I'm afraid this info is now a little outdates, get more up to date info, and ask questions on our community forum forum.cleanene.... ABB (Aurora), SMA, Enphase, Fronius, Solarbridge, Delta, Zeversolar, Growatt, SolaX solar inverter review
No, I don't sell SUNGROW Inverters nor work for them. In fact I don't even work in the solar industry. What gets my goat up in the solar game is how quickly companies in Australia are quick to rubbish ALL Chinese inverters. And while most are rubbish, the Chinese do make great quality products when people specify that. Sungrow fits that bill. When a company has been around as long as they have, and make a product that outsells SMA in Asia, and is No 2 in the world, you wonder why review like this don't include such a big player. What I see is companies pushing the products they have excusive deals with. Lets look at the economics of say a SMA and Sungrow. In the 25 year life of you solar you will be replacing your inverter (yes even the SMA). It is actually cheaper to say, go thru 3 Sungrow inverters than going thru 2 SMA inverter based of warranty life expectancy. FAR CHEAPER. Why companies don't tell customers that I don't know.Enough rant. My only connection is I worked out for my 4 year old system was it was far more sensible and economical to go Sungrow inverter over a SMA. That's my only linkJust a very happy customer that I did.
I like the SMA & Fronius brands, but for me they have a big downside, they are not compatible with 12-, 24-, or 48-volt batteries. The lowest cost batteries are in the lower voltages, and the biggest expense (70% to 85%) of a complete solar system is in the batteries.
Thanks mate this was very helpful, was originally going to go with the zeverlution5000. Am now biting the bullet and paying the extra 900 for a fronius. You get what you pay for
Have a Trio 7.5KW ABB/Aurora inverter.. it used to be Italian made, now made in china. just as I bought it 2 years ago, it's blown up twice already.. this is now third year and I'll be surprised if it doesn't do it again. go SMA. I only got Aurora because it had 10 year warranty whereas SMA had only 5 years. Also, wanted to ask ABB about battery storage and they shrugged me off immediately to contact a distributer/installer, which, my installer doesn't seem to exist anymore, yay for Australian dodgy brothers..
UPDATE: The dynamic solar industry has seen many changes since the release of this video so here is a quick update. Bosch has left the solar scene altogether for unknown reasons. SMA is still one of the leading manufacturers but in the last year Fronius and SolarEdge have made huge moves into the booming Australian solar market. Fronius with the clever snap in inverter design and SolarEdge with module level monitoring and Tesla powerwall compatibility. Full update coming.
Can anybody provide any tech info on how these feed in with schematics and math. What voltage is touching back at the grid. Is there any chance voltages are driven up that requires grid infrastructure upgrades? This is what is being claimed in Australia by some media
I am an installer in The Netherlands. I have had poor service from ABB en also from SMA (om spite of hight prices!!). Goodwe has the best service here because it is on-site from Goodwe and they fix everything if needed.
Warum habt ihr den Hersteller Solis (ginlong) nicht erwähnt, er ist der 4-größte Hersteller auf der Welt von Wechselrichtern. Why didn't you mention the manufacturer Solis (ginlong), it is the 4th largest manufacturer in the world of inverters I www.ginlong.com/1p_inverter1/22007.html
All manufacturing was relocated back to Germany in late 2018. SMA no longer assembly products in China. www.pv-magazine.com/2018/12/12/sma-announces-over-400-job-losses-china-closure/
Nice video Marty, thanks for the info. My personal opinion is the SolarEdge power optimizers coupled with with new HD wave but guess they were not available when you made the video.
I agree . Took 2 months to replace dead inverter. Was replaced with an inverter which did not work properly, Two months later they told me the replacement inverter was working properly and had rejected my warranty claim .. Whenever I rang I was always lied to .It has been 5 months now without a working inverter. I will be buying an inverter with a better reputation certainly not an SMA .
That's interesting. We have never seen this product on the Australian market? I'm assuming this is because it is a US company who manufacture specifically for the US market. I'm guessing they are high quality inverters?
ABB are a multi-billion dollar Swiss industrial giant that manufacture solar inverters (among other things) in China, Italy, the USA, South Africa and Slovakia. ABB is Swiss mate
That's a poor review.Fancy missing the best value inverter on the market, and one of the biggest inverter manufacturer in the world.SUNGROW inverters fit in between premium and value market. They have an office in Australia, offer excellent after sales service. They have been in the game for 25 years and are proven for the long term.this review needs updating
+Graham Sanders Fair call Graham, will get around to updating it at some point, and will be seeing what solar professionals are saying about the Sungrow. Do you work for Sungrow? Sell Sungrow? Have a Sungrow installed? Or just a madly passionate independent Sungrow advocate?
A HUGE problem with Fronius Primo string inverters is that they draw from the grid when it's dark or the panels are covered in snow. I get a bill for $34.66 for delivery of 1kWh of juice to run an amber LED to say "it's dark out" that is worth $0.066 off peak b/c they can't solder in a battery EVERY MONTH! I pay $34.66 + $11 and then get the same f'n service charge when I buy my own power back (they got me both ways) through a fit contract. The installer told me to flip the breaker on/ off every day but if that smart meter moves 1kWh in a billing cycle I get screwed $35! This is CRIMINAL!
The SMA Sunny Boy 240 micro is the best micro made. With the Gateway being in a cool dry place. It will make more power hands down than all the rest. Also there is free for life monitoring software.
Be aware the the fronius inverters have internal fans, and the noise level is quite noticeable during the hottest part of the day and especially if you have the unit inside your garage ?
Umm not quite True SMA domestic inverters are now made made in China and we have recently had a spike in complaints with SMA. Sorry old mate but you need to do look into it.
Based on the feed back we have recieved it seems to the Fronius range is prefered over the SolarEdge. Mostly due to the clever snap in design, monitoring and customer service. Although solarEdge is also a highly rated, quality inverter.
Aurora ABB inverter is definitely not 'one of the best', it appears that it is in fact, 'one of the worst' You can check for yourself here, and have a look at all the upset customers www.queenslandsolarandlighting.com/2014/02/13/aurora-inverter-review/
+Queensland Solar Hi Daniel, thanks for commenting. There does seem to be quite a few faults happening with the Auroras, might need to have a look into this on the next review and ask more installers how they are fairing now. I do have to take you up on a few points though. On one hand you say "I cannot understand how people think that the geographic location of where a product is manufactured is the ‘be all and end all’", but one of your main points against the Aurora is this "It appears many are coming out of China now. This could explain the poor performance and reliability". Although the article you reference doesn't suggest string inverters we receive in Australia are made in China at all, only that some central inverters (not string) are being manufactured in China to provide the local market. I agree with your first point, manufacturing location certainly is not the be all and end all. I'll certainly be looking into what solar professionals are saying now regarding the ABB, but won't be judging too quickly, there seems to be a lot of hyperbole in this industry.
+Marty Newkirk (CleanEnergyReviews) I've got no idea where they are made now to be honest. stopped using them 3 years ago, and now the problems are really starting to show. but ABB, are replacing them under warranty which is a good thing.
+Paul David Avinante Hi Paul, Jason has done a bit of work on reviewing Hybrid (battery ready) inverters here www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/hybrid-solar-inverter-review, however it seems there are a lot more offerings to come. Personally I think the best way to go at the moment is to get a normal mid range inverter (like a Zever, Growatt, Sungrow etc), and if/when you want batteries in future get it changed over or have whatever additional equipment added. Growatt is probably a safe option because it's cheap, but you can also add a Growatt SP2000 that allows batteries. Would be interested to know what other people think though. Regarding batteries, Jason is just finishing up an article comparing batteries as we speak. The TeslaPowerwall is so far looking pretty good compared to others, but it all depends how it works in the real world compared to spec sheets. Keep a look out on CER. Regards Martin
+Paul David Avinante Jason has just finished his article comparing solar batteries www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/2015/11/19/complete-battery-storage-comparison-and-review
We had a 10kw system fitted 3 years ago and has 2 Growatt sungold 5000 inverters. 1 inverter had to be replaced 2 years ago the other one was replaced this year and now has to be replaced again. I'm afraid I don't think Growatt have a well proven inverter. In Australia it takes over a month to get them replaced but they are still in warranty. Can the inverter be changed to a more reliable unit without changing the whole system.
+colin jones Ouch, that's pretty damning Colin, thanks for the feedback. In short, yes, you can get another inverter brand, but for 2 x quality 5kW inverters to be installed you would be looking at over $3k I would imagine. Growatt might not be the most reliable inverter going around, but you seem to have been a little unlucky there. I wonder if there is something causing the failures? Good luck.
+Gerard Melvin Hi Gerard. I agree, latest Fronius Symo etc are excellent. Installers love it, especially having integrated DC isolators. Seems a few installers and solar companies are using Fronius as their premium option instead of SMA now. Would be interested to hear of feedback on their Hybrid inverters if anyone has used them?
GW5000-NS? Maybe you mean GW5000D-NS ? Over here (Netherlands) service if good. Quality is good as well. Please think of wire thickness on AC side with 5kW. Calculate this !!
ABB inverters are made in china since ABB bought out PowerOne. Bosch and Schneider are made in China as well, European companies though all made in China!!
