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SolarEdge Inverter Review

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SolarEdge Inverter Review: Are They Over-Hyped?

SolarEdge has become extremely well known across Australia. Their brand represents high quality, long lasting products. You could actually argue that a majority of homeowners are more interested in SolarEdge compared to over inverters.

However, do you really need this advanced technology? With all high end products, SolarEdge comes with a price tag. Although it’s easily justified through the huge benefits their inverters can provide we still ask the question… Do you need this technology or is it a waste of money? 

As a brief summary, SolarEdge works as an all-in-one complete solar solution for your home. This includes the panels (with optimisers), the inverters and full visibility over your system. Of course, you can also couple this with your own panels like Sunpower if you like. Those seem to be the most common along with Jinko solar panel systems or LG panels coupled with SolarEdge inverters.

Now, even though SolarEdge sounds like the best solution for everyone (and admittedly, it could be…) but you will need to ensure you are taking a few factors into consideration when getting this system. 

Firstly, is SolarEdge the best fit for you? It’s suited the best for homes that need to optimise the design of your roof and maximise the energy output from your system. 

Secondly, what are your goals for solar? Do you have plans to move in the future? 

One fantastic feature of a SolarEdge system that I like so much is the future-proof availability. With a complete SolarEdge system you are able to become fully self-sufficient and move towards a greener, more affordable future.

SolarEdge is an extremely high quality, long lasting solar solution. If you are considering moving and are looking for a fast ROI system, you’d be better suited with something like Sungrow’s residential inverter with Longi HiMO4 solar panels

Either way, let’s jump into this SolarEdge review to find out if this solar solution is going to be best suited for you and your home. 

PS. If you’re interested in SolarEdge, we strongly recommend you get a free site design consultation as this technology needs to be used correctly to maximise your energy output.

Feel free to speak to one of my SolarEdge design engineers here, and see how we would use SolarEdge to help you.

Table Of Contents

SolarEdge Case Study:

Who Is SolarEdge?

About the company:

SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. is a major manufacturer and provider of solar inverters, power optimiser, and solar panels. They were founded in 2006 so have been in the solar game for a while now. They have a strong team of solar energy experts here in Australia

However, their headquarters is situated in Herzliya, Israel. Their aim is to provide solar energy products that will increase energy output via module-level maximum power point tracking. They have a huge presence in the European market and of course dominate our Australian market. 

SolarEdge has shipped around 54.9 million power optimisers, 2.3 million inverters, and over 1.5 million monitored systems across several countries around the globe. This really puts into perspective just how popular (and world leading) SolarEdge systems are…

It’s also worth mentioning that SolarEdge has recently made in onto S&P 500 index which places them up their with some of the worlds biggest companies like Apple, Microsoft and Facebook. This strengthens the reliability of the products SolarEdge provides.  

What do they provide?

SolarEdge focuses mainly on high quality solar inverters. They have created a unique product in the market by giving you an all-in-one style system with full visibility. Unlike your normal residential inverter, SolarEdge provides a solution to let you see everything about your system. 

From how much energy it’s using or producing to if there are any issues with a particular panel on your roof. This is fantastic for those who want to have full visibility over their energy, production and usage. 

One popular SolarEdge solution is their panel optimisers. They are really known in Australia and Europe. This is similar technology to Enphase’s micro-inverters. They allow the panel to work independently giving you (the homeowner) access to more flexible system designs and solutions to shading issues.

Starting from 2022, SolarEdge also manufacture solar batteries called the StorEdge battery. This places them into the solar storage market and again allows for a full optimsied SolarEdge system with panels, optimisers, battery, inverters and EV chargers. This is what I would consider to be a fully sustainable, future proof solar solution.  

Do they have an Australian presence?

Yes, SolarEdge has a good Australian presence. They have an office in Victoria who can help you with any issues that you might be facing. This is extremely important for the security and warranties SolarEdge offers. 

After all, you wouldn’t want a system that stops working and you’re left trying to contact their support in Israel. Having an Australian office is super important. I think they have a team of around 30+ Australians which is good to know. 

Everyone wants to be sure they are doing business with an organisation with a reputation that can deliver high quality solar solutions. Now, let’s take a look at what SolarEdge is offering homeowners here…

solaredge australia team. They have a large australian presence

What Are The Benefits Of A SolarEdge Inverter?

Ok, so let’s go through some of the things that a SolarEdge inverter can provide for you as a homeowner, and of course why these things are important. This will help you understand if SolarEdge is needed for your system or not.

Future-Proof solar solution

Personally, for me one of the best benefits of a SolarEdge inverter is the ability to make your solar system future proof. To explain this further, SolarEdge inverters allow you to extend your panel system later on the in the future. 

As our energy consumption increases (which it always will with the way we are moving into a digital age) the need for more solar panels will also increase. With normal string systems, you cannot add extra panels at a later date, instead you would need to remove and reinstall a new system. 

With SolarEdge, you can add panels at a later date to adapt to your new energy consumption. Maybe a 6.6kW system enough now, but it will not be in 10 years. 

This also applies to EV chargers. As the demand for EV increases and the high return on investment electric cars offer you can stay one step ahead by easily adding a SolarEdge EV charger to your home. 

Flexible design

What I mean by a flexible design is because SolarEdge uses panel optimiser technology, each panel works independently. This means you can place single panels on areas on the roof where conventional string systems usually wouldn’t allow. 

This is great for those who have a tricky roof with different angles or cuts or even shading issues. You can avoid this with SolarEdge because these systems allow for such a flexible design. 

Our solar design engineers take advantage of this flexibility and strategically place panels in areas that will benefit your energy output and maximise savings. For example, if you use more energy in the afternoon we might place panels to capture and optimise on the late afternoon sun (increasing your self consumption and maximising savings)

Higher energy output

With the flexible design in mind, this means you can generate more energy. Not only that, but because each panel performs independently, your performance of your system overall increases. 

Usually, on string systems if one solar panel performance drops the whole system will suffer. This is not the case with SolarEdge. If one panel gets a little bit of dirt or some leaves on, the whole system will continue to perform. 

Overall this results in higher energy output from the system. Similar to what I mentioned before, solar design engineers really take advantage of these features by designing a system that’s optimised for your energy usage.

Maximise your savings/ROI

As a roll on effect from the first two, you will see more savings with a SolarEdge system over a 25-30 years period. This is because your system has been designed and optimised for maximum energy output over a period of time. 

Once your system has paid itself off, you will begin to reap the rewards of your investment. Over a 25-30 year period you will see a considerable amount of money back from your system compared to a basic system. 

Complete visibility over your system

SolarEdge has a fantastic app that allows you to see basically everything with your system. The reason why this is so good is because it gives you the data to see how your system is performing. 

Because each panel performs independently, you can even see when one panel is underperforming. This might mean it needs fixing and therefore you can highlight this with your installer or contact SolarEdge support. 

You’ll also be able to see how much energy your system is producing daily, how much you are using through self consumption. How much is going back to the grid and how much might be getting wasted on a solar export limiter.  

Long lasting warranties

On average, the best solar inverter warranties are around 10 years tops… Some only really offer 5 year warranties. This is where SolarEdge is different. Their standard warranty is 12 years with the chance to extend to a whopping 25 years. 

This says it for itself about the quality of this product. They wouldn’t still be in business offering such long lasting warranties if their product wasn’t high end. 

Furthermore, this suggests to me that SolarEdge is best suited with solar panels that come with a 25 year panel warranty as well. If you’re going to get the extended warranty, you’ll be investing in a life long system. You want to be seeing a huge ROI over a lifetime period.

Much safer by stablising the DC current

Lastly, and arguably extremely important in Australia, is that SolarEdge systems are much safer than your conventional string systems. 

Each panel has its own optimiser which stablises the DC current so it will automatically shut down if the DC exceeds a dangerous level. This means there will be much lower risk of anything going wrong with your SolarEdge system.

DC is the energy that is responsible for fires and electric shocks. You can sleep easy at night knowing you and your family are safe without any risk of a fire on your roof

SolarEdge system allows for a much more flexible design

How Does SolarEdge Compared To Other Inverters?

This is a tough question. It’s kinda obvious that SolarEdge is offering a better product here. However, I always argue on whether buying the best is actually right for you?

For example, if you’re looking for a fast ROI, budget system because you might move later on in the future there wouldn’t be any point in investing in this system. I’d advise against it because it’s going to provide you with a slower, but longer ROI. 

In terms of specs, SolarEdge does dominate the inverter industry. The only real rival they have are Enphase with their microinverters who also offer long warranties, all-in-one system and full visibility monitoring. 

In terms of Fronius and Sungrow and those types of inverters, SolarEdge is way better but of course requires a bigger investment. This is why it’s best to understand what you want to achieve with solar to know which inverter is going to be best for you.

What SolarEdge Modules Are Available In Australia?

There are a few inverters and solar products available in the Australian market. I’ll go through all of these and the differences and which one might be best for you.

solaredge hd wave genesis

HD Wave Hub

What I Like About It...

The HD Wave Genesis is perfect for homeowners who are looking for a smart system with access to flexible design and increased energy output. With this you’ll get long lasting warranties and the safety features of SolarEdge without any risk of fires of DC on your roof. 

This is also future ready for a battery to get included into your home system. The only thing that’s missing is the full visibility of the SolarEdge app, but you still have access to dashboard monitoring which can show you energy generated, consumed and more. You also don’t have access to EV charging with the HD Wave.

Specifications:

Full panel optimisation 
Available in 3, 5, 6, 8.5 &  10kW sizes
Single string design – inverters up to 5kw
Advanced safety features
12 year product warranty (extendable up to 25 years)
SEDG battery ready
WiFi communications
Dashboard monitoring only

solaredge energy hub

SolarEdge Home Hub

What I Like About It...

The SolarEdge Energy Hub is a fantastic solution for homeowners who are looking for a complete, all in one solution. The smart features of EV charging and full mobile monitoring makes your life a breeze.

This is the option to become fully sustainable with options to expand in the future. For me, the energy hub really allows you to move towards a greener, more affordable future. It’s easily one of the most advanced inverters in the industry allowing you total control over your power. 

Specifications:

Full panel optimisation 
Available in 3, 5, 6, 8.5 &  10kW sizes
Single string design – inverters up to 5kw
Advanced safety features
12 year product warranty (extendable up to 25 years)
Connect up to 5 SEDG batteries
Back-up output = 90% of rated AC capacity
WiFi communications 
Panel level monitoring with mySolarEdge 
Backup power support
Smart energy device connection
Smart EV charging
Lighter & more efficient

SolarEdge Is The Most Efficient Solar Inverter In The Industry…

That is correct. SolarEdge inverters boast an incredible 99.2% inverter efficiency. 

To briefly explain how the efficiency works: When energy goes from the panel into the inverter, some energy is lost in the conversion of turning it into AC energy, storing it and shooting it back out to get used. 

When you compare this to the second most efficient solar inverter (Sungrow), which comes in at 98.4% inverter efficiency you can see why SolarEdge is suggested to be the best in the industry. This towers over Fronius which comes in around 97.9% efficiency. 

To be honest, 1-2% efficiency isn’t really enough to make that much difference but still, to get there it takes a lot of hard work, research and new technology. 

A Full SolarEdge System Uses A Single Vendor And Makes Warranties, Communication & Installation Easier

When you invest in a full SolarEdge solution you are purchasing from one vendor. I personally find this much easier to deal with because everything is all under one roofs. 

This also eliminates any potential conflict in different suppliers if any service is needed. SolarEdge offer a fantastic support system with a wide range of engineers available across Australia to service systems. 

Against, with everything being under SolarEdge’s control it makes your life easier as the customer in terms of claiming warranty requesting support on your monitoring or visibility side of things. Also with SolarEdge having offices in Australia the communication side will be easy for you to contact. 

In terms of installation as well, it makes the compatibility and flexibility of your system much easier to design having a fully comprehensive solarEdge system.

SolarEdge Inverter Review:

Price 8.5/10

The price is justified by the performance that you can get with SolarEdge however I think we all can agree we wouldn’t mind all solar products to be more affordable 😆.

To be honest, you get what you pay for. With SolarEdge you are getting the best of the best.

Warranty 10/10

SolarEdge smashes everyone out of the park with their 12 year warranty extendable to 25 years. Like I mentioned before there is only one other company that gives SolarEdge a run for their money and that is none other than Enphase… 

Fronius, Sungrow, Growatt all don’t come close to offering a warranty as good as SolarEdge.

Efficiency 10/10

The same applies with the inverter efficiency. SolarEdge is the most efficient inverter system in the industry. That’s all that needs to be said. 

Performance 10/10

If you’re looking for a high performing system then SolarEdge has to be at the top of your list. Their use of panel optimisers and smart monitoring technology means you’ll be maximising your energy output for years to come. 

complete solaredge inverter system review

Should I Invest In A SolarEdge System?

I’d be happy to recommend SolarEdge to my family, friends and anyone who is interested in buying their products. They are a good company offering high quality products. 

Just remember when you are buying solar, it’s best to understand what you need. You may want a SolarEdge system, but it might not be best for you. That’s why I always suggest talking to a solar design engineer who can help you work out what’s best. 

However, SolarEdge is an awesome solar solution for the majority of homeowners and I’m more than happy to talk highly about this product.

Conclusion

So there you have it. My SolarEdge review. 

What are your thoughts on SolarEdge? Have you got a SolarEdge system? Share your feedback or your thoughts with everyone in the comments below 😁.

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Written By:

Luke Cove
Managing Director
Lightning Solar & Electrical

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