Goodwe Solar inverter review - Updated April 2024
Goodwe have been in Australia now for 12 years which makes them one of the few survivors.
Their website states that they have 5,000 employees worldwide. Impressive.
I know a few of them here in Australia.
Mike Zhang is one of the best in the industry.
I am going to start the product breakdown in this review with their new battery.
The model is Lynx Home F-G2 and the G2, meaning Generation 2.
It's about as cheap as any battery on the market at the moment at $745/kWh excluding installation.
That price per kWh drops as the battery gets larger.
Each module filled with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP/LiFePO4) cells stores 3.2kWh
In fact, it has about 10% greater capacity than that, but 3.2kWh is usable.
The extra is there to protect the battery from being damaged when fully drained.
It's a high-voltage battery, my favourite type, therefore small DC cables between inverter and battery.
That makes installation cheaper, neater, and allows for greater distance between inverter and battery.
The battery stacks can go up to 9 x 3.2kWh modules (28.8kWh) with a minimum of 3 modules (9.6kWh).
The dimensions are always 600mm wide x 380mm deep and the height rises from 715mm to a maximum of 1.65m.
Up to 8 x parallel battery stacks can be connected, depending on which inverter you have.
There are none of the fancy features you'll find in a more expensive battery such as iStore.
No battery optimisers, no self deploying fire blankets, no parallel connection between modules.
It's a standard series-connected setup with a DC-DC Controller to achieve high voltage.
There are plenty of other batteries on the market just like it. Sungrow SBR, BYD HVM for instance.
The main difference though is price.
It's brand new, perhaps better able to take advantage of lithium price falls.
It's cheaper than the Goodwe battery it is now superseding.
Goodwe's inverters
Goodwe have been making battery capable inverters longer than almost any other company.
It's really how they made their early reputation.
Single phase and also three phase connection with a battery
For single phase, Goodwe have their EH hybrid single phase model.
Like the new battery described above, the EH inverter is also Generation 2.
There's a 5kW and 6kW model which is fine for WA with our 5kW per phase limit, but not so good for East Coasters.
Over East, 10kW per phase is usually permitted.
As far as I can tell the main difference between the previous EH and the new one is a higher input current of 16A from 12.5A
With today's most popular panels having maximum currents of 13.5A, that's a smart upgrade from Goodwe.
I wish I could say the same for other manufacturers who are dragging their feet on this issue.
Yes, we know that it's only tiny fractions of power that are being 'clipped' off, but every little helps !.
If you connect the battery at the outset then you can install this inverter on three phase even in WA.
Works exactly the same, you just need to buy Goodwe's 3 phase consumption meter for an extra $275.
The EH inverter looks like a younger brother of the three phase Goodwe ET range that I'll discuss in a moment.
There is an impressive array of status LEDs on the front showing all aspects of the inverter and battery.
Total contrast to every other manufacturer that have removed as many points of failure as possible.
You can see this on the brochure I linked above.
The Goodwe EH inverter comes in two versions, very much like Fronius and their GEN24 models.
You can buy it fully ready to go as a battery capable hybrid inverter, or for $700 less, battery 'crippled'.
The 'crippled' version can be unlocked when you want a battery by spending that $700 on a code.
It's a smart marketing idea.
You know you can connect a battery later if you want, but aren't paying for it until you do.
When you connect the Goodwe Home F G2 battery, Goodwe allow 200% oversizing of the inverter.
So, 10kW of Government subsidised panels on a 5kW EH inverter with the Goodwe battery connected.
With a maximum input voltage of 580V per MPPT, that would typically mean a maximum string of 12x low voltage panels.
So...11 x 475W on one MPPT, 10 x 475W on the other, giving 9.975kW in total for example.
That would be ample additional panel power to fast charge a largish battery as well as send 5kW of AC to the house loads.
One of the nice additional features of the EH is integrated backup.
No separate and expensive backup box, it's all built-in to the inverter.
When the grid goes down, the battery sends power to the essential circuits you and the installer have chosen.
If the sun is shining the inverter can pull power from the panels to keep the battery topped up.
You could, if you were brave, even connect circuits to backup without a battery, relying only on solar power.
Risky though as a passing cloud might mean loads are great than backup power, and the breaker will trip.
Non-hybrid Goodwe MS single phase inverter.
If you don't want a battery connected to your inverter then Goodwe's MS range might be for you.
5kW, 6kW, 8.5kW and 10kW models, all with 3 x MPPTs and a start-up voltage per MPPT that needs just 2 panels.
The 5kW model, the only one we are allowed in WA, is $1,480.
That's about $325 more than a basic competitor from Growatt, Solis and others.
The additional MPPT is certainly going to help for some roof configurations.
50V extra input voltage (the full 600V) compared to many others (550V) might mean an extra panel on a string.
But overall, at this extremely price-sensitive end of the solar market, $325 more is quite hard to sell.
Goodwe 3 phase hybrid inverters
The first thing to say is that there is a Generation 2 of these inverters coming later in 2024.
When I say 2024, that's what Goodwe are saying, but it might be 2025. These things often slip.
Why the new version?
Mostly it's to address the input current limitation that I explained above.
12.5A limit is about 1A lower than what the maximum output of most solar panels deliver these days.
That means at times when solar conditions are fantastic, the inverter has to clip off some power.
It's not much, and bear in mind inverters 'clip' power off all the time.
e.g. Any 5kW inverter is only allowed to convert 5kW of panel to AC.
With say, 6.6kW of panel power on the roof, in good solar conditions, it has to clip down to 5kW anyway.
Goodwe's ET range of 3 phase inverters are currently:
5kW, 6kW, 8kW, 10kW, currently on Generation 1.
plus 15kW, 20kW and 25kW and 30kW.
The 15-30kW models are just arrived and Generation 2.
We are only allowed to install the 15kW model in WA with our 5kW per phase Western Power rule.
I haven't been able to buy the 6kW or 8kW models anywhere, so whilst CEC approved, they don't seen to be available.
Not sure why, in WA, 6kW three phase inverters are very popular with people wanting to dodge Synergy's ESM shut-downs.
The ET range connects to the same Goodwe Lynx Home F G2 batteries I described at the top of the page.
It can also connect to BYD HVM and others, but frankly, why would you want to when Goodwe's own is cheaper, and as good.
The new larger 15kW-30kW models have 2 x battery inputs, so you can connect two different batteries if you prefer.
Like the EH model, the ET inverters come with 'backup' built-in.
I'm awaiting a new document from Goodwe about permitted oversizing of the ET inverters.
At the moment Goodwe allow 170% on the 5kW model and 150% on the rest, with a battery connected, of course.
I'm told that 200% oversizing will soon be allowed as long as the battery is Goodwe's own Home F G2 model.
I'll update this when I know for sure.
Other Goodwe inverters.
Goodwe's hybrid ES inverter has been around for many many years, going through various upgrades.
It works with low-voltage batteries and has been popular with many, including some off-gridders.
It also has a generator input. Nice.
I don't like low-voltage battery installations with their huge cables and isolators.
Just to quickly explain that...think 5kW, or 5000W.
Power (Watts) = Voltage x Current.
So if power = 5000W, and low voltage = 50V, then Amps (current) must be 100.
You need a very substantial cable to carry 100A.
Conversely, high voltage, say 500V not 50V, means a cable carrying just 10A.
Goodwe also have a large range of non-hybrid 3 phase inverters at decently attractive prices.
I saw a Goodwe EV charger on the wall at a recent trade show, but it's not appeared on a price list yet.
Frankly with so many chargers already out there, perhaps we don't need another.
Our experience with Goodwe reliability has been average.
By that I mean we have had the predictable number of failures (about 1 failure in 150 installed each year).
I do, however, give Goodwe the thumbs up.
Excellent value, especially with the new battery, good but not the greatest quality, good support (usually).
Many excellent features too. Goodwe are certainly feature-rich compared to most others.
This brand is my recommendation for anyone on a tightish budget over Growatt, Solis, SAJ, Solplanet etc.
I was wary of Goodwe in the past due to a dismal warranty of only 5 years, but it was recently upgraded to 10 years.
Please take a read of the conditions though.
Goodwe Australia support 0393240559 or email mike.zhang@goodwe.com
Goodwe approved battery support document.
or email
If you would like us to quote you on a Goodwe inverter, (or any other), please get in touch.
(We are in Perth, Western Australia).
This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
