solar panels can also develop problems over time which can result in poor performance, but unlike a faulty inverter this will generally not result in complete system shutdown. With this in mind it is worth while paying the additional cost for a reputable manufacturer (one which has been in good business standing for 5+ years and with extended warranties if available.

Warranty and Service

Fronius and SMA have ranked on top of the list for many years due to the low failure rates and great service as they usually ship replacement units in 3-5 business days. Both Fronius, SMA and ABB are available with 10 year warranties while SolarEdge offer a 12 year manufacturers warranty as standard. Many of the lesser known 'value' brands will only repair a faulty unit if it is shipped to them (at the owner costs) and returned which often takes weeks and sometimes months. This will have a much greater financial impact due to system downtime.

Solar Inverter Types

* String Solar Inverters

The String Inverter uses a series of solar panels linked together to form a series. Chain inverters are the most common types of inverters used in Europe, Australia and Asia, and are increasingly popular in the US, where micro inverters are common.

* Hybrid Inverters

Hybrid Inverter is a new generation hybrid solar inverter that combines one (Solar Inverter) inverter and storage battery together. These inverters are becoming more competitive with Solar Inverter units as Hybrid Inverter technology advances and batteries become cheaper and more attractive.

* Off-grid Inverters

Independent solar power systems require a powerful battery converter with a built-in charger to be set up as an AC or DC combination system. The inverter operates in multiple modes, which can be used to create advanced Hybrid Inverters systems.

* Micro Inverters

Micro Inverters, also known as Micros, are tiny solar inverters mounted directly onto individual solar panels. Because each inverter and control panel operates independently, they are a great choice for complex roof layouts and large shaded-looking locations. Despite the slightly higher cost, micros are very popular in North America due to the strong presence of Enphase, and the many advantages they bring.

Inverter Rating Criteria

The following criteria was used to determine the best solar string inverters available on the market together with continuous feedback from solar installers and industry specialists. Note this comparison is focused on the common grid-tie solar 'string' inverters (single phase) although the larger commercial 3-phase inverters from the same manufacturers are equally well regarded.

Quality & Reliability
Service & Support
Warranty
Features
Monitoring
Price

Price Range

There is a significant price difference between hundreds of different solar inverters on the market. For example, low-end 5kW inverters can start as low as $ 850, while high-quality 5kW inverters with a warranty of more than 10 years can cost $ 1800 or more. However, considering the failure rates that are common in many low-cost / low-cost inverters and warranty conditions that are not guaranteed, we recommend investing in a higher quality unit. As a common saying in solar industry, "the cheapest product will cost you more money in the long run".

Best Solar Inverters 2020

Fronius - Primo and Galvo
SolarEdge - SE and HD wave
SMA - Sunny boy
Huawei - SUN2000
ABB - UNO
Sungrow - SG-KTL

Best Commercial Inverters (3 Phase)

Fronius - Symo and Eco
SMA - Sunny Tripower & Core 1
SolarEdge - SE 3-phase
ABB (FIMER) - Trio, PRO and PVS
Huawei - SUN - KTL
Sungrow - SG-KTL range

Top 6 Solar Inverters - Residential

Below we describe the top 6 residential solar inverters in 2020 based on quality, features, monitoring, warranty and service, along with feedback from solar installers and industry experts.

1. Fronius

Fronius Inverters have surged in popularity since the release of the snap-in design 7 years ago. The high-end Austrian manufactured inverter range has become the inverter of choice for many domestic and commercial solar installations. Customers are also raving about the performance and reliability, plus the great customer service from the Fronius support team. However, high demand for the popular single phase Fronuis Primo inverters used for residential installations has resulted in some supply issues and there have been some minor faults, but overall feedback is extremely positive and any issues have been promptly corrected. An additional free 5 year extented warranty is available when the inverter is registered online and provides a total 10 warranty period.

Active cooling system

One of the reasons for Fronius’s reliability and performance is due to the ‘active cooling’ system incorporated into all Fronius snap-in inverters. Active cooling is also a key design feature in the new generation Fronius GEN24 hybrid inverters. The fan forced cooling system extracts heats at a higher rate which reduces thermal stress and increases output in high ambient temperatures. All power electronics have a maximum operating temperature after which the power needs to be reduced to prevent overheating and potential damage, this is where active cooling can help improve both reliability and performance. Another clever feature is the integrated solar DC isolator which means an external isolator box is not required, resulting in a much neater installation. Also the unique snap-in design makes servicing and installation very simple.

The new generation Fronius GEN 24 Hybrid inverter due to be released in Q2 of 2020 also feature a unique active cool system.

The larger capacity Fronius 3-phase Symo and ECO inverters are widely regarded as the best small commercial inverters (up to 30kW) and have dominated the market due to their high quality and proven reliability.

System Monitoring

Wifi monitoring comes standard with all inverters via the Fronius Solar.Web. The addition of the Fronius Smart meter enables monitoring of energy generation and consumption and can be used as a complete home energy monitoring system. A free solarweb smart phone app is also available for android of iOS. There is also the option of adding the Fronius Ohmpilot which is designed to automatically use excess solar energy to heat water

Fronius SolarWeb - online monitoring portal enables full site generation and consumption monitoring with the Fronius Smart Meter installed.

2. SMA

German manufacturer SMA Solar Technologies was considered to be the best chain inverter manufacturer before the Fronius snap-in series took the leading position in 2016. SMA's decision to produce new AV series inverters in China instead of Germany also hurts sales of companies and reputation. However, SMA has moved all production back to Germany in 2019. SMA inverters have proven track record of reliability and are often considered to be one of the highest quality inverters currently available. have. Local service and support are very reliable and SMA offers an optional 10 to 20 year warranty. The larger 3-phase commercial inverters from SMA are all manufactured in Germany and widely regarded as some the best commercial inverters on the market. The SMA Sunny Tripower series are some of the most reliable larger scale 3-phase inverters and are very popular for all kinds of commercial systems. The company is cementing its place as a leader in the utility-scale solar inverter market with the impressive Tripower Core 1, Sunny Highpower and Sunny island central inverters.

Like many modern inverters, the latest AV inverter series from SMA does not have a display and relies solely on wifi communication for setup and monitoring. Display-less inverters are becoming the industry standard as most manufacturers release new models without a display. A digital display in an outdoor environment can be problematic so this may reduce faults and warranty issues in the long term, but only if the communications is very reliable and stable. Without a wifi signal and no display can make things difficult to troubleshoot if a problem does occur.

System Monitoring

SMA Sunny Portal - System monitoring plus full site consumption monitoring with the SMA energy meter.

SMA have a free online monitoring package available known as the Sunny portal and most SMA inverters now have wifi webconnect capability as standard. Full consumption and solar monitoring is achieved using the additional Sunny home manager 2.0 (energy meter), although rather expensive. The only downfall is the SMA mobile app which looks outdated and has had poor feedback, particularly the Android App version.

3. SolarEdge

SolarEdge inverters have become increasingly popular in Australia, the US, and around the world over the past few years due to their unique design using a DC optimizer that allows for monitoring and control of individual panel levels. The SolarEdge HD wave inverter (SE-H series) is available in a range of sizes from 2.5kW to 10kW and is one of the smallest and lightest inverters on the market. They are also one of the most efficient inverters with 99% for larger 5 - 10KW models. All Solaredge inverters must be installed with additional DC optimizers on each board as described below. The DC optimizer does part of the work of a typical String Inverter and is why Solaredge was able to develop such a small, compact inverter.

The biggest advantage SolarEdge have over the competition is panel level monitoring and power optimisation through the use of DC optimisers.

DC Optimisers are small electronic modules attached to the rear side of each solar panel to enable individual panel level monitoring and power optimisation. Previously individual panel monitoring was only obtained through the use of micro-inverters, plus some add-on optimisers such those from Tigo Energy.

Solaredge Optimisers also enable longer strings of panels (up to 22 modules), increased safety and help reduce the detrimental effects of shading and panel faults, plus provide early detection of potential issues. However, optimisers also add more complexity to the system and any electronic device mounted on the roof also has the potential to cause issues in the longer term.

Panel shading a problem? For complex roof profiles or installations with shading issues this would be the inverter of choice, however for smaller systems or strings with 6 panels or less micro inverters are better suited. SolarEdge also has an industry leading 12 year warranty period.

System Monitoring

SolarEdge inverters have 'optional' wifi which together with the optimisers can provide power output data for each panel individually. This is great for both system monitoring and a very good tool for fault detection, especially for installers. Also SolarEdge definitely have one of the best smart phone apps for remote system monitoring. See the full SolarEdge monitoring system and features here.

4. Huawei

Chinese communications giant Huawei stormed into residential solar market in 2018 with a compact, lightweight solar inverter packed with features. Due to the huge volume of commercial inverters sold globally Huawei are currently the largest producer of solar inverters globally and have invested billions into research and development over the last decade. With a 3-phase Hybrid inverter Huawei has all the features that a great inverter should add. Optional optimization technology with fast shutdown for safety, a 10-year large product warranty and innovative, great design features ensure Huawei remains an outstanding value option for most over. This inverter in a similar way to the SolarEdge HD wave inverter uses an optimizer to optimize the individual control panel just like the Micro-inverter.

Crystal ball: The emergency power supply features built into the 2019 models will ensure Huawei's residential solar inverters meet consumers' expectations for the available power when the grid is off. A software upgrade commendable by Huawei's flexible solar inverter range.

System Monitoring

The new FusionSolar online monitoring portal is much better than the previous NetEco and offers an easy to read interface and many more advanced monitoring and data logging features. The new common FusionHome app is also used for inverter setup and direct connection via a local wifi network.

5. ABB

Update July 2019 - In a surprising move ABB decided to sell it’s entire solar inverter division to FIMER, a well established Italian based inverter manufacturer who will take over ABB’s solar division early in 2020.

ABB is a premium manufacturer offering a range of high quality string solar inverters but previously gained a bad reputation from the old 'Aurora' branded inverters. ABB acquired Aurora 'Power-one' back in 2013 and thus have to deal with many warranty claims and service issues from the unreliable old generation Aurora inverters.

Our specialists have highlighted somewhat slow customer service compared to other manufacturers even though ABB is a well respected industrial giant. ABB's reputation has improved on the back of the new range of UNO-TL and UNO-TL-DM-PLUS single phase solar inverters.

The new UNO inverters have the common plug & play interfaces, are lighter, more compact and have wifi included on all models.

System Monitoring

ABB are not well known for their monitoring but have a updated Plant Viewer monitoring portal and ‘Energy Viewer’ mobile App. The portal offers all the basic information but unfortunately it is a little limited and doesn’t provide much technical data such as individual string outputs or voltages, which helps with monitoring and troubleshooting. A Wifi logger card (VSN300) can also be installed on all older UNO and TRIO (3-phase) inverters to enable monitoring.

6. Sungrow

Founded back in 1997 by a university professor, Sungrow is one of the largest suppliers of solar inverters globally and a leading Chinese inverter manufacturer. The residential SG-KTL Sungrow inverters have become very popular among Australian installers due to the competitive price and great reliability record. Sungrow is a very large player internationally and has a good reputation for service and quality compared to many other Chinese manufacturers. The very good support from the Sydney based office in Australia has further helped improve their reputation.

In addition to the well regarded range of solar inverters, Sungrow also manufacture one of the best value hybrid solar inverters on the market - the new generation SHK5-20 inverter is a very affordable hybrid inverter for home energy storage systems and comes with an optional back-up device for essential load protection during a blackout.

The new generation Crystal G2 and SH5K-20 solar and hybrid inverters recently released have had great feedback, are very good value for money, plus look much more modern than the previous models.

System Monitoring

Sungrow inverters include Wifi monitoring as standard on all models and use the new modern cloud based monitoring portal iSolarCloud which is a huge improvement. The free smart phone App is also very simple and works well. One small issue is the consumption monitoring has been noted to be problematic.

The new Sungrow IsolarCloud monitoring portal is a huge improvement - https://www.isolarcloud.com/

The above is a series of reviews about manufacturers of solar inverters (Solar Inverter) that are commonly used in 2019 and developed in 2020. List of well-rated inverter manufacturers will be EPC Solar. Constantly updated to help customers get the best choice with the installation system for their homes. EPC Solar VN