Growatt inverter review - Updated February 2024

 

Growatt product range 2024



Other Growatt inverters....
Growatt say they will be releasing 10kW, 12kW and 15kW MID-XH three phase hybrids in Australia by Q3 2024.
These will have 3 x MPPTs and will be approved and permitted for residential installation in WA.
They will also have 17kW, 20kW, 25kW and 30kW models but these won't be permitted in WA. (15kW WA limit).

Growatt also have small 1.5kW, 2kW, 2.5kW and 3kW single phase, single MPPT, model MIC, inverters.
These are perfect for the 'out of warranty' replacement market.

Of particular interest, especially in the WA market are Growatt's battery only inverters.
Growatt have a 5kW single phase model, the MIN-XA and a range of three phase models from 3kW to 10kW; MOD-XA.
These are cost effective solutions coupled with Growatt's modular batteries for 'AC Coupled batteries'.
Most people think "Tesla Powerwall 2" for this section of the market, but Growatt are cheaper, and more flexibile.
By flexible, I mean you don't just have to accept a monolithic 13.5kWh battery (Powerwall),
you can size the Growatt modular battery system to fit your needs and budget.

Growatt safety issues and recall - Jan 2024
I took a look through our sales history and was relieved to see that we had never sold a Growatt SPH5000TLBL-UP.
Nor the re-badged JinKo version of this hybrid inverter.
Just as well. Products recalls, CER retraction of STCs (subsidy). Some people might be going broke soon.
Apparently there's a risk of electrocution due to a live backup terminal being exposed if not in use.
I'll leave it to Anthony from Solarquotes to explain more.

Growatt accessories.
All the Growatt inverters come with a WIFI dongle and setup to their free Shinephone app is pretty simple.
They also have a $50 bluetooth transmitter receiver box called Shinelink.
The transmitter replaces the WIFI dongle and is factory-paired to the receiver that plugs into your router/modem.
No handing over your WIFI credentials to a third party, change your router/provider at will. I like this.

Growatt have a consumption meter aka 'smart meter' option for most of their inverters.
Single with 1x CT or three phase with 3x CTs.
You'll need one of these if you have to export limit your output or have a battery.
If you want to see imports/exports/self-consumption in your Growatt reporting then you'll need one for that.
There's also a wireless smart meter on the way that will solve a lot of problems on properties with multiple switchboards.

There's an optional generator input available for the SPH hybrid. That's will please some off-gridders.

Growatt have a single phase EV charger and a three phase EV Charger.
Both of these are regular AC chargers.
Here's a link to Growatt's web page on them.
And here's a Youtube video....
They cost about $900 for the 7kW single phase models and $1,200 for the 22kW three phase models.
As with all smart EV chargers they can be set to only charge with available surplus solar panel power.

Growatt Batteries.
Growatt manufacturer their own batteries, and are now into their 3rd generation.
Their latest battery cell is Lithium Iron Phosphate, aka LFP. That's good. Very safe.
Whilst the ARK-XH and ALP batteries are standard series-connected designs, the new APX is an interesting step-up.
Parallel connected with battery optimisers it's almost a carbon copy of Huawei's popular Luna battery in that regard.



Backup during a grid outage.
If what we read and hear is correct, we in WA are staring down the barrel of some serious power problems.
Our currently relatively stable grid may become considerably more unstable over the next few years.
There's plenty of information about that online...

Growatt have backup circuitry built-in to their SPH inverter only.
The single phase XH range has a small (3kW) backup box option and the three phase MODs have no backup option yet !!
I'm told there is a new, larger backup box coming but I have no details on it yet.

The good and bad about Growatt.
Just over 90% of the Growatt inverters we have installed since 2011 have never skipped a beat.
I can name dozens of other inverter brands that have gone out of business due to high failure rates since 2011.
The failure rate on our early SMA and Fronius inverter installs is higher than Growatt's.

The price is always right with Growatt.
A 5kW Growatt battery ready single phase hybrid (model XH) is only $1,125.
Compare that to the Fronius Primo GEN24Plus at $3,300.
or Sungrow's SH5.0RS 5kW hybrid at $2,530.
or iStore's (Huawei) 5kW hybrid at $1,925.

Growatt have a 10 year parts and labour warranty on both their inverters and batteries.
When we have had a faulty inverter, Growatt have responded with replacements quickly.

The worst thing about Growatt is their reputation and it's mostly not their fault.
Solar has many dodgy operators large and small.
Companies that advertise heavily, cheap prices, 'B' team installers (and that's being kind)...and then disappear.
Installations are rushed, minimal knowledge or skill, zero after sales service.
Growatt can't control that but they usually cop all the flak.

I'll leave to your common sense what a solar sales rep selling an inverter for three times the price is going to say about Growatt.

When we quote people we usually give them three or four options and suggest the known merits or disadvantages of each.
That might be Growatt, Sungrow, iStore/Huawei, and Fronius inverter and battery options.
People choose what they want for a variety of reasons, not just price.
It is, after all, usually meant to be a 10 to 20 year investment.

Brochures
Growatt Inverters:
Growatt MIC 1.5kW to 3.3kW single phase inverters
Growatt MIN-X 5kW/6kW/10kW single phase inverters
Growatt MIN-XH single phase hybrid inverter datasheet.
Growatt MOD-X 3kW to 9kW 3 phase inverter datasheet.
Growatt MOD-X 10kW to 15kW 3 phase inverter datasheet.
Growatt MOD-XH 5kW to 10kW hybrid three phase inverter datasheet.
Growatt 1 phase MIN-XA XA battery only inverter.
Growatt 3 phase MOD-XA XA battery only 3kW to 10kW inverters.

Growatt Batteries:
Growatt SPH hybrid inverter.
Growatt ARK-XH battery solutions.
Growatt ALP battery datasheet.
Growatt APX battery datasheet (provisional).

This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.