Top 10 solar inverters in India

Introduction  

Rooftop solar PV has been gaining popularity in India recently. The ministry of new and renewable energy has actively been promoting the same with subsidies and easy loans. In addition, various states have also brought out various policies to this effect. Tamil Nādu for example provides a subsidy of Rs. 20000 per kW of grid connected rooftop solar PV in addition to central subsidies. These systems typically range  from 2 kW to 5kW for the individual houses.  On grid inverters are directly connected to the grid and feed the power generated from rooftop PV to the grid. Inverters are typically chosen based on their capacity, size, peak efficiency, and of course cost. This blog discusses the top 10 solar inverters for rooftop PV application in Chennai.  

Top Solar Inverters  

• Growatt

Growatt has presence in more than 150 countries and have distributors in Chennai. They have a range of on-grid DC to AC solar inverters for single phase and three phase connections in the 2 to 5 kW range, with up to a maximum of two MPPTs. They support up to a maximum DC input voltage of 550V and a current of 13.5 A with operating efficiency around 98%. The dimensions of the models are around 375x350x160mm with a weight of 10.8 kg. They also come with features like OLED display and touch key function for easy control. A standard 5-year warranty with an optional 10-year addon is available.

• Deye

Deye is another international brand founded in 2007. They have on-grid solar inverter models available for residential applications in Chennai. The models in 2- 5kW ranges have maximum input capacities of 550V and 13 A per phase. With an overall operating efficiency of around 97%, they are also compact, with a maximum dimension of 330x323x190mm and a weight of 7.5 kg for single phase. Three phase models are available above 3kW. A standard 5-year warranty is offered.

• Luminous

Luminous is a well-known brand in India. They have a series of Grid Tie Inverter series for solar applications. For residential consumers, they have inverters ranging from 1kW to 8kW. They have listed models with 2 and 4 MTTPs. Input voltages can be up to 1000V in quad MTTP models and claimed efficiencies in the range of 97%. Dimensions vary with capacity, average sizes and weight are 310x373x160mm and 7.4 kg for a 2kW model for reference. A standard warranty of 5-years is offered. 

• Sofar

Sofar Solar, another player, has been in India since 2018. For residential applications, they have models with both one or two MPPTs with 360V and 600V maximum input voltages respectively. The maximum current is 12.5A. Three phase models are also available. Maximum rated efficiencies are around 98%. Physical dimensions go up to 345x341x167mm and 10kg for single phase 5kW systems. They offer a standard 5-year warranty with options for extension up to 7 or 10 years.

• SMA India

SMA is a German company with 40 plus years’ experience and global presence. They have their Sunny Boy (single phase) and Sunny Tripower (3 phase) series of string inverters available for residential customers with powers ranging from 1kW to 6kW. They also have proprietary software solutions like SMA Smart Connected, SMA Shade Fix etc. and integrated online communication portals for monitoring. Maximum rated input voltages and currents are in the range of 600V and 15A. Dimensions go up to are 435x470x176mm and weights up to 17kg. They offer a standard 5-year + additional 5-year conditional warranty based on models.

• SunGrow

Sun grow as a company that has a 25-year of experience in solar products. They offer single and multi MTTP systems. Power ratings up to 9kW are available for residential applications. Higher power models are available in 3 phase configurations also. Maximum input voltage is 600V. Currents ratings are 16A per input. The systems have average efficiencies around 98%. Dimensions are around 410x270x150mm and 10kg for a 5kW system. They offer a standard warranty of 5-years.

• Solar Edge

Solar Edge is headquartered at Israel was established in 2006. The company has a range of string inverters. They have single phase solar inverters for residential applications from 2 to 6 kW and three phase inverters from 3kW and above. The peak input voltage can be as high as 900V, providing output around 200V (single phase) or 400 V (3 phase) ac at 50-60Hz with a peak efficiency over 97%. With dimensions of 540*3158191 mm and weighing around 16kg, these systems provide 12–25-year warranty options, making them extremely attractive for reliable operations.

• Enphase

Unlike most of the inverters discussed so far, Enphase specialises in micro inverters of around 250W peak output. However, multiple inverters can be utilised if larger power output is required. Maximum input volage is a low 48V when compared to its larger counterparts, and output is single phase 240V AC. Peak inverted efficiency is 97.6%. Enphase claims that modular systems employing multiple microinverters minimise safety hazards due to lower voltages and isolate faults to single units instead of affecting the entire panel configuration. The system also provides data to the user through an android app, allowing for intelligent energy utilization.

• Fimer (ABB is fimer now)

Fimer, which recently acquired Abbs’s inverter manufacturing, is a major player in the solar inverter space. The company supplies both single and three phase. These smart inverters typically range from 1.2 to 6 kW and can transfer data to user via ethernet of WLAN. Typical input voltages are in the range of 120-200 V Dc with peak efficiencies over 96%. These weigh around 15 kg and dimensions are 55.3*41.8*17.5 cm.

•  Fronuis

Fronuis makes solar inverters with capacity ranging from 1.5kW to 100kW, ensuring that every consumer gets the right capacity inverted. Typically, the ingle phase inverters have an input voltage of 80-1000V, and the output voltage can range between 180-270V at 50-60Hz. With dimensions of the order of 43*65*20cm and weighting around 20kg, these inline inverters are ideal for indoor and outdoor applications, though the warranty is only 2 years with an option of extending to 5 years.