What factors should you consider when buying solar inverters
Basics 101: Understanding Specifications of Solar Inverters, Grid and Hybrid type…
Home Owner if you use Path to Green Homes, you will be able to choose the right equipment and get a quote from your nearest installer. We don’t stop at recommending brand names e.g. How is Sonnen ? PathToGreenHomes helps you drill down to matching series as {1Φ (1-3)kW Hybrid 9.53} with model as {1, 1kW AC output}.
These are basic features of any Hybrid inverter who wants to compete in the market.
| Manufacturer | Choose Brand or Manufacturer name | Installer near you |
| Series | Inverter Series are group of related products | Send Enquiry |
| Model | Part number is followed by the inverter AC power and phase (1Φ / 3Φ) for ease of selection | Send Enquiry |
| Datasheet Values | Send Enquiry | |
| AC Power (KW) | AC output power e.g. 5KW inverter for 5KW household load | Send Enquiry |
| Inverter Type | Grid type connect only with solar panels. Hybrid connects with both panel & battery. Storage Tower connect only with battery | Send Enquiry |
| Backup Overload (kw) | A 5KW inverter should work >5KW for a small “time period (secs)” to accommodate surge loads like aircons, motor, pump etc. | Send Enquiry |
| Overload (secs ) | A 5KW inverter should work >5KW for a small “time period (secs)” to accommodate surge loads like aircons, motor, pump etc. If Overload (secs) is ZERO (0), it means that Backup overload load is not possible. | Send Enquiry |
| Phases | A household can be Single or Three phase. Most Three phase inverters already feature unbalanced load and they can deliver 5KW across 3 phases as follows 0.5KW, 1KW, 3.5KW | Send Enquiry |
| Solar Panel compatibility | Send Enquiry | |
| Max allowed Input current from PV per String | High efficiency panels have high input current. The inverter must be capable of handling it, or it will lead to major incompatibility & clipping losses | Send Enquiry |
| Input MPPTs (nos ) | The greater the number of strings, more flexible the arrangement can be via no of MPPTs. It will also provide conditions for matching different power of different strings. (e.g. different directions of panels, shadow conditions etc) | Send Enquiry |
| PV String Level Monitoring | Monitoring data can be MPPT level or solar string level, the latter is more rich in data & for troubleshooting | Send Enquiry |
| Country | Country of Origin is HQ for mfr. irrespective of place of assembly | Send Enquiry |
| Efficiency | Efficiency is to how best inverter converts DC power to AC household power. More losses can happen as the temperature rises over 40º C | Send Enquiry |
| Colour | Inverter colour is personal choice. However the quality of paint, C5 corrosion level are imp for longevity. In future plastic housing of inverters (to save cost) will make an arrival which need compliance to mechanical, electrical and tough EMI compliance | Send Enquiry |
| Safety | Hybrid inverters : Basic Safety features you can assume almost all mfr will have Pre-charge Protection Overcurrent Protection Short-circuit Protection High/Low Temperature Protection Overvoltage/Under-voltage Protection Component Fault Protection | Send Enquiry |
| Lightning protection Type (DC) | Type 1 = best , Type 2 = Good , Type 3 = standard. Very few inverters have an SPD fail alarm (LCD screen blinks) when it gets damaged due to surge. | Send Enquiry |
| Lightning protection Type (AC) | Type 1 = best, Type 2 = Good, Type 3 = standard . Very few inverters have an SPD fail alarm ( LCD screen blinks) when it gets damaged due to surge. | Send Enquiry |
| Exchangeable SPDs | “Damaged SPD” can be part of an expensive board & both need to replacement. We preferred only SPD replacement if possible. | Send Enquiry |
| Fuse for Battery (Yes/No) | Standard features like “Reverse protection” and “breaker” are basic safety but Battery Fuse, Soft Start is the real safety thing | Send Enquiry |
| Dimensions | Compact is better. Liquid cooled models won’t be compact but very advanced technology. | Send Enquiry |
| Weight ( Kg) | Sometimes light inverter is better but not always . Some mfr leave a must “EMC filter” to make it lighter. Some top models add “liquid cooling” to add to reliability. | Send Enquiry |
| Battery Values | Send Enquiry | |
| Battery Cycles | Each time battery is discharged that’s one battery cycle. There are 365 days in a year and 10 years means 3650 cycles (100% charge and discharge each day). Please ask supplier if can battery be fully discharged Or weather maximum 90% / 80% of discharge is recommended since it has price implication | Send Enquiry |
| Battery Voltage ( V) | High Battery voltage reduces losses. In addition, storage capacity maybe increased by adding more batteries in Series. However not all brands allow battery capacity addition, by mixing an Existing (Old battery) with a new one. | Send Enquiry |
| Max Units in Parallel | Expandable energy storage solutions to meet customer demand in the future. Storage capacity may later be increased, by adding batteries in PARALLEL. “No of units in parallel” is an inverter feature to parallel batteries, without purchasing an additional data logger. | Send Enquiry |
| PV Oversizing (kw) | We can connect 7kW solar panels to a lower rated 5Kw inverter. This is particularly advantageous in certain parts of Europe (such as Belgium) | Send Enquiry |
| Warranty | Send Enquiry | |
| Electronics Warranty (Years) | Grid inverters : A 10-12 year warranty is at least recommended Hybrid / AC Coupled inverters : 5 years (product warranty) 10 years (performance warranty) | Send Enquiry |
| 3rd Party Device Compatibility | Send Enquiry | |
| Compliance to SunSpec Protocol | “Plug & play” interoperability for 100s of smart devices | Send Enquiry |
| Weather Data Integration | Integrate 3rd party reliable weather data from MetroControl / Skytron/ SolarLog useful for PV Energy prediction. In a EV scenario regional meteorological data can create a generation forecast, which it compares against your own consumption behaviour. | Send Enquiry |
| Smart Heat Pump | Heat pumps operate directly from solar which is the cheapest energy source | Send Enquiry |
| Wireless Connection | Communication between devices through the local area network will reduce the complexity of system wiring. Wireless connection is more beautiful, but the complexity of the initial configuration increases | Send Enquiry |
| Futuristic Requirements | Send Enquiry | |
| Smart EV Charger | In General EV Charger can integrate in any PV grid. However this requirement is “Yes” when an Electric vehicle can be charged quickly, in a PV-optimized or forecast-based manner. The solar power should fully feed the car and not the grid. | Send Enquiry |
| Smart inverter | Mainly required right now in the USA. It’s the ability to participate as an Interoperable PV Inverter with advanced Grid-Support Functions as Distributed Energy Resource ( DER). | Send Enquiry |
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