Growatt unveils new inverters for residential off-grid PV systems

[Encid]

Growatt’s new 6 kW inverters have an efficiency rating of 93% and offer 12,000 VA of surge power, up to 500 V of input voltage, and 8 kW of PV input capacity.

 

 

Growatt has unveiled its new SPF 6000 ES Plus inverters for residential off-grid solar power systems.

 

“The inverter’s string input current reaches up to 16A, making it compatible with 500W+ large power PV modules,” the manufacturer said. “The inverter includes dual MPP trackers for houses with multiple rooftop areas, supporting panel installation at different orientations and higher energy generation.”

 

The 6 kW inverters have an efficiency rating of 93% and 12,000 VA of surge power. They also feature input voltage of up to 500 V and 8 kW of PV input power.

 

The inverters are housed in IP20 enclosures and measure 460 mm x 395 mm x 132 mm. They weigh 15.5 kg. Their operating ambient temperature ranges from 0 C to 50 C, with an integrated automatic transfer switch (ATS) and two AC terminals for power input.

 

 

You can read the full article here at PV Magazine Australia.

[LukKrueng]

Alibaba have them for $1000/unit. 

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Growatt-SPF-6000-ES-Plus-Solar_1600705404722.html

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, LukKrueng said:

Alibaba have them for $1000/unit. 

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Growatt-SPF-6000-ES-Plus-Solar_1600705404722.html

Too expensive, 33kbht for a product from a firm known for frequent product failures when compared to other firms charging 15kbht for devices that do the same thing.

Edited December 19, 2022 by BritManToo

[Encid]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

... a product from a firm known for frequent product failures...

Really? 

I thought that Growatt was at the top end of the reliability scale.

[Encid]

So which inverters are the most reliable?

 

I see from reading other members' posts:

 

@KhunLA has a DEYE SUN 8kW single phase hybrid inverter

@Crossy has 1 x Sofar 6kW GTI and 1 x Sofar 5kW Grid-tie hybrid <crossy edit>

@JAS21 has a Sofar 5kW single phase hybrid inverter

@Bandersnatch has 3 x Growatt 5kW single phase hybrid inverters

@007 RED has a 2.2kW Sofar GTI

@MJCM has a couple of small capacity GTI's but I'm not sure of the make and kW

@Pink7 bought 2 x Growatt 5kW single phase hybrid inverters but we don't know if he has installed them yet.

 

Other member's have probably got other stuff too but I have not searched through the forum enough to find out what kit they've got.

 

So... any reliability issues gents?

 

And, would you buy the same kit again?

Edited December 20, 2022 by Crossy

[Pink7]

48 minutes ago, Encid said:

So which inverters are the most reliable?

 

I see from reading other members' posts:

 

@KhunLA has a DEYE SUN 8kW single phase hybrid inverter

@Crossy has 1 x Sofar 6kW GTI and 1 x Sofar 5kW GTI

@JAS21 has a Sofar 5kW single phase hybrid inverter

@Bandersnatch has 3 x Growatt 5kW single phase hybrid inverters

@007 RED has a 2.2kW Sofar GTI

@MJCM has a couple of small capacity GTI's but I'm not sure of the make and kW

@Pink7 bought 2 x Growatt 5kW single phase hybrid inverters but we don't know if he has installed them yet.

 

Other member's have probably got other stuff too but I have not searched through the forum enough to find out what kit they've got.

 

So... any reliability issues gents?

 

And, would you buy the same kit again?

Mine is in their boxes yet, we all got hit by some airway virus and still recovering. So i need to restart my project soon..

 

Pink

[KhunLA]

33 minutes ago, Encid said:

@KhunLA has a DEYE SUN 8kW single phase hybrid inverter

Only 4 months in, so test of time is a ways off.

Deye specs:

https://www.deyeinverter.com/product/single-phase-string-inverter/sun7-7-5-8-9-10-10-5kg-710-5kw-single-phase-2-mppt.html

 

Should be around for awhile, to honor warranty, 5yr:

https://www.deyeinverter.com/about/

 

[Bandersnatch]

12 hours ago, Encid said:

@Bandersnatch has 3 x Growatt 5kW single phase hybrid inverters

I have 3 GROWATT SPF 5000 ES and have had them working for 10 months now. Had to do a hard reset one time, but otherwise fine. Growatt has a rep in Thailand who has been helpful. I bought my inverters in China, but any problems and they can be sent to Bangkok.

 

[BritManToo]

14 hours ago, Encid said:

Really? 

I thought that Growatt was at the top end of the reliability scale.

No, they're generally known as low quality. 

[Crossy]

15 hours ago, Encid said:

So... any reliability issues gents?

 

Not really a reliability issue.

 

Our 5kW unit is a hybrid like the one Jas21 has.

 

It failed (bricked) during a Sofar initiated firmware update. Sofar supplied a replacement inverter under warranty (didn't want the old unit back).

[carlyai]

15 hours ago, Pink7 said:

Mine is in their boxes yet, we all got hit by some airway virus and still recovering. So i need to restart my project soon..

 

Pink

Get better soon. ????

[Bandersnatch]

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

No, they're generally known as low quality. 

Not been my experience with Growatt so can you post a link to where you have seen that "they're generally known as low quality"  

 

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/inverters/growatt-review.html

Edited December 20, 2022 by Bandersnatch

[Pink7]

4 hours ago, carlyai said:

Get better soon. ????

Thanks for that, it was a very strong evil virus, we all better now but it have take weeks to recover from it. ( Not covid)

[007 RED]

20 hours ago, Encid said:

@007 RED has a 2.2kW Sofar GTI

I installed my Sofar 2200TL-G3 inverter 14 months ago and since then it has happily produced 3.22MWh which has reduced our electricity bills by approximately 75%.  Without wishing to speak to soon ????it has been very reliable and not thrown any wobblies.   We had a power outage a couple of weeks ago which lasted for about an hour, the first that I can remember in a long time.  The inverter shut down (anti-islanding mode) as expected and 'booted' back up again without any problems once the grid power had been restored.

 

If I was going to replace the current inverter for a larger one, which I'm not considering, I would definitely go for another Sofar.

 

FYI... The warranty, which is subject to normal T&C, is for 5 years.  The Thai company that I purchased it from advised that if there was a problem during the warranty period I should contact them and if they have one in stock they will send a replacement.  If they have no stock they will get replacement from manufacturer which may take 15 to 30 days.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

Not been my experience with Growatt so can you post a link to where you have seen that "they're generally known as low quality"  

Let's just use your review link .......... 520 rated @ 4-5, 70 rated @1-3

That's 12% of customers dissatisfied, which is a lot for any product.

I wouldn't buy from any Lazada seller that had ratings that low.

 

And if I were to be really picky, only 60% of their customers were entirely happy with the product (366 out of 600).

Edited December 20, 2022 by BritManToo

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, 007 RED said:

FYI... The warranty, which is subject to normal T&C, is for 5 years.  The Thai company that I purchased it from advised that if there was a problem during the warranty period I should contact them and if they have one in stock they will send a replacement.  If they have no stock they will get replacement from manufacturer which may take 15 to 30 days

 

Yeah, I went direct to Sofar service in China and got excellent responses.

 

Sadly, their initial attempt to fix what was a minor annoyance turned my beast into a 45,000 Baht brick.

 

They did the right thing and replaced the unit with a new one at zero cost (all duties and VAT paid too). No complaints whatever about their service or warranty.

[Encid]

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

No, they're generally known as low quality. 

Where you do get your information from?

 

What inverter(s) do you have?

 

Has it been reliable?

[007 RED]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Let's just use your review link .......... 520 rated @ 4-5, 70 rated @1-3

That's 12% of customers dissatisfied, which is a lot for any product.

I wouldn't buy from any Lazada seller that had ratings that low.

 

And if I were to be really picky, only 60% of their customers were entirely happy with the product (366 out of 600).

I you take the time/trouble to drill down to the actual individual ratings you would find that out of the vast majority of the 67 people that provided 1,2 or 3 star ratings did not give any reason(s) for their dissatisfaction.  On one occasion someone gave the inverter a 1 star because he could not see the info on the display panel when the sun was shining on the screen (God forbid).  Of the others that did provided comments for a low rating, the main issues appear to be poor installation and not the inverter itself.

 

Yes there are a few (and it is only a few) people who gave it 4 stars advised that the inverter failed during the warranty period, but complimented the company on replacing FOC.

[Bandersnatch]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Let's just use your review link .......... 520 rated @ 4-5, 70 rated @1-3

That's 12% of customers dissatisfied, which is a lot for any product.

I wouldn't buy from any Lazada seller that had ratings that low.

 

And if I were to be really picky, only 60% of their customers were entirely happy with the product (366 out of 600).

Have to question your conclusions:

 

In the survey I quoted 89% rate Growatts 8 out of 10 or above and you think that means:

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

they're generally known as low quality 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Encid said:

Where you do get your information from?

 

What inverter(s) do you have?

 

Has it been reliable?

I have a vm2 plus (sold under many labels) 

So far in 6 months its only screamed at us once, when my step-daughter shorted a socket in her room. Had to turn it off and on to clear the fault indicator. 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

In the survey I quoted 89% rate Growatts 8 out of 10 or above and you think that means:

It's a  cheap Chinese product sold at a premium price. If you like it, you buy it, I prefer to pay less for cheap Chinese equipment. 

[Pink7]

12 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

I have 3 GROWATT SPF 5000 ES and have had them working for 10 months now. Had to do a hard reset one time, but otherwise fine. Growatt has a rep in Thailand who has been helpful. I bought my inverters in China, but any problems and they can be sent to Bangkok.

 

Any idea if GROWATT SPF 5000 ES will work in parallel without battery? ( My main idea was to do the setup in 2 steps.

 

Pink

[Bandersnatch]

12 hours ago, BritManToo said:

It's a  cheap Chinese product sold at a premium price. If you like it, you buy it, I prefer to pay less for cheap Chinese equipment. 

The Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum should be a community sharing our experiences to help others who want to learn more about renewable energy.

 

I own three Growatt inverters and have real experience with the inverters and the support network in Thailand. 

 

I will leave it to readers of this forum who's opinion they want to listen to.

 

 

[Bandersnatch]

11 hours ago, Pink7 said:

Any idea if GROWATT SPF 5000 ES will work in parallel without battery? ( My main idea was to do the setup in 2 steps.

 

Pink

Yes the GROWATT SPF 5000 ES will work in parallel without batteries. Here is the connection diagram :

 

 

 

I should point out that you should contact Growatt before purchasing the batteries to ensure that they are compatible:

 

 

 

 

[Pink7]

49 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

Yes the GROWATT SPF 5000 ES will work in parallel without batteries. Here is the connection diagram :

 

 

 

I should point out that you should contact Growatt before purchasing the batteries to ensure that they are compatible:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that Bandersnatch

 

Pink

[Pink7]

3 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Yes the GROWATT SPF 5000 ES will work in parallel without batteries. Here is the connection diagram :

 

 

 

I should point out that you should contact Growatt before purchasing the batteries to ensure that they are compatible:

 

 

 

 

I had a discussion today with the seller of the batteries and i got very well your about the complexity. At one point i was explained the parallel inverters and parallel batteries was connected with a com cable from main inverter to main battery. Then later seller wanted to use a hub for com cables. When i try ask why and how etc about this different setups we kind of stranded in communication.

 

Pink

Guide for GROWATT SPF5000ES inverter connects with EITAI 10 2kwh battery-PC(1).pdf

[Bandersnatch]

2 hours ago, Pink7 said:

I had a discussion today with the seller of the batteries and i got very well your about the complexity. At one point i was explained the parallel inverters and parallel batteries was connected with a com cable from main inverter to main battery. Then later seller wanted to use a hub for com cables. When i try ask why and how etc about this different setups we kind of stranded in communication.

 

Pink

Guide for GROWATT SPF5000ES inverter connects with EITAI 10 2kwh battery-PC(1).pdf 1.41 MB · 1 download

@Pink7 I went down the same rabbit hole with regard to CAN hubs and in fact my battery supplier sent me one to try out but Growatt said it wasn’t required.

 

 

I uploaded a very boring video during the bug fixing stage and it’s had over 8,000 views so clearly this is something that others are also interested in.

 

 

[BritManToo]

7 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

The Alternative/Renewable Energy Forum should be a community sharing our experiences to help others who want to learn more about renewable energy.

 

I own three Growatt inverters and have real experience with the inverters and the support network in Thailand. 

 

I will leave it to readers of this forum who's opinion they want to listen to.

1st. You've just admitted you needed to go through a 'bug fixing stage' with your Growatts (that wouldn't have made me happy).

2nd. You needed an installer because you had no previous knowledge of solar systems (if I remember correctly).

3rd.  Was it another poster that had all the battery problems? (EDIT: my bad that was ThaiFish)

4th. I have a Degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering, built my own batteries, installed my own system, welded my own panel mounts and it worked correctly from day 1.

Finally, there is absolutely no valid reason why the batteries and inverter need to communicate (apart from greed by the inverter manufacturer).The BMS is all that is needed to manage the batteries (I have 2x 48V batteries working in parallel).

 

I will also leave it to the forum readers on whose opinion they want to listen.

Edited December 21, 2022 by BritManToo

[Pink7]

12 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

@Pink7 I went down the same rabbit hole with regard to CAN hubs and in fact my battery supplier sent me one to try out but Growatt said it wasn’t required.

 

 

I uploaded a very boring video during the bug fixing stage and it’s had over 8,000 views so clearly this is something that others are also interested in.

 

 

Thanks for that Bandersnatch, Currently talking to Nruit now.. What solution and setup did end up with regarding connecting all together with the com cables? was straight forward ? 

 

Pink

[carlyai]

I listen to everyone.

Merry Christmas. ????