| Guide to Inverters |
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The inverter is the “brain” of any solar PV system. It turns the DC current generated by the panels into an AC current which is then distributed throughout your house with any excess being automatically fed back to the national grid. The best inverters are extremely efficient at converting the DC current from the panels and are able to achieve between 96% and 98% efficiency. Most of the well-known inverter manufacturers are European brands. The market leader is SMA, a German company that boats around 41% of the world market and is followed by Fronius, another German manufacturer. The Italian manufacturer Aurora has started to become popular recently in the UK and tends to be slightly cheaper than the German manufacturers. The key points to look for in choosing an inverter are reliability and efficiency, and on this front it is hard to think of a reason to look beyond the proven success of the German manufacturers. Most inverters carry a manufacturer’s warranty of 5 years. The manufacturers can also offer an extended warranty option to cover the product for up to 10 years which is about the average lifespan for an inverter. The cost of a warranty extension is usually around £600 which is pretty much the cost of a new inverter. |
