Why Solar Inverter Top Dog SMA Solar is Losing Marketshare, Facing Uncertain 2012

16 Jan, 2012
SMA,Solar Inverters

SMA Solar ,the biggest German Solar Energy company is now losing marketshare to the new solar inverter manufacturers in USA and China. Note SMA Solar held a dominating 40% solar inverter global marketshare in 2010 compared to the solar panel manufacturers none of which has managed more than a 10% marketshare . SMA Solar however is now feeling the heat of the competition as solar energy prices continue to go down steadily. The pressure on the solar inverter companies has been increasing as solar inverter prices as a percentage of the total solar system cost has risen from 5% to almost 10% now as solar panel prices have come down much more rapidly.

Chinese solar inverter makers are also selling photovoltaic inverters at almost 30-40% discount over the Western producers. Though the quality of the Chinese made inverters is lower they are slowly improving it and the price differential is quite huge . Also with the Chinese solar domestic market set to become one of the world’s biggest in2012, the Chinese solar inverter companies will capture a massive chunk of global marketshare given that foreign companies have a tough time in competing in China.

New entrants into the solar inverter market like Solectria are expanding capacity and workforce as they capture business in the 30% growing solar inverter market .Solectria Renewables LLC is a US based solar inverter company that was founded in 2005 in Massachusetts by a group of MIT engineers.The company has expanded quickly to 1 GW of grid tied pv inverter capacity in USA alone and is looking to set up smaller solar inverter factories in China and India which are looking to be the next high growth solar markets.Solectria Renewables specializes in large sized grid tie solar inverters ranging from 1.8 kilowatts to 500 kilowatt sizes.

Read Review on SMA Solar Inverters.

SMA  Solar is the world’s biggest supplier and manufacturer of solar inverters with 40% marketshare of the world market of solar inverters.This Germany company has become the most valued solar company in Germany beating out the old stalwarts like Q-Cells  and Solarworld. SMA Solar has managed to maintain its marketshare and grow as fast  with the global solar demand unlike some of its competitors.The company has been one of the few solar companies in the globe abe to maintain their margins despite a massive gut of solar panels which have brought down solar panel prices below cash costs.Over 3.5 GW of SMA solar inverters are installed globally and the company employs thousands of people Globally.SMA Solar is now facing still competition from Chinese companies who have a dominant presence in the growing domestic market of China and also from competitors like Power-One,Satcon and others who have entered the hugely profitable and growing market of solar inverters.Besides these pure play solar inverter companies,industrial giants like Schneider Electric (Xantrex solar inverters),GE Solar Inverters,ABB and Siemens too are biting at SMA’s heels.SMA Solar is facing competition from the growing presence of solar micro inverters led by companies such as Enphase which threaten to reduce the market for the normal solar inverters

SMA losing marketshare

The company claimed that it maintained a global market share of 35% in 2011, the same as the share in 2010. However, when reporting 2010 results the PV inverter supplier claimed a global market share of between 39% and 45% and 40% share was claimed in 2009.According to IMS Research, SMA is still the largest supplier of PV inverters in the world but its market share is claimed to be closer to 30%. The disparities occur, according to IMS, because SMA underestimates global demand levels.As a result, management said that it would at this time be providing a sales and earnings forecast for 2012.

Satcon US Utility Solar Inverter Maker slashes 35% Workforce as Oversupply hits Inverter Segment

5 Jan, 2012
Solar Inverters

Satcon the US solar inverter producer has been 0ne of the worst hit solar inverter manufacturers and has seen massive reduction in revenues and profits.With the solar industry in massive oversupply,the photovoltaic inverter market has also seen a big hit.While the bigger solar inverter producers like SMA Solar and Power-One too have seen job reductions and revenue hits,Satcon has been worse hit due to its small scale.The company has now decided to slash 35% of its workforce consisting of 140 solar jobs due to the ongoing solar crisis.Note other solar companies in the USA such as Solyndra,Spectrawatt have completely closed down while the smaller ones are on the verge of closing as well.

Satcon at its current price may be a good buyout target for bigger industrial conglomerates like GE and Siemens which don’t have a strong presence in the solar inverter market.GE like other electrical and power conglomerates like Siemens  has decided to invest billions of dollars into Green Energy.Till recently Solar Energy had gotten scant attention from GE just like Siemens too has not invested a lot.However the 50% CAGR rates of Solar Energy,the fast declining costs have made it imperative for GE to have a presence in this market.GE had bought a thin film solar company Prime Solar a few years ago to acquire the Cadmium Tellerium Technology which First Solar uses in its Solar Panels.

Note Satcon makes mostly 3 Phase Solar Inverters which are used in large solar farms and it does not have a big presence in the residential and commercial rooftop solar market.

Features of the 3 Phase Solar Inverters

  1. 3 Phase solar inverters have to synch with the grid and cannot be used in off grid applications where the electricity transmission infrastructure is absent. In the USA 3 phase solar inverter have to follow the specifications of the National Electric Code (NEC).
  2. Grid-tie inverters are designed to disconnect from the grid if there is a blackout
  3. 3 Phase Solar Inverters frequently have MPTT systems which is called maximum power point tracker that enables the inverter to extract a maximum amount of power
  4. Efficiency of 3 Phase Solar Inverters can range from 90-98% with most of the top German inverter producers having the highest efficiency rating
  5. Output voltage is usually 240 Volts used in domestic electrical appliances. Inverters that target commercial applications are rated for 208, 240, ,400, or 480 VAC
  6. Communication is inbuilt in the top of the  line solar inverters which can allow the solar panel systems to be monitored remotely.They can use a wide variety of protocols like RS 232,Wifi,Zigbee etc.
  7. The Warranty for 3 Phase Solar Inverters can range from 5-12 years depending on the manufacturer.

GE Solar Inverter(Brilliance),Panels (Efficiency,China) Review of Technology,Manufacturing and Comparision

8 Jul, 2011
GE,Solar EPC,Solar Inverters,Solar Panels

GE is one of the biggest companies in the world and has one of the biggest Green businesses as well.GE is the most profitable wind turbine manufacturer and is one of the largest renewable energy developers in the globe as well.GE like other electrical and power conglomerates like Siemens  has decided to invest billions of dollars into Green Energy.Till recently Solar Energy had gotten scant attention from GE just like Siemens too has not invested a lot.However the 50% CAGR rates of Solar Energy,the fast declining costs have made it imperative for GE to have a presence in this market.GE had bought a thin film solar company Prime Solar a few years ago to acquire the Cadmium Tellerium Technology which First Solar uses in its Solar Panels.

However it won’t be easy in Solar Energy

GE is now looking to dethrone the No.1 Solar Energy Producer First Solar using its all round strengths.GE had invested in a Cadmium Tellurium Startup Prime Solar which is ramping up production.Note Cd-Te is the same technology which is used by First Solar.GE has said that it has managed to attain 15% efficiency on commercial glass.Don’t know how much of it is true since First Solar only manages around 12% efficiency despite around 10 years of dedicated R&D.However if GE can even manage to get near to that level then it would surely give First Solar a run for its money.GE has also tied up with Japanese Solar Frontier to market its CIGs based modules.Note Solar Frontier or Showa Shell is building a massive 900 MW plant in Japan.This would make Frontier Solar one of the biggest Solar Players in the world.GE is offering an integrated solution comprising of modules,inverters,services and other BOS equipment to get a leg up on competition.

GE Solar Panels Review

GE Solar Panels are being offered in the 78,80 and 83 Watt ranges which is considerable less than that supplied by other thin film solar panel suppliers like Kaneka,First Solar and others.However the product range should increase with commercial production.GE’s CdTe thin film module is comprised of 116 thin film cells  at 75 volts. The module is frameless and has a durable glass laminate

Specifications

  • Length: 1200 mm (47.2 in)
  • Width: 600 mm (23.6 in)
  • Thickness: 7.5 mm (0.30 in)
  • Weight: 13 kg (28.7 lb)
  • Front Glass: 3.2 mm (0.13 in) Heat Strengthened Glass
  • Back Glass: 4.0 mm (0.16 in) Tempered Glass
  • Frame: None
  • Cell Type: CdS/CdTe, 116 Active Cells
  • Cell Orientation: Parallel to the 600 mm Dimension
  • Bypass Diode: None
  • Cable Length: 610 mm (24 in)
  • Connectors: MC4 Compatible
  • Encapsulation: EVA with Edge Seal

GE does not manufacture solar panels in large scaleyet but will start to do so in 2012 when it starts production in the “largest solar panel factory in the USA.GE is getting into the solar module space when solar manufacturers in the USA are dying because of the low cost Chinese solar panel competition.This has caused the bankruptcies of some big solar panel companies in recent times like Solyndra,Spectrawatt and Evergreen Solar.Only those solar panel companies with the lowest cost and good quality will manage to survive the price war in solar panels that is currently on.Most companies are running losses as the prices of solar panels have decreased by 40% in 6 months.

GE Solar Manufacturing and Expansion

GE plans to invest about $300 million in the facility at the Denver suburb of Aurora.The plant will make photovoltaic panels with a capacity of  400 megawatts yearly.The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, part of the U.S. Energy Department, has given a 12.8% efficiency rating to the thin-film solar panels produced by PrimeStar.This in layman terms implies that if 100 units of solar energy strikes a General Electric Solar Panel then on an average 13 units of solar electricity will be produced.First Solar is claiming that the efficiency of the solar cells made in its lab has reached more than 17% and it would in future would be able to sell solar panels with an efficiency of 15% which sets the bar high for GE in the future.

Also Read about Reviews on

Sharp Solar Panels

Sanyo Solar Panels

First Solar Solar Panels

Bosch Solar Panels

BP Solar Panels

GE Solar Inverter Review

GE is one of the biggest producers of Wind Inverters in the world and so getting into the Solar Inverter market was easy for the company.Solar Inverters can make a huge difference in the amount of electricity generated by solar panels over the lifetime of the solar array.You should be careful of any lesser known inverter brand they are offered as part of a home solar power system before installing them. While some of these inverters may have certification this does not mean they can perform as well as the good brands.Skimping of a few dollars here and there may make you penny wise and pound foolish.

GE  Brilliance Solar Inverter

General Electric makes solar inverters for the utility scale market mostly and the power ratings of the solar invertesr are in the 100-1000 kw range.Its most famous inverter is the 1 megawatt (MW) Brilliance Solar Inverter.The 1 MW inverter’s two-stage power conversion provides a standard 480vac output voltage works both in 50 and 60 HZ.

Specifications

  • Height: 2,350 mm
  • Width: 3,400 mm
  • Depth: 1,300 mm
  • Weight: 4107 kg
  • Peak Conversion Efficiency: 98.0% (50 Hz); 97.5% (60 Hz
  • Operating Temperature: -30.0 to 50.0 °C

 

Xantrex Solar Inverter,Battery Charger Review – Understanding the Company,Prices and Models (400,3000) (Australia,USA)

8 Jul, 2011
Solar Inverters

Xantrex Inverters are one of the most popular brands of solar inverters used in residential installations and come in a wide variety of models.Xantrex was one of the first companies to exclusively manufacture inverters for the photovoltaic market.The company was originally based out of Canada and listed on the Toronta Stock Exchange.The company has offices in in the United States, Germany and Spain and  China.The fortunes of the company changed when it was bought over by one of the biggest power equipment companies Schneider Electric.However the solar inverters from Xantrex have retained their brand name even after the  acquisition.Note Xantrex also manufactures solar inverter chargers and solar battery chargers .Xantrex focuses on the power electronics for boats, recreational vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, utility and automobiles.

Types of Solar Inverters

  • Stand-alone Solar Inverters – They are  used in  systems without a connection to the power grid.Inverter draws Energy from Solar Energy. Many stand-alone inverters have attached batteries.These are mainly used in off grid application and in residential/commercial applications where there is no net metering available.
  • Grid Tied Solar Inverters – Many solar inverters are designed to be connected to a utility grid, and will not operate when they do not detect the presence of the grid. They contain special circuitry to precisely match the voltage and frequency of the grid. Grid-tie inverters are designed to shut down automatically upon loss of utility supply, for safety reasons. They do not provide backup power during utility outages.These are higher priced than standalone and require special laws to be used.They are always used in solar power plants connected to the grid.

Xantrex Solar Inverters Review

GT Series of Solar Inverters

Xantrex sells a number of Grid Tie Solar Inverters in the 2.8-5 kw range which are mainly targeted towards residential applications.There are  9 Xantrex GT inverters available with power of 2.7 KW,2.8kW,3.1 KW,3.3kW, 3.5kW, 3.8kW and 5.0kW.

Note most solar panel arrays used in residences are of 2-5 kilowatt range and xantrex inverters are perfectly suited for that purpose.Xantrex inverters are widely available in USA and Australia through distributors.These inverters also feature additional capabilities such as communication through various protocols and displays which shows the power being generated by the solar panel array.The GT Series offers efficiency of 95.5%, 240 and 208 volt operation and a  10 year warranty with integrated DC/ AC disconnect.The Xantrex GT inverters has d NEMA 3R enclosure and comes with a  mounting bracket that simplifies installation.GT inverter features RS232 communication port which can allow the  inverter to be remotely using the free Xantrex GT View software

The price of GT Series inverters is quite high at 80-90c/watt which means that you can try and buy some cheaper inveters elsewhere such as Power One inverters which have good quality at a decent price.Chinese solar inverters such as Sungrow are not widely available yet but they are very low cost though reliability is lower as well.

Xantrex Series of Utility Inverters

The GT 3-phase inverters are to be used for large scale grid-tie photovoltaic systems

Xantrex also is present in the utility solar segment of the solar inverter market selling 30-500 kilowatt inverters.These solar inverters serve the grid tie markets.These solar inverters are required by megawatt size solar farms which use thousands of solar panels.The requirements of these large solar inverters are more than used in residential applications.They have to be more reliable and have a longer life.The price of these solar inveters are also greater though lower on a per watt basis.The features of these 3 phase solar inverters are that they have a) High voltage and b) pad-mounted epoxy-coated steel enclosures with integrated transformers and disconnects

Xantrex Off Grid Solar Inverters

The Xantrex Trace Series Inverter Charger is an power conversion solution designed to provide dependable modified sine wave electricity to essential circuits in the home or business during a power outage. It can also be used in conjunction with a generator or any renewable energy source in an off-grid application. The price of these solar inverters are in the 50c/watt range and are more or less in the same ballpark as solar inverters from other German Solar Companies like SMA and Fronius.

Features:

  1. Digital display shows kilowatts (kW) when inverting and amps (A) when charging, plus incorporates a ON/OFF membrane switch and status indicators
  2. Power factor corrected (PFC) charging, combined with a more sophisticated multi-stage battery charging algorithm, reduces electricity draw and generator run-time
  3. Better thermal performance allows full output power to 50C (122F)
  4. Circuit boards are conformally-coated

 

Xantrex Battery Chargers

Xantrex sells battery chargers under the TrueCharge brand name.Xantrex battery chargers are micro-processor controlled ffor charging of vehicle or boat batteries in deep cycle or maintenance applications. . These chargers feature multi-stage, power factor corrected charging meaning that they require less AC input power than traditional chargers to operate at its peak efficiency.They come in the 20A to 60 Amperes range.

Xantrex Inverter Chargers Review

An inverter charger is a combination of an inverter, battery charger and switch . When electricity is available, the inverter charger recharges the batteries and allows any surplus  power to power electrical appliances like LCDs and Lights. When power removed, the the inverter charger converts DC battery power into AC electricity.Xantrex inverter chargers are available in different sizes and power ranges

Here is a list of Xantrex Inverter Chargers

These days Micro Inverters in Solar Panels are also becoming quite common as they give better performance albiet at a higher cost than normal solar inverters.You can also read about the different solar inverter manufacturers.

Solectria Inverters Review of Price,Warranty,String Sizing,Monitoring(Solar PVI 3000,5000)

8 Jul, 2011
Solar Inverters

Solectria Renewables LLC is a US based solar inverter company that was founded in 2005 in Massachusetts by a group of MIT engineers.The company has expanded quickly to 1 GW of grid tied pv inverter capacity in USA alone and is looking to set up smaller solar inverter factories in China and India which are looking to be the next high growth solar markets.Solectria Renewables specializes in large sized grid tie solar inverters ranging from 1.8 kilowatts to 500 kilowatt sizes.The company sells its solar inverter solutions to residential,commercial as well as utility customers.The company also sells a String Sizing Tool and SolRen monitoring software.The company received a grant to develop Smart Grid capable solar inverter from DOE.Note Solar Inverter Manufacturers are currently  facing increased competition from Chinese low cost players as well as new companies.Satcon,AEIS and Power-One which are the biggest US Solar Inverter companies have already seen their revenue and profit growth go down due to decreased demand growth and falling prices.However there is greater differentiation and technology barriers in high end solar inverters than in solar panels in which Chinese are dominating currently.Solectria is differentiating itself by its decently priced solar inverters which are  high efficiency pv inverters as well

Solectria Inverters Review

Solectria Commercial and utility-scale PV inverters are manufactured in the USA, ARRA compliant and  Ontario FIT Content Compliant

Solectria Residential Solar Inverters (PVI 3000,PVI5000)

Solectria sells PVI3000,PVI4000,PVI5300,PVI5000,PVI6500 and PVI 7500 solar inverter in this range.Note these solar inverters cannot be used for smaller solar panels installations as the minimum size is 1800 watts..These string series inverters have 96% efficiency and the company claims that it is the most efficient transformer isolated string inverter on the market.The features of these solar inverters are Fully-integrated design ,Detachable wiring box , Standard 10 year warranty with  RS232/RS485 communications

The PVI 1800 and PVI 2500 are the smallest single phase inverters in the industry and tested in the harshest weather conditions. The integrated panel assembly option allows for this inverter series to be mounted on an industrial grade aluminum panel, with disconnects and a revenue grade meter.The have solar inverter efficienes of 93% CEC and 94.5% peak.

Solectria Commercial Solar Inverters (PVI 3000,PVI5000)

Solectria sells 10-95 kilowatts inverters in this segment.Solectria Renewables’ PVI 10KW, PVI 13KW, and PVI 15KW inverters are the smallest true three-phase PV Inverter series in the industry. This series of commercial grade inverters is available in 208 VAC, 240 VAC, 480 VAC, and 600 VAC versions and comes standard with integrated AC and DC disconnects

Solectria 60kW, 82kW and 95kW Grid-Tied PV Inverters comes standard with AC and DC disconnects, isolation transformer, LCD display and monitoring gateway

Solectria Utility Solar Inverters

These are the largest solar inverters and meant for utility scale systems . Solectria Renewables’ SMARTGRID (SGI) 225-500 series of inverters has a  97.5% CEC weighted efficiency with the transformer providing galvanic isolation between the PV array and the grid.The SMARTGRID series features five power classes, 225 kW, 250 kW, 266 kW, 300 kW and 500 kW

Solectria Renewables String Sizing

Solectria Renewables offers a great string sizing software at its website where a number of parameters can be inputted to give the required string sizing.There are a huge number of solar panel manufactures and models featured which can be input into the software alongwith the electrical service connections ,temperature etc.Solectria also sells Solectria Renewables’ fused PV string combiners which offers 4 to 30 fuse positions and fuse values ranging from 6A to 20A.The string combiner series offers an optional DC disconnect and  rail mounted surge arrestors.

Solectria Monitoring Software

Solectria Renewables monitoring software is known as  SolrenView™ w and can be used with any residential, commercial or SMARTGRID Inverters.SolrenView gateway hardware provides data via Ethernet (standard) or cellular modem.The software is sold in packages and detailed real time information on the performance of the solar systems can be viewed.The additional features are also available such as seeing weather information and also granular sub zone currents.

Read Reviews of Other Solar Inverter Companies

GE Solar Inverters

Xantrex Solar Inverters

SMA Solar Inverters

Fronius Solar Inverters

SMA Solar Inverters (Sunny Boy,Sunny Island,Sunny Mini Central) – Review of Price,Brand,Comparision

8 Jul, 2011
SMA,Solar Inverters

SMA  Solar is the world’s biggest supplier and manufacturer of solar inverters with 40% marketshare of the world market of solar inverters.This Germany company has become the most valued solar company in Germany beating out the old stalwarts like Q-Cells  and Solarworld. SMA Solar has managed to maintain its marketshare and grow as fast  with the global solar demand unlike some of its competitors.The company has been one of the few solar companies in the globe abe to maintain their margins despite a massive gut of solar panels which have brought down solar panel prices below cash costs.Over 3.5 GW of SMA solar inverters are installed globally and the company employs thousands of people Globally.SMA Solar is now facing still competition from Chinese companies who have a dominant presence in the growing domestic market of China and also from competitors like Power-One,Satcon and others who have entered the hugely profitable and growing market of solar inverters.Besides these pure play solar inverter companies,industrial giants like Schneider Electric (Xantrex solar inverters),GE Solar Inverters,ABB and Siemens too are biting at SMA’s heels.SMA Solar is facing competition from the growing presence of solar micro inverters led by companies such as Enphase which threaten to reduce the market for the normal solar inverters.However SMA is known as the best brand of solar inverter in the industry for its high quality and reliability.SMA Sunny Boy inverters are known for their high efficiency and good performance .Despite the higher prices charged by SMA Solar,the company has managed to keep its top dog spot in the solar inverter market.

SMA sells  a wide variety of solar inverters  for different markets of medium power solutions , solar power plants as well as residential solutions.

SMA Solar Inverters Review

1) Sunny Boy- Sunny Boy inverters are targeted mainly towards the residential market and come in a wide variety of sizes starting  from 460 Watts and ending at 10000 Watts.They come with Shade management with OptiTrac Global Technology and H5-Topology Transformer technology.which ensures one of the best yields in the industry.Sunny Boys are available in both transformer and transformerless types and have efficiencies which range from 95-97%.They also come with OptiTrac MPP tracking and OptiCool active temperature management.Most Sunny Boy inverters also have integrated ESS DC switch-disconnector .Sunny Boy also features the international SMA grid guard interface.

2) Sunny Tower- Sunny Tower is a central inverter with an efficiency of up to 98 %.It has  OptiCool temperature management system and a modular design. It is possible to combine Sunny Mini Central with Sunny Boy inverters, thus guaranteeing maximum flexibility in plant design and expansion.

3) Sunny Mini Central Solar Inverters – Sunny Mini Central Soar Inverters are SMA’s power solution for mid range solar power systems with capacities above 15000 Watt.They are fitted with die-cast aluminum housings and can be installed outdoors close to the generator.Like Sunny Boy Solar Inverters,These Central Inverters also come in both transformer and tranformless types.

Transformerless

Sunny Mini Central 6000 to 11000 TL Solar Inverters are transformerless solar inverters with a power rating of 6000 -10000 Watts and 700 Voltage

Transformer

Sunny Mini Central 7000HV – This is meant for thin film solar power projects and has a power rating of 7000 Watts at 160 Volts

Sunny Mini Central 6000A – This is meant for  solar power projects and has a power rating of 6000 Watts at 600 Volts

4) Sunny Tri Power Solar Inverters – These are utility grade 3 phase solar inverters with two MPP inputs and a broad input voltage range.It has Optiprotect with self-learning string-failure detection, electronic string fuse and integrable DC surge arrester.It has Bluetooth communication ability and efficiency rating of 98.2%.It comes in the 8-17 kw ranges.

5) Sunny Central Solar Inverters – These  are SMA’s main solar inverters for the solar power plant market.Sunny Centrals have String monitoring, capacity for teamwork and the ability to feed into the medium-voltage power grid.The Sunny Centrals are easy to install – indoors as well as outdoors. With peak efficiencies of over 98 %.Sunny Central have power ratings starting from 100 kilowatts and going upto 1.25 MW which makes it one of the biggest solar inverters in the market.They have extended input voltage range up to 1100 V.

6) Sunny Island Off Grid Solar Inverters – These solar inverters are targeted towards off grid solar power market.These come  with a battery pack the devices form a self-sufficient AC voltage grid.PV and wind energy systems, diesel devices, water or CHP (Combined Heat and Power) can be coupled on the AC side just as conventional 230 Volt consumers.They come in 600 to 5000 Watt power range.They can reach the maximum efficiency level of over 96 %.They have ntelligent battery management for maximum battery life and a 5 year warranty as well

SMA also has started producing wind inverters and sells a wide range of monitoring systems for solar panel systems.

SMA Solar Inverter Efficiency

SMA Solar sells solar inverters which are of high efficiency and quality with most of its solar inverters giving 95% efficiency which makes it the leader in the market.SMA Solar has even started demonstrating transform-less solar inverters with 99% efficiency which is the highest efficiency solar inverter in the market.Note the efficiency of a solar inverter is very important as it can improve the power yields substantially over the lifetime of the solar panel.You can increase your electricity by thousands of kilowatt hours with a 1% improvement in efficiency.While making solar inverters is not a very complicated task,the technology required for high efficiency solar inverters is not easily available making.

SMA Solar Inverter Warranty

SMA gives 5 year warranties on its products like most of the other western manufacturers of solar inverter like Fronius and gives an exteneded 10 years solar warranty for an additional payment.It is expected that with more competition from micro inverters and other solar inverter markers,the warranties should increase over time.Note Solar Panels generally come with 25 year warranties compared with 5 years for solar inverters.

SMA Solar Inverter Prices and Comparison

Solar Inverters sell for a wide range of prices depending on the quality,brand and features.In general European solar inverters from SMA,Xantrex sell for a higher price than that from Chinese makers.The Chinese solar inverters are the cheapest as you can buy a 5 kw solar inverter for $1500 compared to $5000 for a premium solar inverter from SMA.Like other solar inverters the prices of solar inverters from SMA have come down as the prices of solar panels has declined at an astounding rate.However the rate of decline in SMA Solar inverter prices has been much less than that of solar module prices.SMA Solar Inverters are higher priced than other solar inverters because of the company’s premier brand positioning,good quality and service.However solar inverters will go down in price as larger competitors from Asia such as solar inverter manufacturers from Taiwan and China like Sungrow and Delta Electronics grow bigger and invest more money.Power-One has managed to capture a large segment of the solar inverter market by pricing its solar inverters at least 20-30% cheaper than Fronius,Kaco and SMA Solar without compromising too much on quality.

Read the review on Xantrex Solar Inverters.

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