Recently, Sungrow asked me to record installation training videos for their new SH5k Hybrid Inverter.
I was flattered. Yes, it’s a Chinese inverter, and the rule of thumb is to avoid Chinese inverters. Sungrow, however, has proven themselves an exception to that rule.
Four years ago I began subcontracting to Sungrow as their solar warranty agent in South-East Queensland. While their warranty work insignificantly contributes to my business income, the knowledge we trade is immeasurably beneficial. It’s not just about what we learn from technical dialogue with Sungrow – it the fact that they take on board and react to our feedback.
Sungrow SH5K
Simple things set the SH5K apart from it’s main competitors.
- It’s a Sungrow – a proven name in the solar industry.
- It’s a dual tracker – so important for an efficient design.
- It’s IP65 – you can install it outside, and you don’t need to worry about geckos.
- Price – Sungrow are always focussed on keeping the price down by not adding unnecessary expensive bling.
- The affordable 10-year warranty (we offer this as a standard).
- Their after sales warranty program is assertive – bordering on aggressive! If you have any issues, they will be on our case to fix it!
The inverter’s only significant restriction is that the current model (SH5K) will not run off grid should you lose power. While this restriction is somewhat common among hybrid inverters, Sungrow expects to offer an emergency power supply (EPS) model early in 2016. **Updated expected release date of June/July 2016**
Contact us for hybrid options.
Mark
9 Responses
Hi Tim, The retail price for an SH5K is about $2400. When it comes to installing costs, there are too many variables for me estimate.
Hi Mark really good video and info. I am looking at get the SH5K installed connected to a byd battery. Can you tell me what the inverter should cost roughly ?
Hi Mark Thanks for the response. It looks like I’ll be going back to the installer.The LED on the inverter is currently showing 634w coming from the grid while the battery is 88.7% full; our battery has never been below about 82%. Re the grid over-voltage, I spoke to Ergon and they have a fault registered already – with a fix ETA of end of June (maybe). Unfortunately they don’t really have any incentive to fix it since I am paying for power from the grid and not getting any feed in credit whenever the system is offline. cheers
Hi Cherryl. If your battery still has charge then it should use power from the battery. This doesn’t always work instantaneously, but if you watch it for a minute or so then the battery should start displaying that is discharging – at least partially. If it never shows this, then yes, something is definitely wrong. Call your installer. Over-voltage is generally an Ergon issue (unless you are on a property will long and undersized mains). Your installer should help you by reporting that to Ergon.
Hi Craig. The short answer is no, you can only install 1 sungrow hybrid per installation if it is to work properly.
Hi Mark We’ve just had a Sungrow hybrid system with 10kW LG battery installed in our new house in Townsville. All seems to be working well as far as we can see. However at night the panel on the inverter (and on the App) is showing power coming from the grid instead of from the battery – the battery is going down though. We are also experiencing grid over voltage during the day (an Ergon issue I’ve been told) and islanding which shuts the system down temporarily.Just wondering if these are something I need to get the installer back to fix.
Hi Paul, Whoever you paid is liable for the warranty. I’m assuming that was the installer (or a sales company). I know Sungrow well and they never shy away from a warranty case. Normally they go to far to help out the installer and keep the end customer happy. I would blame this one on the installer (or sales company) – and technically they walk away anyway.
Hi Mark, I have one of the sungrow sh5k installed atm, can they be daisy chained to double power output?
Hi Mark , long story but had SH5K installed Feb 17 and has not worked (.3 kw a day) Original installer replaced inverter with no success and now has walked away saying Sungrow issue. Sungrow sent a replacement meter and after me paying local installer to replace meter , no success . This is a 5kw system with 0 feed to Ergon . The unit works fine if switched to export. Sungrow tech is going around in circles now at my expence , paying local guy twice now , given Sungrow govern the price for this ($150 ) Do you have any advice on this matter for me and what are my rights as far as the original installer goes about refunds Pls Help