Guide to Buying Inverters

Selecting a suitable inverter from the hundreds of various brands and producers may be a challenging task. Even for skilled people in the solar industry, it's tough to cut through the noise, let alone for newcomers to the world of solar energy hoping to make a simple one-off solar inverter purchase.


So what is a solar inverter? A solar inverter converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), which is important depending on how you'd like to use your power supply. The inverter is the most sophisticated part of any solar machine and is likewise the part most likely to face problems. This isn't surprising given that inverters are generally positioned outside in harsh weather situations such as rain, humidity, and excessive heat, all the while generating hundreds of watts of electricity for up to 10 hours a day. This is why the choice of inverter is the second most vital decision when going solar, after the decision of where to buy your system.

Due to the fact that the inverter is the most likely part of the solar system to fail, products from the most well-loved inverter manufacturers have a characteristically low failure rate and offer the most exceptional service. This reassures the customer that if the inverter does have an issue, it is up and running again as speedily as possible. Fronius, SMA, and SolarEdge have been the favored manufacturers of the installers and solar experts that we have worked with for years because they have low failure rates and typically deliver replacement units within 3-5 business days. Fronius and SMA inverters ship with 10-year warranties, while SolarEdge offers a market-leading 12-year warranty.

Many of the lesser-known "value brands" will, at best, restore a faulty unit if it's shipped to them (at the owner's cost), which frequently takes weeks and, on occasion, months. Considering this, inverter troubles could be the most significant cause of blowing out the financial payback of your solar system.


Author: CoSuper Energy
Publication Date: 2/19/2020