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Sungrow inverter and battery reviews
Fronius inverter and battery reviews
iStore inverter and battery reviews
Huawei inverter and battery reviews

Sigenergy inverter and battery reviews

Solaredge inverter and battery reviews
Growatt inverter and battery reviews
SAJ inverter and battery reviews
Goodwe inverter and battery reviews
GE inverter and battery reviews
SMA inverter and battery reviews


Solar inverter review, updated February 2024.

The majority of inverters we install are from Sungrow, iStore/Huawei, Fronius and Goodwe.
95% of those are hybrid inverters.
Hybrid inverters are 'solar and battery capable' instead of just 'solar only'.
30% of the installs we do include a battery.
That last percentage is steadily increasing.

Our Goodwe inverter installs are typically at the budget end where there is plenty of competition.
Growatt/JinKo, Solis, Solplanet, SolaX, Afore, CSI, Sofar, Delta, Hinen, Sunways to name some.
Goodwe are our preferred budget inverter and battery over these others.
They have been in Australia as long as we have, their support is here and it's reasonably good.
More than anything, if there's a serious issue, we know who to contact to fix it.
I think Goodwe's latest high voltage Lynx Home F G2 (Generation 2) is a great simple LFP battery.
As with all 'budget' products, the main attraction is, of course, a lower price.
It's typically around $4,000 cheaper to buy a Goodwe + 10kWh battery than a mid-range choice.
You can read my full review on Goodwe inverters and batteries from the link above.

Sungrow and iStore (formerly Huawei) are my choices in the mid-range category.
As you might expect, the quality increases over 'budget', and in some cases, so do the features.
iStore's battery is the best on the market bar none for features.
Parallel connections between modules, battery optimisers, fire extinguishers triggered by temperature sensors.
iStore's battery has a lot more features to increase output, longevity and safety, but you pay extra for that.

We install a lot of Sungrow inverters and batteries.
It's cheaper than iStore when you factor everything in...
Inverter + Battery + Consumption Meter + Backup for when the grid fails.

Fronius have the premium market almost to themselves.
It's pleasing to see that Fronius recently dropped quite a lot of their prices.
Even so, you can expect to pay $8,000 more for a Fronius + BYD Battery combo compared to budget brands.
I can't rattle off a list of extra features you get either.
In some ways, you actually get more features with budget and mid-range.
More panel 'oversizing' for instance, with Fronius doggedly refusing to allow more than 150% with a battery.
Be that as it may, Fronius fly off the shelves because their reputation is so good.
European-made instead of a Chinese brand is almost unique these days.

How often do solar inverters and batteries fail?
Manufacturers typically give a 10 year warranty on their inverters and batteries.
I expect 5% of our 'budget' inverters and batteries to require a replacement while under warranty.
3% of mid-range, and 2% of premium are likely to fault whilst under warranty.

Therefore whilst 'budget' products are more than twice as likely to fail as premium, it's still not many.

The typical warranty process goes like this...
Client lets us know or we see it online ourselves.
Run diagnostics, download log files, go to site to inspect, measure voltages etc.
All that may take a week.
Submit warranty claim, get replacement and install, usually within 2 weeks.
Total down-time, usually three weeks.

The client pays nothing if its under warranty. They just lose some benefit while it's down.
Remember though, 95-98%% won't have any issues at all over the first ten years.

Life expectancy of inverters and batteries.
It's not like the old days with inverters dying like flies within a couple of years.
Generation 1 Chinese inverters were mostly awful, but we are now ten years on from that.
Everything is well designed and manufactured these days, hence much lower failure rates.

Manufacturers are happy to give 10 year warranties because they know at least 95% will last that long.
But there's no doubt that the older an inverter gets the more likely it is that parts inside will fail.
I think the failure rate will accelerate significantly after 10 years.
It's likely that by their 15th year, 25% will have failed.
I also think that 15 years is the likely life expectancy of most lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Installation quality
I don't believe the majority of solar buyers give installation quality even a passing thought.
The fact is that most solar installers are really bad. Yes, the majority are terrible.
They often work for sausage machine sales companies that don't care, so why should they?
Smash it out as fast as possible, bodge whatever to make it work, and leave.
Many are expected to do two installs a day. One before lunch, the other after.
That can bring the cost price down by as much as $600 making them more competitive.
But it's invariably backpackers or other cheap labour stomping around on the roof,
while an unmotivated sparkie quickly does the inverter, battery and switchboard work.

The most common cause of all solar failures, including inverters and batteries, is the installation.
People aren't going to get anywhere near 2-5% failure rates if the inverter/battery is installed poorly.
They will also find that their warranty is rejected by the manufactuter due to incorrect installation.
Is it any wonder that so many solar companies phoenix every few years?

If I hear "...but they had a great reputation with plenty of 5 star reviews", just one more time....

If you want a quote for solar in Perth WA, then please contact us on...

(08) 6102 2527

or email

These reviews were written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.