Sungrow Solar inverter review - Updated October 2023


Solar4Ever haven't had too much to do with Sungrow inverters over the years.
If someone specifically asked for a Sungrow, then we were always happy to install their choice,
but there was never anything particularly interesting about the Sungrow range that would make us recommend them.
I think though, that situation has recently changed, and a major part of why I am now much happier
to recommend Sungrow is down to them producing an excellent new high voltage battery coupled with Sungrow's new hybrid inverters.

Sungrow have 5kW, 6kW and now 10kW single phase hybrid inverters. Model numbers start SH (H for hybrid) and end with 'S' for single phase.
e.g. 5kW model is SH5.0RS
Sungrow's 3 phase hybrid inverters are a 5kW and a 10kW model, again prefixed by 'SH' but ending with a 'T' for three phase.
e.g. the 5kW three phase hybrid model is SH5.0RT and the 10kW SH10RT.

In addition Sungrow have a range of 'solar only inverters', not battery capable. Those models start with 'SG'.
I've not been able to work out what that 'G' in the model name could possible stand for. I get 'H' for hybrid, but 'G' ???

If you are looking for a battery capable inverter, a hybrid, then the single phase Sungrow SH5.0RS
and the three phase SH5.0RT (5kW) and SH10RT (10kW) inverters are very interesting.



The hybrids connect to Sungrow's new high voltage SBR battery
The single phase hybrid battery stack is from 3 to 6 batteries high, each battery being 3.2kWh of storage,
so that's from 9.6kWh to 19.2kWh.

You can also parallel another identical stack giving 38.4kWh total, or any combination you want as long as both stacks are the same.
The three phase hybrids battery stack is from 3 to 8 batteries high, so 9.6kWh to 25.6kWh.
If that's not enough, the 10kW three phase inverter (only) may later allow you to parallel up to 3 more battery stacks
giving a bit over 100kWh of storage !!
(Note: At the moment Sungrow have advised us that they can only support 1 x battery stack whilst they iron out
some tech issues).

It's a battery that looks good, it's very low to the ground compared to others, and it's the right chemistry for safety (LFP),
is well-priced, and most of all, is made by Sungrow, because having the inverter and battery manufacturer being
one and the same is the best way to go.

Backup power when the grid goes down (blackout)
These new Sungrow hybrids have backup built-in compared to rivals Huawei, Fronius, Solaredge, Growatt etc, who all have backup as an optional extra box.
For the 5kW and 6kW single phase hybrids, the backup power is up to 21.7A.
You don't need a battery for backup, you can run it from the solar panels, but that's only if there's enough power from the panels.
Usually, people who want reliable backup buy the battery.

The problem with backup running through the inverter.
There are two issues and both cost money to fix, namely
(1) What happens if the inverter were ever to fail?
(2) What happens if you want to charge up your battery from the grid using off-peak priced power?

So with problem (1) the circuits you want backed up in the event of a grid failure are permanently running through the inverter.
If the inverter develops a serious fault then those circuits you depend on, lights, outlets are dead, even when the grid is working fine.
Solution to (1). Have the electrician wire those circuits to a Changeover switch. One side goes to the grid, the other to the inverter.
If the inverter fails, flick the switch from inverter to grid and your circuits are getting power. Costs about $300 installed.

Problem (2) doesn't raise it's nasty head until you decide to charge your solar battery from the grid.
The single phase Sungrow inverter can charge and discharge from the grid at up to 6.6kW which is 30A.
At the same time the circuits you have running through the inverter for backup can be carrying loads of up to 27A.
That's potentially 57A running through the inverter's AC cable.
So instead of running a 6mm cable costing about $3 a metre it's a 16mm cable costing $10 a metre.
There's a physical distance limit that even 16mm cable can carry 57A, and it's not possible to connect a larger cable than that to the inverter.
Make sure your solar electricans know what they are doing !
Larger cable means larger conduit, larger lugs, 63A breakers and a lot of additional time at the switchboard.
Connecting a new 16mm solar AC cable in with the others to the house 63A Main Switch simply isn't possible, so a lot of work is required.
As a retro-fit it's comfortably $1,000 of time and materials. If it's a new installation, perhaps an extra $500.

Either way, the costs involved in (1) and (2) are all because the backup runs through the inverter, so what sounds like an awesome 'free' feature
really isn't much of a cost saver after all.
The separate Huawei backup box costs about $700 and the intallation on top of that is cheaper than with Sungrow single phase inverters.

I should add that issue (2) is a single phase inverter issue only.
The 3 phase Sungrow inverters can backup and charge from the grid within the normal 3 phase AC cable and breakers.

However, I'd still recommend you install a 3 phase changeover switch to address potential problem (1)

Sungrow single and three phase consumption meters.
Both single and three phase hybrids come with the consumption meter (smart meter) in the box.
However, if you are installing a single phase inverter on three phase supply, then you'll need to buy the Sungrow 3 phase meter separately.
It still has to be installed in the switchboard of course which costs about $200 for any smart meter, but it's nice to get the
meter itself included.

Sungrow reporting - iSolarCloud
I really like it and it's better than most if you want to drill down.
The app is great on a phone but viewing it on the full screen via a web browser is much better if you want more detailed info.

I only wish they could come up with a bolder colour scheme for the real time energy chart.
What do you think?



Maybe I'm just not good at subtle.

Other Sungrow inverters
The above is all about their hybrid, solar + battery inverters.
They have regular 'solar only' single and three phase inverters too.
There's a 5kW single phase inverter with 3 MPPTs which only needs a minimum of 3 panels per MPPT to operate.
That's very nice for people who want panels on 3 roof orientations.

Sungrow also have some 'solar only' three phase inverters. We've not installed anything larger than 10kW yet, but what we have done has worked well.

Start-up voltage and input current
I don't want to fall into the trap of selling too much sizzle.
This bit is a really very minor advantage in terms of actual power gains, but...
the 5kW single phase hybrid only needs 50V d.c. to start up. That's very low.
80V d.c. is normal, so the Sungrow will wake-up fractionally earlier in the morning !

The 16A input current on the single phase 5kW hybrid is higher than many.
Not enough for parallel strings, but ample for high wattage panels upto and over 500W.
As panels increase in size with higher and higher currents, 16A should be good for years to come.
Don't worry about that of course, you are getting panels now, not years down the track.

Oversizing with more panels.
133.33% oversizing without a battery is the limit in Australia if you want the panel subsidy (STCs).
If you connect a battery then you can add more panels.

Sungrow allow up to 12kW of panels on their 5kW single phase SH5.0RS with a battery.
The three phase model however only allow 150% oversizing, so 7.5kW with the 5kW inverter, the 10kW model, 15kW of panels, with a battery.

There are new hybrid three phase models coming sometime in 2024 for three phase; 5kW, 10kW, 15kW, 20kW and 25kW
The new models allow 200% oversizing, and have a lower startup voltage requirement than the existing 5/10kW models.
There's also a new larger battery coming to cater for these larger inverters.
However, new models from any manufacturer often take a LOT longer to actually arrive for sale than trade show reps say.
For example, the Fronius GEN24 hybrid inverters were 'coming' for 5-6 years before they actually arrived.

Optimisers
Sungrow make their own optimisers but have chosen not to bring them to Australia yet (same for their current EV charger).
Tigo optimisers work fine if you need to sprinkle a few around to extend a string or deal with some shade.
If you want to see the optimisers working then you'll also need to buy Tigo's Cloud Connect monitoring platform.
Please be aware that in common with ALL inverters which can have strings of panels connected in parallel as you can with Sungrow's larger inverters,
you cannot put Tigo optimisers on any of those panels in parallel unless you put them on ALL the panels.
For normal, non parallel strings, no problem, sprinkle the Tigos where you wish.

Sungrow pricing.
If you want a cheap hybrid and battery then Alpha ESS or Growatt are the products to look at, but for their quality, I'd say Sungrow are well-priced.
The same applies to their solar only inverters. You can get cheaper brands, by several hundred dollars, but in my opinion, Sungrow products and support are worth the bit extra.

Sungrow support.
Sungrow along with most inverter manufacturers prefer you to seek support through your installer.
They will talk to you if you tell them your installer is useless. It won't surprise them at all.

Their number is 1800 786 476.
Happy to report that Sungrow have just extended their support hours to service WA better.
8.30am to 8pm Eastern time, so for us in WA, that's 5.30am to 5pm in Summer, weekdays. Great !

I've called Sungrow support many times seeking their assistance and they have been ok, not great.
However, recently after a bit of complaining, I have managed to get a 'higher-up' Sungrow support contact who has proven excellent !!

So, in summary...
There is no doubt that since Sungrow released their new battery, and their new single and three phase hybrids,
I've gone from "Why?" about Sungrow to "Why not?"
We're installing quite a few of them and their ultra small batteries.
A full 25.6kWh stack of Sungrow SBR batteries is just 1.2m high. That's very low compared to BYD and others.



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This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Solar4Ever is located in Morley (Perth), WA 6062