Opinion

You recommend – What inverter would you recommend to other installers?

Paul Taylor 1
With such a tight squeeze on profit margins, it’s tempting to choose an inverter on price, but with seven years of installing experience and 3,500 inverters behind us, we know this is a false economy.  A customer will be on the phone as soon as a system stops working and this takes time and a man off the road to sort out. For me, the best inverter make is SMA, it’s a well known, efficient brand with a good reputation, warranty and customer service. I like their bolt on products for monitoring and the training – invaluable when things go wrong.  We also receive a payment for replacing faulty inverters.
Paul Taylor, research & development director, The Green Electrician Group

2 min read
Paul Hollingsworth


We recommend SMA Solar Technology as the inverter manufacturer of choice. A visit to their manufacturing plant in Germany last year presented the opportunity to assess firsthand both the quality of product and the support services in place. The visit also confirmed that SMA has one of the largest inverter ranges on the market, allowing for the correct inverter to be sourced for any occasion. We have built up an extensive experience with SMA inverters and stand by their reputation as one of the global leaders in the development, production and sales of PV inverters.
Paul Hollingsworth, operations and finance manager, Caplor Energy

bruce bellingham


I now use micro-inverters for my installations for three reasons: cost, efficiency, and transparency.
Cost: Micro-inverter costs have significantly reduced, especially using products like the D480-60s from Enecsys. They come with a standard 20 year warranty, as opposed to the string inverter’s 5 years. Moreover with no high voltage risk, they are safer and easier to install.
Efficiency: Micro-inverters do MPPT on a per-module level meaning no restriction to the worst performing unit. As the PV modules degrade with time and mismatch increases, the system still performs optimally.
Transparency: Per-module monitoring allows pinpointing of any flaw within the system, whereas in as string configuration the owner is forced to buy extra monitoring.
Bruce Bellingham, director, Cornwall Energy

Eco2Solar recommend the SMA Sunnyboy range of inverters to installers and customers. SMA is the world’s best-selling inverter, due to their excellent products, warranties and service packages. We recommend them as we are confident in their ability to perform at the highest possible level on our installations, from small domestic installs, to large-scale commercial solar systems. SMA also invests heavily in the research and development of their inverters, meaning that their products are always at the cutting edge of new inverter technology. Alongside their commitment to high quality products, SMA’s impeccable ethical values, provide the final reason that we feel confident in recommending them.
Paul Hutchens, managing director, Eco2Solar

lee_h_baxter_8

Inverters have increasingly developed to Solar PV market conditions, including the incorporation of G59 technology & standard/extended warranty – now available up to 25 years.
We provide availability of inverters covering all key aspects of any PV system install from a complete range: Samil, SMA, Fronius, Master Volt, Steca.
We recommend selecting inverters using best practice and best fit for purpose, with the leading brands; for example, SMA for robustness & capability to locate outside in the environment (IP65) and Fronius for their ease of use, reliability & working life.”
Lee Baxter, general manager of Myriad Solar PV