Note: Solar Choice is not affiliated with Sungrow Solar Inverters and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product brand over another.
Overview of Sungrow – Company History
Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. was founded in China in 1997 by Cao Renxian, a professor at the Hefei University of Technology. Professor Renxian founded Sungrow after learning about the dire state of electrical availability in rural western China.
Sungrow has since grown to be one of the largest solar inverter manufacturers globally. Sungrow has manufactured over 100GW in 60 countries giving them a worldwide market share of 15%. This has contributed to the company’s valuation of $1.5 billion.
Sungrow entered the Australian market in 2012 and has stated that they have captured around 15% of the inverter market. Sungrow specialises in research and development, taking pride in being an innovation leader within the solar industry. This commitment has resulted in more than 1,600 patent applications as of June 2019.
A solar system’s inverter is the point at which the DC electricity produced by solar panels is turned into grid-compatible AC electricity. There are four types of solar inverters, these being string inverters, hybrid inverters, microinverters, and power optimisers.
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 the usable AC electricity that powers homes.
Hybrid Invertershave the same characteristics as a string inverters with the additional feature of a charge controller, which is used to manage a battery system. Charge controllers can also be bought as an additional unit, but hybrid inverters provide the option of an all-in-one device.
Sungrow Inverter Efficiency
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 efficiency. To read about the importance of inverter sizing and system efficiency click here.
Residential inverter efficiency standards are generally 95 to 98 percent. Sungrow’s CEC Approved inverter models range in max efficiency from 97.7% to 98.6%, with the majority of the models over 98%. This places Sungrow Inverters towards the top of the residential inverter market based on efficiency.
Sungrow Inverter Costs
The majority of Sungrow inverters are manufactured in China, which means that they will generally be cheaper than European-manufactured competitors.
Indicative retail price excluding installation
Sungrow Inverter Model
Price Range
Sungrow SG5.0RS 5kW inverter
$1,000 to $1,200
Sungrow SH5.0RS 5kW hybrid Inverter
$2,000 to $2,200
Sungrow SG10RT 10kW 3-phase inverter
$2,200 to $2,400
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.
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Sungrow Inverters – Point of Difference
The Sungrow CEC-approved Inverter range differs from other inverter manufacturers as they offer different types and configurations in the typical power range. Sungrow manufactures both string and hybrid residential inverters, with the following string inverter models coming with Multi-MPPT; SG5KTL-MT, SG10KTL-MT, SG10KTL-M, & SG12KTL-M. All of the CEC-approved Sungrow Inverter ranges are Transformerless Inverters, which contributes to their high efficiency.
Inverter Monitoring
Sungrow provides users with the ability to remotely monitor inverter performance, as all inverter models come with WIFI capabilities. Users can monitor performance from their phone through the app iSolarCloud, which is available on both iPhone and android.
Sungrow Inverter Warranty
In Australia, the majority of CEC-approved Sungrow inverters come with a standard 5 year manufacturer’s warranty. Most current residential Sungrow inverters come with a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty while some of their older models came with a 5-year warranty. The warranty period commences on the date the inverter is installed, or 6 months after the date of production, whichever occurs first.
Our advice to customers is that a warranty is only worth something if the company providing it is still around and there is an accessible route to claiming it if your Solar Installer is no longer around. Sungrow is well established in Australia with an office in North Sydney, NSW.
A Full Range of Sungrow Inverters Available in Australia
There are 39 of Sungrow Inverters (under the name of Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd) approved by the Clean Energy Council for the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which is Australia’s home solar rebate program. The majority of the listed inverters are available in Australia.
Sungrow offers string, central, and turnkey inverters to accommodate various solar projects. Their string inverters, ranging from 2kW to 352kW, are well-suited for residential and commercial installations. Sungrow’s central and turnkey inverter series target larger commercial and utility-scale solar projects. This review will primarily focus on Sungrow’s string inverters, which are commonly found in Australian solar markets.
RS Series – Residential Single Phase Inverters
Sungrow offer single phase inverters with output capacity of 2kW to the recently added 10kW. For the commonly used 5kW inverter size, Sungrow offer the SG5.0RS and the SG5.0RS-ADA. Seemingly similar in most characteristics the SG5.0RS-ADA is almost twice the size and weight.
The extra size seems to be invested in the inclusion of an additional maximum power point tracker (MPPT) allowing solar designers to includes solar panels on a 3rd orientation on the roof.
Both inverters have low voltage requirement to start up meaning they will turn on slightly earlier in the morning than other inverters on the market and stay running slightly later in the evening. The inverters have a maximum efficiency rating of up to 97.9% which puts them ahead of the European residential inverter options on the market.
RT Series – Residential Three Phase Inverters
Sungrow’s RT series is their main 3-phase solution catering to residential solar systems and small businesses with an output capacity ranging from 5kW to 20kW.
The inverters reach an impressive maximum efficiency of up to 98.5% for their 20kW inverter.
Unlike the RS series, the RT series does not include a built-in screen or even LEDs on the inverter body so customers will have to rely solely on the monitoring app to check performance.
One limitation for users with more complicated solar panel layouts on the roof, is that the inverters only come with 2 MPPTs. Many other 3 phase inverter options have 3 or 4 MPPTs at similar inverter capacities.
SH Series – Hybrid Solar Inverters
All of Sungrow’s residential single phase and three phase inverters come in a hybrid option. A hybrid inverter has the ability to convert power from AC/DC as well as regulate solar power so that it can charge a battery. This option is designed for customers adding a battery, or hoping to keep their options open to add a battery in the future.
Sungrow manufacture their own battery solution which can be seamlessly connected with their hybrid inverters.
The amount of solar panels connected to these inverters can be significantly oversized to ensure the battery is fully utilised. For example the 5kW option (SH5.0RS) allows owners to connect up to 12kW of solar panel capacity.
For their 5kW inverter there is roughly a $1,000 premium to add in the hybrid functionality from their regular 5kW inverter.
CX Series (Commercial Solar Inverters)
One place where Sungrows excels for value and quality is in their commercial solar inverter range.
The Sungrow CX series, coming in 30kW, 50kW and 110kW sizes, is very popular amongst commercial solar installers due to their versatility, performance and attractive price point.
These inverters range from 3 MPPTs and a max efficiency of 98.6% on the 30kW model to 9 MPPTs and 98.7% max efficiency on their 110kW model.
These inverters still lack a decent display screen on the physical device and are supported by an online web portal and app.
Sungrow Inverter Comparison
Sungrow 5kW Hybrid SH5.0RS
Sungrow 5kW SG5.0RS-ADA
Sungrow 10kW 3 Phase SG10RT
Inverter Type
Hybrid
String
String
Rated AC Power Output
4999W
4999W
9999W
Maximum Continuous Output Current
22.7A
21.7A
15.2A
Maximum DC Voltage
600V
600V
1100V
Maximum Inverter Efficiency
97.7%
97.8%
98.5%
Dimensions
490 x 340 x 170 mm
490 x 340 x 125 mm
370 x 480 x 195 mm
Weight
18.5kg
19kg
18kg
Warranty
10 years
10 years
10 years
Operational Temperature Range
-25°C to 60°C
-25°C to 60°C
-25°C to 60°C
Made in
China
China
China
Example of a Sungrow Commercial Solar Project
Sungrow’s 1500V Central Inverter Model SG3125HV-MV were installed at Kristal Solar Park, located in Lommel, Belgium. The 100MW solar park has nine different plots covering 227 Acres and is the largest in the Benelux region. The solar park has been grid-connected since Q4 2019 and is expected to generate 85 GWh annually.
The three-level topology design of the Sungrow SG3125HV-MV contributes to the inverter’s maximum efficiency of 99% and Europe efficiency of 98.7%, guaranteeing premium yields for the solar park. Due to the 20-foot container design, the Sungrow SG3125HV-MV has low transportation and installation costs.
Compare quotes from up to 7 pre-vetted installers in your area now. Since 2008 our knowledge and sophisticated software has allowed over 300,000 Australian households and businesses to make a well-informed choice on their solar & battery installer.
Jeff has consulted on over 20MW of commercial solar projects, ranging from SMEs to ASX top 100 companies. Jeff has also provided independent advice to 100s of residential solar, battery and EV charging customers across every state in Australia. He holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is an expert in business strategy and financial analysis.
The app is working fine.
From research I did, Sungrow was not the most expensive, but a reliable unit.
3rd December 2024
Matt
-
10-15kW system
5.00
Happy with the inverter and its battery capability
2nd December 2024
Saulo
-
10kW system
5.00
Great app for
monitoring. and he inverter is so quiet. I was bias because I had a fronius system. I have no regret for choosing this inverter
30th November 2024
Paul
VIC - 3283
6kW system
5.00
still organising monitoring set up
sun grow was in the package from Green .com.au
10th November 2024
Elizabeth
-
6kW system
5.00
Easy to monitor and manage. Reasonably priced. No issues
9th November 2024
Wayne
-
10-15kW system
5.00
happy with the inverter and easy to use app
6th November 2024
Clive
VIC - 3032
7kW system
5.00
Sungrow seemed to be a common brand and the inverter and battery have been in the market for a while with positive reports on their reliability.
Easy to monitor the system productivity through the App on phone and online.
5th November 2024
Gerard
-
6kW system
5.00
Using to much data approx 1.6giggs still trying to work out why as I don't have wifi am using a dongle just for solar shouldn't use that amount
31st October 2024
Anthony
-
10kW system
5.00
Happy so far hasn’t burned my house down
30th October 2024
Michael
-
10-15kW system
5.00
This brand was recommended to us by SunSmart SC. The app provides us with sufficient information.
21st October 2024
David
QLD - 4151
10-15kW system
3.00
Seems to be working now connected properly
19th October 2024
Olaf
-
6kW system
5.00
Exceptional product, easy to navigate app and monitoring functions, hybrid capabilities make battery addition an appealing option.
17th October 2024
Yiannis
TAS - 7054
6kW system
Review left 2 years after system installed
4.00
Inverter works ok. Monitoring app virtually impossible to set up.
16th October 2024
Liane
-
5kW system
5.00
This is the 2nd day but all looks good so far
15th October 2024
Andrea
-
10kW system
5.00
We chose this brand from reviews and recommendations made by trusted others. The online support documentation is very useful. The inverter got very hot on day 3 of the installation, which concerned us, but a quick 'Google' search of the issue gave us peace of mind. At this stage we do not have internet and the app connected to the inverter and rely on reading the inverter panel, which is clear and accessible.
14th October 2024
Adam
-
15-20kW system
5.00
There is a lot of information on the Internet and the Australian market when looking at solar power. This brand of inverter is highly regarded and once again cost-effective and very reliable.
14th October 2024
Michelle
-
7kW system
5.00
Very prolific inverter, I'm confident in my choice
8th October 2024
Jessica
QLD - 4873
10-15kW system
5.00
Recently installed on my mother's house as well has 8 years ago at our family friends. Both had good experiences so along with SuniSolars recommendations, the SunGrow Hybrid Inverter was installed. I chose to go with the Hybrid inverter over the standard inverter in order to install batteries in the future without the hassle of upgrading the inverter.
6th October 2024
Wayne
NSW - 2571
10-15kW system
5.00
The inverter and the App are working perfectly.
Showing 20 of 376 Reviews
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