Note: Solar Choice is not a solar installer and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product brand over another.
Overview of Solar Edge – Company History
Established in 2006, SolarEdge developed the DC optimised inverter solution that changed the way power is harvested and managed in photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SolarEdge intelligent inverter solution maximises power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the PV system, for improved return on investment.
In 2010, the company shipped an estimated 250,000 power optimizers and 12,000 inverters – amounting to a total generation of 50 megawatts and 70% of the power optimizers market.
In March 2015, SolarEdge had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ with 7,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $18.00 per share, raising $126 million.
In May 2015, SolarEdge partnered with Tesla Motors or the joint development of a photovoltaic (PV) storage and backup power solution for the residential solar market, based on the Powerwall home and industrial battery packs that were unveiled in April 2015, and quickly received orders to a total value of US$800 million.
Solar Edge now has over 2,400 employees globally with a monitored site in over 130 countries. The headquarters are located in Israel with offices all over the world including the USA, Germany, France, Japan, China, India, and Australia.
A Brief Rundown on Solar Inverters
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 to usable AC power for your home.
Microinverters, on the other hand, convert DC to AC power 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.
Solar Edge Inverters – Point of Difference
There are many solar panels out there, what makes SolarEdge inverters stand out?
DC Optimisation
Solar Edge is best known for pioneering the concept of a string inverter matched with individual ‘DC optimisers’ on each solar panel. This achieves similar benefits to Micro-inverter systems usually at a lower cost. These optimisers allow:
- individual panel monitoring
- individual panel optimisation (i.e. shade or dirt on one panel will not affect the other panels like a conventional string inverter setup)
- rapid shutdown of panels in the case of an emergency
- An increase in total energy generation over the lifetime of the system
- An inverter with smaller dimensions because the Multi Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is all done at the panel.
SolarEdge Inverter Efficiency
While efficiency standards for residential inverters are generally 95 to 98 percent, while SolarEdge’s inverters boast a maximum efficiency of 99.2 percent.
This greater efficiency will lead to a slight increase in energy production over the lifetime of a solar system and compliments the other advantages of the power optimisers.
SolarEdge Inverters Technologies
SolarEdge currently has 29 inverters approved by the Clean Energy Council in Australia under the name “SolarEdge Technologies Ltd”. This is a requirement to be eligible for the federal STC solar rebate.
Currently, Solaredge offers both single phase and three phase inverters on the Australian market for residential and commercial solutions.
Single Phase Inverters
SolarEdge’s single-phase inverters are designed for residential solar PV systems, where the power output is usually lower than that of commercial or industrial systems. These inverters are smaller in size, easier to install, and less expensive than three-phase inverters. See below summary of the different single phase inverters SolarEdge has available:
Genesis
- SolarEdge’s entry level single phase inverter
- Power optimised – like all SolarEdge solutions
- Weighted efficiency of 99% for 5kW to 10kW models
EV Charging
- EV Charger and Solar Inverter built in one device
- 3kW and 5kW versions available
- Weighted efficiency 99% for 5kW model
- Charge EV from PV surplus
Home Hub
- Compatible with DC connected battery
- Provides back-up power in black-out
- Models from 3kW to 10kW
- Up to 300% DC oversizing
SolarEdge also offers StorEdge solutions which are designed to enable their non-hybrid inverters to connect with a DC battery like LG’s Chem.
Three Phase Inverters
SolarEdge offers a range of three-phase inverters that are designed for commercial and industrial solar PV systems.In general, three-phase inverters are larger in size and more expensive than single-phase inverters.
SolarEdge provides three-phase inverters from 5kW to 100kW, with a maximum efficiency of up to 99.2%. The 50kW to 100kW options couple together 2 or 3 smaller inverters with one central ‘Synergy Manager’ to achieve the overall power output.
These inverters are compatible with a wide range of solar panels and have features such as built-in panel-level monitoring and rapid shutdown which can be a big advantage in commercial applications. Additionally, SolarEdge’s three-phase inverters come with advanced safety features such as built-in thermal sensors to detect faulty wiring.
SolarEdge’s Warranty Offer for Australian Customers
The SolarEdge inverter itself has a 12-year product warranty, and the accompanying power optimizers have a 25-year warranty.
The standard 12-year product warranty for the inverter is unparalleled in the industry, and is a great indicator of high quality. The inverter warranty can also be extended to 20 years and 25 years with most of their residential models.
As the power optimisers are located on the roof and exposed more to the elements, a 25-year warranty provides peace of mind to owners for the expected life of a typical solar system. The warranty offer for SolarEdge is better than premium alternatives like Enphase micro-inverters.
SolarEdge has an Australian office and a clear warranty claim process on their website, and we have not heard any difficulties in claiming warranty from SolarEdge from our customers.
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SolarEdge Inverter Costs
As many SolarEdge inverters are manufactured in China or Hungary, this enables them to be sold at a cheaper price in comparison to European manufactured competitors.
Indicative pricing
| SolarEdge SEG-SE5000H 5KW Inverter | $1,200 to $1,400 |
| SolarEdge SEG-SE8K 8KW Inverter | $1,600 to $1,800 |
| SolarEdge SEG-SE10000H 10kW Inverter | $1,900 to $2,100 |
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 Solar Power project.
Compare quotes from up to 7 installers in your area now.
SolarEdge Inverter Limitations
Of course, any inverter can have its limitations and SolarEdge is no different. SolarEdge is more on the pricier side so expect to pay around 20-40% higher cost on average than other high performing and highly rated inverters. Keep in mind that inverter costs generally only run between 10-20% of your total system so it can depend greatly on the rest of your set up including your Solar Panels and Solar Battery.
Whether the size and scope of your system will need enough power to fully make use of SolarEdge optimizers is another consideration on whether to go with SolarEdge.
Pros and Cons of SolarEdge Inverters
Pros:
- One of the largest inverter companies in the world
- Industry-leading warranty offer
Cons:
- High upfront cost to reflect premium product
- Only compatible with SolarEdge optimizers
SolarEdge Inverter Specifications
| Single Phase Inverter with HD-Wave Technology 5.0kW | SolarEdge 3-Phase Range 5.0 kW | SolarEdge StorEdge Hybrid Inverter 5.0 kW | |
| Rated AC Power Output | 4985W | 4985W | 4985W |
| Maximum Continuous Output Current | 23A | 11.5A | 27A |
| Maximum DC Power | 7750W | 9450W | 6750W |
| Maximum Inverter Efficiency | 99.2% | 98% | 97.6% |
| Dimensions with Safety Switch/Connection Unit | 450 x 370 x 174 mm | 775 x 315 x 191 mm | 962 x 315 x 184 mm |
| Weight | 11.4Kg | 22.0 Kg | 26.5 Kg |
| Warranty | 12 Years (Extendable to 20 and 25 years) | 12 Years (Extendable to 20 and 25 years) | 12 Years (Extendable to 20 and 25 years) |
| Operational Temperature Range | -40°C to 60°C | -40°C to 60°C | -20°C to 60°C |
| Made in | China/Hungary | China/Hungary | China/Hungary |
So, Should I Buy SolarEdge Inverters?
If you’re considering buying an inverter, SolarEdge is one of the largest and most well-established companies in the world. With an office in Australia and long warranties, you can be confident in the quality and reliability of their products. However, it’s important to note that the initial cost of a SolarEdge inverter is higher compared to other options.
If you have shading issues on your roof or you are willing to pay a bit extra to get a premium solution, then our opinion is that SolarEdge would be a great fit for any residential or commercial projects.
Example of a SolarEdge Commercial Solar Project
In 2014, Honda Motorcars’ dealership in Ohio, USA wanted to install a carport canopy that would protect its fleet of automobiles, attract new customers, and power the facility. Dovetail Solar and Wind, were commissioned to run the project, and straight away they knew that SolarEdge’s inverters were going to be the best option. An inverter is generally only 10% of the costs of a commercial solar project, however, it is responsible for 100% of the energy production. Therefore, SolarEdge’s optimized inverter architecture offers the best of both worlds IE the design flexibility and energy boost of MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) combined with the cost effectiveness and simplicity of a string inverter.
Fun Facts on The Project
– More than 80% of the steel used for the structure came from recycled cars
– The project will cover at least 75 – 80% of the facilities energy
– Green Energy Ohio named Honda their Business of the Year in 2015
Read more product reviews from Solar Choice
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Reviews from Australians who have installed SolarEdge Inverters
Appalling service with condescending and arrogant representatives even towards our installer.
The app is excellent. We also have a Reposit app. Both work well.
great monitoring, no issues since install.
Solar inverter functionality and monitoring calability on app is excellent.
Works as expected - a bit hard to set up the mobile app, but once done, works really well.
We are pleased with the Solar Edge single phase inverter (10KW)
Inverter de-selects panels that are shaded to give maximum output. App is easy to use
The inverter is the real workhorse of the whole system and I could not believe how silent this machine is unlike other brands, it is seriously dead silent, plus it looks beautiful, with a feature packed app to come with it that works alongside the optimisers and battery. Solaredge will continue to release features through software updates
been going great absoutely no issues at all
The app was great but now won’t connect to my wifi.
Less than 5 years and I am on the 3rd SolarEdge inverter. Plus I installed solar on my vacation rental home and 2 years, SolarEdge went out and need a new inverter there. My install company will replace it under warranty, but all of their new packages sold, they do not use SolarEdge because of this continue problem.
A SolarEdge inverter was chosen along with the decision to use this company's DC Optimisers. The system is ready for a DC coupled SolarEdge home battery. SolarEdge inverters have an excellent reputation for quality and their mobile phone app is very intuitive and informative.
Extremely quiet and compact with no fans
stiil performing well
The inverter is working well and we are still peaking out at 5kW.
No problems at all to date.
Too early to commend on this.
Seems to have worked well with no problems so far
the inverter works good. Its wireless connection sometimes stuck and hard to reconfig. It happened once per year. Lucky I am IT guy and know how to do so by myself. SolarEdge has good monitoring system. However, you as an end user, must call them to enable it and provide email address. Also, do a test (cut wireless connection) to ensure they do setup correctly. in my situation, SolarEdge said that they didn't receive any monitoring setting request from Soltek (my installer). However, they told me that it was setup correctly and in fact it is not. It took me a few calls to get all setup.
Excellent, allows individual panel monitoring and maintains efficiency in shaded areas.
I problem with the installed inverter was identified as an inverter hardware fault and the inverter was replaced for an effective resolution.
The 2 inverters in the system - 5kw and 8kw have performed faultlessly to date and come with a 12 year warranty.
The status light combinations are completely opaque. I need to look them up every time.
Worked faultlessly for a while then inverter died. Several outside switches/isolaters were also replaced. Took several weeks until replaced at a cost to me of $500 call out fee. Still under warranty. Updated Inverter now installed. Installed Tesla 13kw battery last year 2022.
Inverter failed after 4 years, replaced without issue. It failed the week before Australia day long weekend and did take 3 - 4 weeks to be replaced . The solar edge monitoring system is excellent, very easy to see what you are producing and using. Easy to see previous days or comparisons with previous months/ years
Expensive but very reliable ...so far. Have a great monitoring platform
I love ability to monitor the power output and the additional safety features on this inverter.
Inverter is a 3 Phase unit and seems to be working great
Happy so far.
Great App and really user friendly. Went with the 8250 model with a 10.3KW panel capacity. I'm confident it will do the job for me.
Appears to be vey good and matches the panels in efficiency.
Fantastic. Glad I spent a few hundred dollars extra for this inverter. The app is great, I use it almost daily and has helped adjust our usage to surplus times. Looking forward to eventually adding EV and another system down the track.
Numerous issues with communication issue over the internet connection. The comms kept disconnected from time to time. This issue has since been resolved. I was informed by the manufacturer support that they have performed the OTA firmware update. Although settings of the solar / grid energy usage is possible and configurable, it cannot be done on the mobile app, but must be done by either the installer or the manufacturer. This has caused issues having lots of emails to communicate on the needed configurations as the installer support is based in Quuensland, SolarEdge support in NSW, and I am in Melbourne. It did get resolved but anytime I need to nmake changes, it would be raising a support ticket.
very happy with that as every panel is individually driven - great progress.
Battery and EV ready
3 ph Top quality, top value, excellent app to track all important aspects of output down to individual panels
Seems to operate as promised and the monitoring platform is very useful
Very satisfied! Solved a problem with power optimisers, 2 of them had to be replaced, solaredge shipped them to me directly and offer to pay for replacement.
The inverter failed after about a year and was replaced under warranty
The Inverter seem to be delivering what was expected.
Have the SAolarEdge HD-Wave, would have liked to go with the SolareEdge Energy Hub (future proofing), but was not yet available at time of install (approx 6 month wait). But happy with the HD-Wave. No battery yet...if only they'd become cost effective. :)
Since installation we haven’t had any problems.
Excellent. The online monitoring is great.
Great once the consumption monitoring component was installed
Great app that keeps me up to date in real time
A few issues with the inverter, more specifically the Smart Switch communication technology. Things seem to have stabilised but it took well over 12 months
The system is set up as 3 phase, and the setup was a little difficult to setup - both for the initial array, and the additions. The first 3 phase inverter failed after 3 1/2 years and needed to be replaced, but the replacement has been good, so far
We had the system installed and was supposed to be Battery ready but the battery company LG who's battery was compatible with our system stopped making the model that was suitable for our system because they had problems with them catching fire. This made the installing there brand impossible and the Solaredge battery was too expensive so we got 2 5kw Goodwe batteries and 5kw goodwe inverter installed
Except the SolarEdge Hot Water Controller which as mentioned loses wifi sync with the Inverter (wouldn't buy this component again as unreliable failure point - we have had no hot water and no system alert that the controller has failed). Inverter just works and runs cool so happy with how it works.
Very happy with this very flexible inverter.
I have had other inverters and this is by far the best. The App is great and lots of info online for trouble shooting any problems.
Failed within 12 hours
Excellent
Early days but no drama to date. A great real time WIFI monitoring APP.
/
Not installed.
See above
COMPACT AND LOOKS GREAT
inverter failed
good system ,easy to use
My SolarEdge Genesis SE6000H inverter seems to be doing its job very effectively.
Seems to work well. Installed approx. 2 mths ago and no issues as yet.
Could not be happier with this. Online interface is excellent. Efficiency is excellent. It regularly tells me I'm making 5kw on a 5kw Inverter.
providing good service and is reliable
Too early to tell if it is good. But the reviews are good.
Excellent design - monitoring software and app work perfectly.
App is good but inaccurate by up to 30%. Not good. Otherwise the inverter appears t o do what it is supposed to. The installation guys had problems configuring it but sorted it out in the end. No user manual or information for the owner about the inverter. All the information provided is about installation.
Looks good and seems to be easy to use
Note we used 2 x 5W inverters to allow us to restart the system off a battery in the event of a blackout. No-one other than SolarPro advised us this alternative.
Whilst we see these are working now, we do not know our financial gain yet.
best choice
Too early to comment
Small and unobtrusive in garage with internet monitoring of entire system and individual panels
Amazong
