Fronius Solar Inverters: An Independent Review by Solar Choice

Note: Solar Choice is not a solar installer and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product brand over another.

Overview of Fronius – Company History

Founded in Austria on June 20th 1945, Fronius is an international company with a 75-year history in the manufacture of welding equipment and nearly three decades of experience with solar inverters and other devices for monitoring and controlling energy, including battery chargers.

Fronius launched its first grid-connected solar inverter back in 1995. Since then Fronius has grown to become one of the industry leading solar inverter manufacturers, with 19 of 28 offices worldwide being involved with solar energy. This includes the Australian office located in Tullamarine, Victoria.

Fronius inverters are suitable for a wide range of applications, including residential solar and commercial solar projects, including their recently launched Fronius Tauro inverter with 100kW capacity.

A Brief Rundown on Solar Inverters

A solar system’s inverter is the point at which the DC electricity produced by solar panels is turned into grid-compatible AC electricity.

String inverters have traditionally been the standard in the solar industry. They send the power produced by solar panels to a central inverter that changes it from DC electricity to usable AC electricity that powers homes.

Microinverters, on the other hand, convert DC to AC electricity at each individual panel and allow for monitoring and power regulation at the panel level. This is useful for homes that are located somewhere with shading from clouds, trees, or other buildings.

What is PV Evolution Labs Top Performer?

PV Evolution Labs (PVEL) independently test solar inverter reliability. The tests are voluntary, with solar inverter manufacturers paying to participate in the testing. This testing process is internationally renowned and is an accurate reflection of the solar inverter’s performance. To read the full PVEL scorecard click here.

In 2019 Fronius Symo ranked as a top performer in the following tests:

• High-Temperature Operation
• Transient Response
• Ground and Arc Fault

Fronius Inverter Costs

As Fronius inverters are manufactured in Europe this higher quality product comes with a higher price tag in comparison to the inverters that are manufactured in China.

Keep in mind that inverter costs generally only run between 10-20% of your total system, so often it is worth investing in a high-quality inverter given this will have a large impact on the efficiency and performance of your entire system.

Fronius Inverters – Point of Difference

There are many solar panels out there, what makes Fronius inverters stand out?

The most used inverter brand in Australia

Fronius has earned a strong reputation for its high-quality inverters, advanced technology, and excellent customer support. Their inverters are widely used in residential, commercial, and industrial solar installations across Australia. Based on information from Solar Choice’s database of residential solar quotes, Fronius has maintained over 60% market share of installers’ premium options.

Monitoring and Data Communication

Fronius inverters offer advanced monitoring capabilities, allowing real-time access to energy production and system status through mobile apps and web portals. This data empowers users to detect and resolve issues promptly, optimise energy usage, and integrate with smart home systems and energy management platforms for more efficient energy consumption.

Fronius Inverters Technologies

A unique aspect of Fronius inverters is the SnapINverter technology. It’s a standardised wall-mounted bracket with the inverter on a hinge system. This enables easy access for servicing as the inverter opens like a car boot, without needing to be removed from the wall.

The majority of Fronius’s Inverters are approved by the Clean Energy Council for the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which is Australia’s home solar rebate program. A notable exclusion is the Fronius Symo Hybrid, this system combines a battery charging system, battery inverter, hybrid inverter, controller and system monitoring solution in one 3-5kW device.

Fronius Primo

The Fronius Primo series is designed primarily for residential household applications with power ranging from 3.0kW to 8.2kW. These inverters are single-phase inverters, meaning they are suitable for smaller solar PV systems typically found in homes. They also come with advanced features like dynamic peak management, integrated data communication, Superflex design and smart grid ready.

Fronius Symo

These inverters are three-phase inverters that are suited to larger residential homes and small commercial projects. The power range of Symo is from 3.0kW to 20kW. 

The Symo series offers higher efficiency and the same advanced features as the Primo series, including reactive power control and support for dynamic grid conditions

Fronius Eco

The Fronius Eco is a transformerless three-phase inverter designed for medium to large-scale commercial solar systems. The commercially used inverter comes in 25 or 27-power capacities. The Fronius Eco inverter holds an Ingress Protection Rating (IP Rating) of 66, which means it’s dust-tight and able to withstand heavy seas or powerful jets of water. Both power categories hold an efficiency rating of over 98%.

Unfortunately, the 27kW inverter is not well-designed for the Australian market where inverters are able to extend to 30kW without requiring extra network protection. The optimal design for many small businesses is to use a 30kW inverter and extend the solar panel capacity to 39.9kW, while the Fronius Eco 27kW can only support 35.9kW of solar panels.

Fronius Inverter Efficiency

Residential inverter efficiency standards are generally 95 to 98 percent, the Fronius Primo & Symo sit at or above 98% efficiency placing them towards the top of the industry in residential inverter efficiency.

Inverter efficiency technology can be seen in the Fronius Galvo. This inverter utilises an automatic high-frequency (HF) transformer with three efficiency peaks. This enables a higher percentage yield as the HF transformer is more efficient across the entire input voltage range.

Fronius Inverter Value and Warranty

An important aspect of getting the most value out of a solar inverter is choosing an appropriately sized inverter to optimise the solar panel system’s efficiency. To read about the importance of inverter sizing and system efficiency click here.

Fronius inverters capture value through a number of their components, however, their industry-first data communication package is showcasing the evolution of solar inverters. The data communication connects to the internet providing the ability to monitor energy management and data logging. This information enables the system owner to increase their self-consumption rate, therefore reducing reliance on grid power.

Both the Fronius Primo and Symo models utilise the Fronius Superflex Design. This design creates value as the two maximum power point trackers (MPP) enable the accommodation of the entire nominal inverter output, regardless of roof orientation or partial shading. The inverters track the MPP through the Dynamic Peak Manager algorithm, which dynamically adapts the optimal operating point.

In Australia, all CEC-approved Fronius inverters come with a 5-year warranty for parts and labour. A free additional 5-year extension (parts only) to the warranty can be claimed by, registering at solarweb within 30 months of the factory inverter dispatch. A warranty extension can also be purchased from the inverter installer within 30 months of the inverters dispatch from the Fronius factory. This can be for 10, 15 or 20 years, making the longest possible warranty 25 years.

Fronius Solar Inverters Pros and Cons

Pros

• Fronius has one of the strongest brand names and recognitions in the solar inverter market having stood the test of time with regard to its quality
• Fronius have an Australian office and helpful support staff to handle sales and service enquiries

Cons

• Fronius inverters are premium products and are generally more expensive that most alternative string inverters
• The 5 years full + 5 years parts-only warranty is not as beneficial as a full 10-year warranty which is offered by some of Fronius’ competitors

Fronius Inverter Specifications

So, Should I Buy Fronius inverters?

We consider Fronius as the premium option for both residential and small commercial uses. Fronius is one of the longest-standing brands in the solar inverter market with an excellent reputation. 

In recent years, many of the Chinese solar inverters have caught up to Fronius (and in some cases overtaken) when it comes to the technical performance characteristics of the inverter. Fronius’ point of difference comes from the long track record they hold in terms of reliability and after-sales support. 

In our opinion, you can’t go wrong with Fronius, and it would be worth paying a bit more to go with this brand over many of the others in the market.

Example of a Fronius Commercial Solar Project 

The Philippines has seen quite a rise in the number of solar systems being installed over the past few years. This is due to the public grid being unable to reliably supply power to the 13 million Filipinos living in the metropolitan area surrounding Manila.

In April of 2019, a field located in Tarlac City, Philippines had a 20MW system equipped with 612 Fronius Eco inverters go live. The system included 61,200 solar panels to total the 20MW, the installation was completed in 5 months.

By installing the Fronius Eco the overall potential yield of the panels was increased. Although, for an installation of this magnitude it is unusual for the inverters used to be string inverters. However, it is because of the string inverters that the system is able to be more efficient. String inverters work better in conditions such as partial shade compared to central inverters. It was estimated that the system will produce around 32,000MWh of electricity, reducing CO₂ by around 18.6million kg.

Read more product reviews from Solar Choice

• About
• Latest Posts

Jack Boutchard

Writer at Solar Choice

Latest posts by Jack Boutchard (see all)

• Canadian Solar Panels: An Independent Review by Solar Choice - 15 September, 2023
• Sungrow Solar Inverters- Independent Review - 16 August, 2023
• Solax Solar Inverters- Independent Review - 16 August, 2023