Inverter is the heart of any Solar PV system. It converts DC current (generated from Solar Panels) to AC Current (needed by appliances and/or the grid) and it also controls and monitors the entire PV System. It ensures that the Solar PV modules always operate at their radiation and temperature dependent maximum power and it also makes sure that the grid is safe. So while buying a Solar PV system, it is very important that you choose the right inverter for the safety and efficient functioning of your system.
We are seeing that there is a growing interest in buying Solar PV Systems in India. While Bijli Bachao has written a number of articles on basics of Solar PV installation we are now beginning to write on the more practical aspects of installing Solar PV in India. In this post we will cover a few basics about Solar Inverters very importantly on their price in India.
Depending on the type of Solar PV System you opt for: Grid-Connected or Off Grid (To know more read this post: Solar electric, solar thermal, power generation, inverters, grid, off-grid: clearing the cobweb), there are different types of inverter that you have to go for. Typical pricing of a Solar Inverter is between Rs 6 to 40 per Wp. It may seem like a big range, but the bigger the inverter you go for the lesser is the price. In our research we found that if you go for a 65-70 kWp inverter it would cost as low as Rs 6 per Wp. Whereas, if you go for smaller inverters of 1 kWp or less then it would cost as high as Rs 35-40 per Wp. Please note that this is in addition to the price of the solar panels (as mentioned in Solar Panel Price in India) and other accessories.
If you plan to go for a Grid Connected system, then you will have to go for a “String Inverter” (or Grid Connected Inverter). This kind of inverter is very easy to size because it is independent of the appliances you want to run on it. It completely depends on the size of the Solar PV System you are installing. You can read more about sizing a Grid Connected System on this link: How to get “Grid Connected” Solar PV Rooftop System in India – A Step by Step Procedure.
If you go for a Off Grid System, then the sizing of the same is very similar to how you size a regular Power Inverter (you can read more about sizing of Power Inverter on this link: Choose right inverter for home and maintain it right to manage electricity bills.
While buying a Solar Inverter here are a few basic things that you should look at:
Efficiency of the Inverter:
Your solar panels may generate some amount of electricity, but all of it does not get converted to useful electricity. Some of it is lost because of the efficiency of the inverter. So the more efficient the inverter is, more electricity will be converted to useful electricity. As per our research we found that Grid Connected inverters have efficiency as high as 99% with most common ones having efficiency higher than 97%. In case of Off Grid inverters, we found that the efficiencies range between 82 to 87%. So do buy an inverter with higher efficiency to get more electricity output.
Ingress Protection:
Ingress protection rating or IP rating is a rating that any appliance has which certifies how good the appliance is protected from dirt or humidity. You may see IP65, IP66, IP67, or some other IP number mentioned on the inverter (more details on this link). The higher the number, better is the protection. However, you may not need the highest protection as a number like IP67 is required only when an appliance is submerged in water (read more on Wikipedia). A number like IP65 is good enough to protect from dust and rain.
Anti-Islanding protection for Grid Connected Inverters:
In case of grid connected inverters, the most important protection required is Anti-Islanding protection. This makes sure that in case of power failure of the grid, your solar PV system is not sending electricity generated by your system to the grid. This is to protect engineers working on the grid to fix it during power failures. Your grid connected system will not get approval to connect to the grid till your inverter has this feature.
Additional features to be checked for grid connected inverters:
While buying a grid tied inverter, make sure that it has good surge protection, overcurrent protection, has PV array string fault monitoring and also data logging and display features. A good inverter will have a software that can help you monitor the power generated by your PV system and also check the health of your PV system, along with protecting your system from surges and overcurrent.
Features to be checked for Off Grid inverters:
Choosing an off grid inverter is very similar to choosing a regular power inverter. You have to make sure that it has a good battery management system to make sure that it does not overcharge the batteries, has a temperature control system to prevent overheating of the battery (overheating can shorten battery life), prevents over current, etc.
Wave Form of an Inverter:
It is very important that you choose an inverter with the right waveform. A pure Sine Wave inverter is always the best for your appliances. Avoid going for a Square wave or modified sine wave inverter. The cost of a sine wave inverter is comparable to others.
Warranties
Based on our observation we have found that you can get up to 5 years warranty on a Grid Tied inverter, whereas off grid inverters are available only for 1-2 year warranty. If you go for a really good brand inverter in case of grid tied inverter, it will be as good as “fit it and forget it”, as the maintenance required for inverters is minimal.
Price of various Solar Inverters in India
We have collected some data from some of the e-commerce sites selling solar inverters and the data is mentioned below:
Solar Inverters
| Brand | Model | Type | Warranty | Power | Efficiency | Price | Price per Wp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sungrow | SG 60KTL | Grid Tied | 67,500 | 99% | 416,843 | 6 | |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution Pro 33K | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 33,000 | 98.50% | 240,667 | 7 |
| Sungrow | SG 50KTL- M | Grid Tied | 56,200 | 98.90% | 399,105 | 7 | |
| UREnergy | URE-36k-HV | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 36,000 | 98.40% | 261,606 | 7 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 60 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 60,000 | 98.80% | 490,438 | 8 |
| Growatt | Growatt 20000UE | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 20,800 | 98% | 174,284 | 8 |
| Sungrow | SG 30KTL- M | Grid Tied | 30,800 | 98.30% | 239,557 | 8 | |
| UREnergy | URE-25k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 25,000 | 98.40% | 204,575 | 8 |
| UREnergy | URE-30k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 30,000 | 98.30% | 237,811 | 8 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 60 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 60,000 | 98.80% | 512,794 | 9 |
| Zeversolar | EversolTLC20K | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 20,000 | 98.30% | 184,408 | 9 |
| Growatt | Growatt 18000UE | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 18,700 | 98% | 169,199 | 9 |
| Su-Kam | 50K- TM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 50,000 | 96 to 98% | 439,909 | 9 |
| UREnergy | URE-20k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 20,000 | 98.30% | 175,478 | 9 |
| Growatt | Growatt 12000UE | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 12,500 | 98% | 129,199 | 10 |
| UREnergy | URE-15k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 15,000 | 98.30% | 143,647 | 10 |
| Sapphire | 1250 VA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 1,000 | 85% | 10,217 | 10 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 25000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 25,000 | 98.30% | 271,796 | 11 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 25000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 25,000 | 98.50% | 276,245 | 11 |
| Growatt | Growatt 10000UE | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 10,500 | 98% | 119,199 | 11 |
| Su-Kam | 20 K-DM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 20,000 | 96 to 98% | 227,027 | 11 |
| Su-Kam | 30 K-TM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 30,000 | 96 to 98% | 318,606 | 11 |
| Solax | ZDNY-TL20000 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 20,000 | 98.20% | 243,311 | 12 |
| UREnergy | URE-5k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 5,000 | 97.80% | 60,958 | 12 |
| UREnergy | URE-10k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 10,000 | 98.20% | 121,533 | 12 |
| Solar Universe | PV5KMTL | Grid Tied | 3 years Warranty | 5,000 | 99.90% | 63,393 | 13 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 20000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 20,000 | 98.40% | 269,587 | 13 |
| Growatt | Growatt 5000 | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 5,200 | 97.60% | 69,199 | 13 |
| Sapphire | 750 VA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 600 | 85% | 7,734 | 13 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TLC10000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 10,000 | 98% | 143,464 | 14 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT3-20K-DM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 20,000 | 98.00% | 270,861 | 14 |
| Solax | ZDNY-TL10000 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 10,000 | 98.20% | 139,361 | 14 |
| Solax | ZDNY-TL15000 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 15,000 | 98.20% | 208,661 | 14 |
| Growatt | Growatt 3000 | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 3,200 | 97.30% | 49,199 | 15 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT3-15K-DM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 15,000 | 98.00% | 229,478 | 15 |
| Solax | ZDNY-TL12000 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 12,000 | 98.20% | 174,011 | 15 |
| Sapphire | 3750 VA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 3,000 | 85% | 46,335 | 15 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TL5000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,300 | 97.30% | 83,453 | 16 |
| Solax | SL-TL5000T | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 5,000 | 97.60% | 81,195 | 16 |
| UREnergy | URE-3k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 3,000 | 97.50% | 46,991 | 16 |
| Sapphire | 2000 VA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 1,600 | 85% | 25,528 | 16 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TLC6000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 6,000 | 98% | 99,543 | 17 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TLC8000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 8,000 | 98% | 132,704 | 17 |
| Growatt | Growatt 2000 | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 2,300 | 97.30% | 39,199 | 17 |
| Su-Kam | 3K-SM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 96 to 98% | 49,648 | 17 |
| Su-Kam | 5K-DM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,000 | 96 to 98% | 84,379 | 17 |
| Su-Kam | 10K-DM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 10,000 | 96 to 98% | 165,739 | 17 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TLC5000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,000 | 98% | 88,163 | 18 |
| Solax | X1-LX 5200 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 5,200 | 97.60% | 92,673 | 18 |
| UREnergy | URE-6k | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 6,000 | 98.20% | 106,635 | 18 |
| Growatt | Growatt 5000 UE | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 5,200 | 97.40% | 99,199 | 19 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT-3K-SM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 3,000 | 97.50% | 57,484 | 19 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT-5.0K-SM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 5,000 | 97.50% | 93,938 | 19 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT3-10K-DM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 10,000 | 98.00% | 188,095 | 19 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 3000S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 97.50% | 59,651 | 20 |
| Zeversolar | Evershine TLC4000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 4,000 | 98% | 82,990 | 21 |
| Su-Kam | 2K-SM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 2,000 | 96 to 98% | 42,661 | 21 |
| Solax | SL-TL3300T | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 3,300 | 97.60% | 69,645 | 21 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 10000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 10,000 | 98.10% | 215,899 | 22 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 3000S With Wifi | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 97.50% | 66,634 | 22 |
| Growatt | Growatt 1000 | Grid Tied | 5 to 10 years Warranty | 1,300 | 97% | 29,199 | 22 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 2000S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 2,000 | 97.30% | 45,216 | 23 |
| Zeversolar | Eversol TL3000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 97% | 68,619 | 23 |
| Solax | X1-LX 3600 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 3,600 | 97.60% | 81,123 | 23 |
| Airkom | ASP-GT-1.5K-SM | Grid Tied | 1 years Warranty | 1,500 | 96% | 35,655 | 24 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 1500S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,500 | 97.20% | 38,701 | 26 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 2000S With Wifi | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 2,000 | 97.30% | 52,668 | 26 |
| Zeversolar | Eversol TL2000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 2,000 | 97% | 53,534 | 27 |
| Su-Kam | 1.5K-SM | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,500 | 96 to 98% | 40,350 | 27 |
| SMA | Sunny Boy 5000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,000 | 97% | 156,867 | 31 |
| Zeversolar | Eversol TL1500 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,500 | 97% | 47,506 | 32 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 1000S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,000 | 97% | 34,562 | 35 |
| SMA | Sunny Tripower 5000TL | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,000 | 98% | 179,804 | 36 |
| UREnergy | URE-M300 | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 300 | 95.50% | 11,493 | 38 |
| Zeversolar | Zeverlution 1000S With Wifi | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,000 | 97% | 40,470 | 40 |
| Zeversolar | Eversol TL1000 | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 1,000 | 95.70% | 44,492 | 44 |
| Zeversolar | EversolTLC20K | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 20,000 | 97.90% | 0 | |
| Zenom | INVERTER 180V/3KVA | Grid Tied | 2 years Warranty | ||||
| Zenom | INVERTER 120V/1KVA | Grid Tied | 2 years Warranty | ||||
| Zenom | INVERTER 180V/5KVA | Grid Tied | 2 years Warranty | ||||
| Zenom | INVERTER 120V/2KVA | Grid Tied | 2 years Warranty | ||||
| Zenom | INVERTER 240V/10KVA | Grid Tied | 2 years Warranty | ||||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.0-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.7-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,700 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.0-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 4.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 4,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 4.5-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 4,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.7-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,700 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.7-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 3,700 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 5.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 5,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 4.5-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 years Warranty | 4,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 6.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 6,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 3.7-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 3,700 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 4.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 4,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 5.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 5,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 6.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 6,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 7.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 7,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 7.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 7,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 8.2-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 8,200 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 10.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 10,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 8.2-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 8,200 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 10.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 10,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 12.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 12,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 12.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 12,500 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 15.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 15,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 17.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 17,500 | 98.10% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 15.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 15,000 | 98% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 17.5-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 17,500 | 98.10% | ||
| Fronius | SYMO 20.0-3-M | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 20,000 | 98.10% | ||
| Fronius | ECO 25.0-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 25,000 | 98.20% | ||
| Fronius | ECO 27.0-3-S | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 27,000 | 98.30% | ||
| Huawei | SUN2000-12KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 12,000 | 98.50% | ||
| Huawei | SUN2000-8KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 8,000 | 98.50% | ||
| Huawei | SUN2000-33KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 98.60% | |||
| Huawei | SUN2000-20KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 98.60% | |||
| Huawei | SUN2000-15KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 15,000 | 98.60% | ||
| Huawei | SUN2000-10KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 10,000 | 98.50% | ||
| Huawei | SUN2000-40KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 98.60% | |||
| Huawei | SUN2000-23KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 98.60% | |||
| Huawei | SUN2000-17KTL | Grid Tied | 5 year Warranty | 17,000 | 98.60% | ||
| Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. | Lal Mirchi 500VA/12V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 5,261 | ||
| Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. | CLASS650VA.12V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 5,831 | ||
| Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. | CLASS850VA.12V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 6,402 | ||
| Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. | CLASS1000VA.24V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 87% | 6,972 | ||
| Solar Idea Pvt. Ltd. | CLASS1500VA.24V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 87% | 7,542 | ||
| Sapphire | 5 KVA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 4,000 | 85% | ||
| Sapphire | 7.5 KVA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 6,000 | 85% | ||
| Sapphire | 1150VA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 920 | 85% | ||
| Sapphire | 11 KVA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 8,800 | 85% | ||
| Sapphire | 6 KVA | Off Grid | 1 years Warranty | 4,800 | 85% | ||
| Su-Kam | 100VA/12V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 10,747 | ||
| Su-Kam | 600VA/24V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 12,627 | ||
| Su-Kam | 500VA/24V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 17,118 | ||
| Su-Kam | 1000VA/24V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 21,414 | ||
| Su-Kam | 2KVA/48V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 82% | 33,581 | ||
| Su-Kam | 3KVA/48V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 82% | 50,993 | ||
| Su-Kam | 4KVA/96V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 56,595 | ||
| Su-Kam | 5KVA/96V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 67,161 | ||
| Su-Kam | 6.25KVA/96V | Off Grid | 2 years Warranty | 85% | 73,380 | ||
| Brand | Model | Type | Warranty | Power | Efficiency | Price | Price per Wp |
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