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How Much Do Solar Inverters Cost

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Before buying a solar inverter, we have to calculate the solar inverter cost first. Because an excellent solar inverter may be with us for 30 or even 40 years. To keep our subsequent expenses to a minimum requires us to calculate the cost carefully before buying the inverter.

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So, in addition to the inverter’s electricity bill and maintenance, do you know what else may increase your prices? If you are still a beginner in solar inverters, please browse our guide on the cost of a solar inverter. Most solar installers provide a shortlist of inverters if you already deal with them. However, it may limit your choice of an inverter.

This is because factors such as availability, size, and the solar installation location are important. They determine which solar inverter to install in your home. There are many inverters on the market. Each solar inverter has its own price, efficiency, and warranty. Knowing some background information will go a long way in helping you make an informed financial choice. You will receive a quote from a solar installer when you are ready to buy. This quote should include the panels included in the installation, the inverter, additional hardware and labor, and the cost of each item.

Solar Inverter Cost

The good news is that, while a solar inverter system isn’t cheap, it’s an excellent investment. As a result, solar installers can place huge orders for inverters, solar panels, and other relevant equipment. This enables them to obtain the best available pricing, which are frequently lower than what you or I can discover on the Internet or in stores.

What does a solar inverter cost?

1. Inverters with strings: The solar inverter cost of an inverter is determined by its size and brand. A string inverter can cost anywhere from $1,000 to over $2,000.
2. Micro-inverter: The solar inverter cost of a micro-inverter is mostly determined by the number of panels in the system and their rated output. A microinverter will set you back around $300. A system with a microinverter is expected to cost roughly 20% more than a system with a string inverter, according to popular estimates.
3. Optimizers: Optimizers are similar to microinverters but are less expensive. Adding an optimizer to a few panels that really require one, on the other hand, may only cost a few hundred dollars.
4. Hybrid inverter: Hybrid inverters are priced between $1,000 and $2,000, with many variants costing $3,000 or more.
5. Battery inverters: If the battery requires a separate battery inverter, the overall cost of the installation will normally increase by $2,000 to $3,000.

What’s the Average Solar inverter cost

Solar Inverters cost between $ and $ for a medium – sized installation. However, as the size of the installation grows, the cost might drastically escalate. Professionals consider average installation prices, inverter and panel costs, and a variety of other issues.

They discovered that solar inverters cost roughly $0.28 per watt on average in early , with prices ranging from $0.50 to $0.10. Inverters typically contribute for around 6% of the overall installed cost, with an average cost of $0.28 per watt and an average installation cost of $3.63 per watt.

This suggests that the inverter should account for around $1,100 of a total cost of $18,308 for a 6 kW installation. If your inverter is on the higher end of the spectrum, say $0.50 per watt (about 9% of the overall cost), it will set you back $1,650.

Solar Inverter Cost Quick Tip:

Larger solar systems necessitate larger, more costly solar inverters (and vice versa). However, multiplying the installation size (in watts, i.e. watts) by the typical solar inverter cost ($0.28/watt) can instantly tell you if your installer is seriously overcharging (or undercharging). This will serve as a standard against which you may compare your own inverter prices.

As an example, a 10 kW inverter installation should cost around $2,800. The inverter would cost around $4,760 for a 17 kW installation. Remember that this is the average price. Solar Inverters, microinverters, and high-efficiency inverters built in the United States are costly.

If your inverter accounts for more over 8% to 11% of the total installed cost, speak with your installer to figure out what’s going on. They could have made the sales or installation procedure easier. Inverters are therefore less expensive than others for other installations, rather than being overly expensive (labor, panels, etc.). In this scenario, the higher percentage of the total inverter cost is really beneficial to you (if they are still installing quality equipment).

What if I buy my own solar inverter?

Of course, you are free to purchase your own solar inverter. However, keep in mind that you will only be purchasing individual solar inverters, not in bulk like solar firms do. Then you’ll almost certainly have to pay a greater amount.

Of course, the amount you spend is determined by the manufacturer and model, as well as efficiency, warranty, and brand awareness. You will save on labor, sales and marketing, operating expenses, real estate rent, and other “soft costs” if you do your installation. These are all added to the overall installation cost by the installer. If you can avoid these costs, you will save a lot of money.

Solar Inverter Cost is not everything

When comparing these different solar inverters, we nearly entirely consider the cost of the SOLAR INVERTOR. Before selecting an inverter, however, there are a number of other equally vital aspects to consider.

Warranty Information

Solar inverters, with an anticipated lifespan of 15 to 20 years, are not as long-lasting as solar panels, which have a 25 to 30 year lifespan. Your inverter will almost certainly need to be replaced at some point. Spending a little additional money on an extended warranty at the time of purchase will save you a lot of money in the long run.A free 5-10 year parts and labor guarantee is included with all lux inverters. However, for a small charge, you can upgrade to a 20-30 year free warranty. This long-term warranty is well worth the high price tag.

Efficiency

The efficiency of an inverter is a measure of how much of the DC electricity it receives can be converted to AC power for use in the home or on the utility grid. Modern inverters are extremely efficient, with conversion rates of up to 98 percent for lux inverters.In general, lower-cost inverters will have lower efficiency. If you find a great deal on an inverter, make sure to check out its efficiency (together with the other factors given above) to ensure you’re making the right choice.

What causes solar inverters to break?

Because solar inverters are the most vulnerable component of a solar PV system, this is a critical consideration. Protecting the solar inverter might also help us save money.

There are two basic ways in which your solar inverter might be damaged.

• Installed incorrectly – If the solar inverter was not installed by an MCS-approved installation, it may have further issues. If you undertake a DIY installation, you may end up with unreliable fuses and poor wire connections since your inverter is not sized to accommodate your solar panels.
• Environmental deterioration – It is vital that you locate your string inverter in a safe environment. If you store your inverter too close to the ground, it will suffer from dust and high humidity in the summer. The best habitat is a well-ventilated garage or attic space.

Comparing different types of solar inverters

String inverters

The most popular type of inverter, as well as the simplest and most affordable. An inverter is attached to a string (or strings) of solar panels. The inverter is normally located near the home distribution panel on an external wall. For decades, this has been a popular solar PV system design, and it is suited for most residences.

Disadvantages

Solar panels have the ability to provide insufficient amounts of electricity. Because the panels in a string are connected in series. If one panel becomes shaded, badly contaminated, or fails entirely, the output of the entire string is decreased, usually to the level of the shaded panel.

In other words, if one panel’s output drops to 50% for any reason, the output of the complete string of panels also decreases to 50%. By doing so, you can basically lose the majority of the string’s output.

However, without shading concerns, this is unlikely to happen. You also keep your system in good working order and monitor its performance to spot any problems early.

Microinverters

Each panel can have its own microinverter instead of a single solar inverter for the entire system. In most cases, the panels and microinverters are distinct components. Installing microinverters is usually more expensive. Microinverters are even more subject to weather than string inverters on the wall because they are directly connected to each panel on the roof.

Tips

• Microinverters are slightly less efficient than a decent string inverter on their own. However, because of the reduced impacts of shadows, broken panels, and other factors, the overall efficiency of installing a microinverter can be boosted by roughly 12%.
• You will only lose the output of a panel if it fails or goes dark.
• There is no risk of arcing or fire with microinverters because they use AC power.

Solar hybrid inverter

Hybrid inverters are currently the most used inverter type. This is although hybrid inverters are more expensive than standard string inverters. However, in recent years hybrid inverters have recently started to compete with regular inverters in terms of price.

Long life, low power usage, and ease of maintenance are all advantages of hybrid inverters. It is, without a doubt, the greatest option for inverters.

It is crucial to note, however, that hybrid inverter degree batteries have extremely precise criteria. If you know you’ll be getting batteries soon, you can buy a hybrid inverter without them, but make sure the batteries you want are still available. Otherwise, compatibility problems may resurface.

Solar Battery Inverter

If you currently have a solar system and are satisfied with your current inverter, but wish to add a battery to it. Instead of replacing the inverter with a hybrid type, you can connect the battery to a dedicated battery inverter.

The battery inverter turns saved battery power into AC electricity for your home circuit, and it can also store solar energy.

In conclusion

For a couple of years, everything can function nicely. What about in five years? What about ten years? Let’s say 15 years. We have piece of mind knowing that we have an extended warranty. In general, the longer the manufacturer’s free warranty, the higher the product’s quality.

As a result, while choosing an solar inverter, we always prioritize affordability. However, make careful to consider its effectiveness, warranty, and reviews. Inverters are expensive, accounting for around 8% of the entire solar inverter cost of an installation. As a result, you must first ensure that you are purchasing a high-quality product before proceeding.

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A solar inverter’s efficiency determines how much solar electricity will be lost on the short journey from your solar panels to your switchboard.

The efficiency of popular Australian residential solar inverters varies from 96.5% to 98%.  Higher efficiency lets a home squeeze more kilowatt-hours of generation out of its solar power system.  While definitely not the only consideration when buying an inverter, I’d say it doesn’t receive as much attention as it deserves. 

To help you decide if an inverter with higher efficiency is worthwhile, first I’ll provide some information on the topic, and then I’ll calculate:

1. How many extra kilowatt-hours a one percentage point higher efficiency will generate from a 6.6 kilowatt solar system in each Australian capital, and… 
2. An estimate of how much money this may save over a 10 year period for each capital. 

While I can work out how many extra kilowatt-hours will be generated pretty well, the figure for 10 year savings will only be a rough estimate because it’s not possible to know what the future will bring.  But I’ll provide it anyway, because it’s better than having no estimate at all. 

For more information, please visit single phase solar inverter.

If the system you’re considering isn’t 6.6 kilowatts in size this information is still be useful.  The figures just have to be proportionately adjusted.  If you have an 8 kilowatt system, then bump them up by 20%.  Or 21.% if you are Annoyingly Never Allowing Latitude. 

European Efficiency Not Maximum Efficiency

Inverter datasheets normally have two numbers for efficiency – maximum efficiency and European efficiency. The maximum efficiency figure is the best the solar inverter can do when all the stars align and isn’t very useful.  European efficiency is its average performance under reasonably realistic circumstances.  It’s the more useful figure and the one I use in this article.  If you want to look up the standard so you can read it yourself, I have two pieces of information for you:

1. The standard’s code is EN
2. You are even weirder than I am.

While having an average efficiency figure based on Australian conditions and temperatures here would be better, the European efficiency figures are still useful and are the standard used by the industry.  (There is the Californian Energy Commission standard which would probably make more sense for Australia than the European one that’s based on conditions in Italy, but it hasn’t really caught on.)

A List Of Solar Inverter Efficiencies

Here’s a list of European efficiencies for a range of inverters.  With one exception these are all either 5 kilowatts or close to it, single phase inverters; the most commonly installed type in Australia.  The exception is the Enphase microinverter which is 295 watts: 

• Delta Home Series: 98%
• Huawei Smart Energy Center:  98%
• Sungrow SG5K-D:  98%
• Solis 3P5K:  97.8%
• Goodwe DNS:  97.5%
• Fronius Primo: 97.1%
• ABB Uno:  97%
• Enphase IQ7+ microinverter:  96.5%
• SMA Sunnyboy:  96.5%
• MIL-Solar Eclipse:  96.3%

The Enphase microinverter is near the bottom of the list, but as microinverters provide some advantages they’re not directly comparable to the other solar inverters. 

If you are wondering where I got this list from, I lifted it from the MIL-Solar inverter review I wrote last week.  All the information is from the manufacturer’s websites, so if it’s wrong it’s their own fault.  The reason why I chose these inverter brands is because they are all on our recommended inverter chart from our Solar 101 Guide:

There is an inverter brand missing from the list of efficiencies above and I’ll put it here:

• SolarEdge 98.8%

That is a very impressive efficiency, but the reason I left it off is because every panel in a SolarEdge system must have a SolarEdge optimiser on it.  Under the right circumstances, such as heavy shading, these can improve a system’s output, but without shading they may reduce output.  I wrote about a study that looks into solar panel optimisers here.   

The Bigger The Better

Larger solar inverters with more kilowatts of capacity generally have slightly better efficiencies, while smaller ones do slightly worse.  Three phase inverters may also have a slight efficiency advantage.  

Modern Solar Inverter Efficiency Is Good

Inverter efficiency these days is pretty impressive.  When rooftop solar first started to really take off in , people were happy with 94%.  At that time a figure of 98% would have seemed implausible.  Back then if you’d said within 10 years there would not only be 98% efficient inverters but they’d also be among the lower cost inverters available, you probably would have been locked up in a loony bin for wild eyed optimists and spent your days weaving baskets with people who thought Donald Trump had a realistic shot at becoming President.

While it’s hard to believe 5 kilowatt solar inverters can do much better than 98% efficiency, they may be able to creep higher.  Expecting them to reach 99% efficiency may be unrealistic, but some people are optimistic that genetic algorithms can be used to improve electronic efficiency by letting computers work out the best way to optimise things on their own.

Lower Efficiency Can Mean Higher Reliability

Fronius inverters aren’t cheap, but are considered reliable.  I have no problem calling them a premium product, which simply means people are willing to pay more for better expected quality.  But if you look at its efficiency of 97.1% you may be wondering why it’s worse than others that are considerably cheaper, as the relatively inexpensive Sungrow comes in at 98%.  One reason is because solar inverters can sacrifice efficiency for durability.

The biggest contributor to inverter failure is heat.  In chemistry the rule of thumb is a 10 degree rise in temperature halves the time a reaction takes, while in electrical engineering it halves the lifespan of electronics.  To an extent it’s possible to work around this with good design, but heat is always going to be a problem.  Fronius inverters mitigate this by having two fans to provide active cooling.  One inside the inverter case that blows air around and helps prevent hot spots forming in the electronics and another outside that blows air across its radiator fins. 

Since Europe is a lot cooler than here, I don’t know if it gets hot enough for the Fronius external fan to turn on when the European efficiency is measured.  But my understanding is the internal fan generally operates continuously through the day and this will consume power and reduce its efficiency rating.

Besides a potentially longer life, active cooling using fans has a few other advantages:

• It reduces weight by allowing smaller heat sinks and radiators than inverters with passive cooling.
• It gives more installation flexibility as it can be mounted on an incline or on its back, while fanless inverters have to be mounted vertically with plenty of clearance around them to allow for air to circulate. 
• They can tolerate higher air temperatures before they derate and reduce output to protect their electronics.  

Disadvantages of having active cooling are:

• Fans make noise, so you have to be careful where you locate inverters with them.
• Fans can break down, so if they aren’t reliable themselves they can reduce solar inverter reliability. 
• Reliable fans cost money.

Doing without fans can increase an inverter’s efficiency and help keep its price down, but — all else equal — at the cost of a shorter life. 

It’s not clear at the moment which type of cooling will win out in the future — active or passive.  As solar inverters become more efficient they produce less waste heat and potentially reduce the need for fans, but perhaps in the future solid state cooling with no moving parts to wear out will be used or possibly even “electric wind” fans that also don’t have parts that move. 

Warranties — An Imperfect Guide To Reliability

If you want an idea of how much faith manufacturers have in the likely longevity of their inverters the warranty period is a useful, though imperfect, guide.  Just because two different brands of solar inverter have the same warranty period doesn’t mean they’re likely to last for the same period of time.  But because they have to put their money where their mouths are, it is a rough guide and you can be pretty confident a Huawei inveter with a 10 year warranty will — on average at least — last longer than an inverter with a 5 year warranty. 

Extra Energy Per Percentage Point Of Extra Efficiency

To work out how much extra solar electricity each additional percentage point of inverter efficiency will provide for a typical solar power system in each capital, I have made the following assumptions:

• A typical solar system is 6.6 kilowatts
• It will produce an average of 95% the output the PVWatts site gives for north facing solar panels with little or no shading.1
• I will take European efficiency figures at face value, even though they are European and not specifically designed for Australian conditions.

I am using a figure of 95% of the PVWatts figures for north facing panels because it’s common for at least some of the panels of a system to not face north.  It also allows for occasional periods where the inverter is receiving more power from solar panels than it can use and so lower efficiency makes little difference.  (If a system has two panel arrays facing different directions these periods will be reduced.)

With these assumptions, compared to a 97% efficient inverter, a 98% efficient solar inverter will generate an average of this many additional kilowatt-hours per year in each Australian capital:

• Adelaide:  93   
• Brisbane:  100     
• Canberra:  98  
• Darwin:  104 
• Hobart:  79  
• Melbourne:  88 
• Perth:  106   
• Sydney:  88

So in Brisbane getting an inverter with one percentage point higher efficiency will, over 10 years, result in around 1,000 additional kilowatt-hours of solar energy generation.  This doesn’t take into account the gradual deterioration of solar panels over time, but provided you bought decent panels and not ones that are crap, total extra generation over 10 years is likely to be around 950 kilowatt-hours or more.

10 Year Savings By Capital

I’ll give an estimate of how much money a home with a 6.6 kilowatt solar system will save over 10 years with 1 extra percentage point of inverter efficiency for each capital.  I am choosing 10 years because if a solar inverter doesn’t last at least that long these days it’s a bit crap.  It will only be a rough estimate, as it’s not possible to know what will happen with electricity prices and solar feed-in tariffs in the future.  It also greatly depends on a household’s solar energy self consumption.  Homes that use a large portion of the solar electricity generated during the day will save more from having a higher efficiency inverter compared to a home that’s usually empty during daylight hours.

I will get the figures for electricity prices, solar feed-in tariffs, and solar self consumption percentages from the SolarQuotes Electricity Plan Comparison Tool.  In addition to keeping my previous assumptions I’ll also use these ones:

• Household have the best standard electricity plan that’s available for a normal household.
• Electricity prices and solar feed in tariffs will remain constant in terms of today’s money.  This means I’m assuming they’ll stay as they are and just keep pace with inflation.  Figures will be given in today’s money.
• Solar self consumption for each capital is the average figure given by our electricity plan comparison tool.
• I won’t adjust for gradual solar power system deterioration.

With these assumptions I get the following savings over 10 years for each 1 percentage point increase in solar inverter efficiency:

• Adelaide:  $274
• Brisbane:  $174  
• Canberra:  $174
• Darwin:  $132
• Hobart:  $143
• Melbourne:  $132
• Perth:  $172
• Sydney:  $207

These are optimistic figures.  You may want to adjust them downwards if you expect grid electricity prices and/or solar feed-in tariffs to fall or if you bought crap panels and expect them to deteriorate a lot.  If you want my rough guess, I’d say it probably makes sense to take the above figures and reduce them by 20% to cover price changes and panel deterioration over the next 10 years. 

How To Compare Inverters

As an example of how to use this information to compare solar inverters I’ll consider a household with the following characteristics:

• It’s located in Canberra.
• Solar self consumption is average for the location — 21%.
• The homeowner is trying to chose between an SMA Sunny Boy with 96.5% efficiency and a Huawei with 98% efficiency. 

Looking at the 10 year savings estimates, one percentage point of extra efficiency will save $174.  Because the efficiency of the Huawei is 1.5 percentage points higher, the $174 is multiplied by 1.5.  This means the Huawei’s greater efficiency may save $263 over 10 years.   

If the home owner suspects the 10 year saving estimate is too high and is only likely to be 80% that amount, making that adjustment brings it down to $210. 

If, instead of 10 years, the homeowner wanted to estimate how much the more efficient solar inverter would save over it’s lifespan, it’s necessary to decide how long it’s likely to last.  German made SMAs have a good reputation for quality while Huawei residential inverters haven’t been around for nearly as long, but come with a 10 year warranty.  For these reasons the homeowner decides both will last about 15 years.  This means if they think the Huawei would save $210 dollars over 10 years, that would become $315 over 15 years. 

If their solar system differs in size from 6.6 kilowatts they should proportionately adjust the savings.  For example, if it’s 13.2 kilowatts the estimate should be doubled.

Making An Informed Choice 

All else equal, the higher a solar inverter’s efficiency the better.  But when it comes to different models of inverters all else is never quite equal and so efficiency is just one factor to consider.  If you want to get the most bang for your buck it will be an important consideration, as an inverter with higher efficiency can save hundreds of dollars over its lifespan. 

Contact us to discuss your requirements of single phase hybrid inverter. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.