Growatt Inverter Review
If you are considering Growatt as a solar inverter, this is a must-read.
Growatt is a Chinese-owned & and operated company that makes and markets PV inverters to over 100 countries. Historically, and not unlike most Chinese companies that grow rapidly, they had significant teething issues to do with support and warranties outside China. The hardest part for a full-blown Chinese company to enter a market like the Australian market is, and was, losing sales in translation.
EDIT: We’ve received official responses to sections of this Article from Growatt and these notes will be highlighted in red. Note that these responses are from Growatt Australia and may not apply to other countries.
I am pleased to say that as of 2019 they are doing well again as a company. They have many half Chinese and Aussie staff in Sydney who can speak on behalf of both sides of the market. They are very responsive staff and speak better English than some solar sales companies.
They’re now one of the older (and wiser) Inverter Brands in the Aussie PV market and are currently standing the Test of Time.
Growatt has been in Australia for 8 years. Growatt is the largest inverter exporter and has been for 8 years.
There are more than 185,000 Growatt “units,” or units we assume, installed in Australia.
Of the 185,000 installed, there are 90,000 units that have been working for at least 5 years. This sounds strange but it’s great
Are Growatt the Jinko of inverters?
Growatt have Excellent Australian Support
Growatt have an Australian office with actual Australian based staff that picks up the phone and is very knowledgeable on the Growatt product range.
The Growatt Australian support number is 02 8065 1298 or 1800 476 928
Wait times are less than a few minutes and they have both a listed 02 number as well as an 1800 number so they’re clearly happy to be in Australia.
Growatt has a small office at C1 27-29 Fariola Street in Silverwater, NSW.
Growatt responded to the above that they have 2 larger warehouses for stock.
Growatt Inverter Review
Growatt has a few popular options for Australians. The first option and most common Growatt product sold in Australia is the Growatt 5kW single phase inverter.
There have been several different models of the Growatt 5 KiloWatt single-phase inverters over the years.
The current model is Growatt 2500-5500MTL-S. namely the Growatt 5000MTL-S which is sold in most 5kW, 6kW, and 6.6kW Growatt Solar Systems in Brisbane & Australia. 5kW, 6kW, and 6.6kW Growatt Solar Systems in Brisbane
This inverter has a 10-year warranty which is a colossal warranty that we are very impressed with. We discuss the warranty later on this page.
In my opinion, Growatt has come a long way and has been through thick and thin to become an outstanding inverter brand.
Growatt uses the following parts in their inverters:
But, unlike most inverter brands that came and went, Growatt is actually still here. In fact, they were just awarded Top Brand PV Belgium 2019. Being the top brand in a country is not an easy feat and congratulations to Growatt for getting this award.
Growatt Battery Review
Growatt first released a battery in 2016 or so. It is an AC Battery.
The Growatt batteries were released in a 2.7kWh model and a 5kWh model. You could combine two 5kWh batteries together and get a 10kWh battery.
This is quite funny to us: it’s a 10kWh AC battery, kind of like an Enphase AC battery crossed with an LG 10kWh battery, but low voltage. Simply put, it is a weak battery with a large capacity.
At the end of the day, and no matter which way you look at it, the Growatt and any other AC battery, like Enphase, can only store under a $1 buck worth of QLD power. You are better off selling your power to AGL at 20 cents a watt (at time of writing).
We are unable to comment further on Growatt battery reviews as we did not install any Growatt batteries and the 2018 Generation of Growatt batteries are no longer being manufactured. Growatt confirmed via phone to us that there are some leftover Growatt batteries in the factory for replacements to live out the warranty for any homeowners that bought one.
Growatt first-generation batteries are a discontinued product. However, Growatt is around to help if you already bought one.
There are major flaws in the idea of AC batteries in the Australian market, which are not limited to power output, how fast they charge & discharge, dismal storage capacity and expensive cost.
The “New Generation” Growatt battery peaks at 3kW of power output.
It stores 4.28kWh of usable power.
It has a design life of 10 years+ and a warranty of 5 years.
Avoid all AC Batteries, we don’t sell them, they are wrong.
AC Battery Review
Simply put, a $2,000-10,000 battery with less than a $1 dollar per day worth of power stored is not economical, whichever way you look at it.
The payback period for AC batteries may, in some, cases be longer than the 10-year warranty. Shocking, we know.
Growatt confirmed to us that they decided to cease production of the Growatt battery due to the low sales volume of the battery.
When will Enphase do the same?
– Confused Investors
I applaud Growatt for having a go at the Battery Arms Race anyway. We feel the same way when we send a solar quote to a bloke that already has 8 quotes.
We look forward to the future generation of Growatt batteries when the technology behind electrolytes improves beyond Lithium Iron/Ion.
Growatt Warranty Review
Growatt is currently running a 10-year warranty on the following inverters:
Growatt 5000MTL-S or 5kW Growatt Inverter
Growatt 5500MTL-S or 5.5kW Growatt Inverter
Growatt 5000UE
To extend your Growatt warranty to 10 years, please fill out the Growatt Warranty Extension form here.
When you fill out their warranty form, you will receive a PDF stamped with the Growatt extension information.
Do not install Growatt inverters in the sun.
Growatt does not warrant inverters that are installed, “under the direct sunlight.”
When you open a warranty case with Growatt:
(Growatt Official Updates in Red):
Growatt will either send someone out to repair the inverter on-site, or “we cannot repair faulty inverters as we do not have spare components”
Growatt will repair it in China, or “the faulty units will be collected and sent back to China for research and study if necessary”
Growatt will replace it with an equivalent product.
“Yes, to replace the whole inverter unit is the best way to fix the existing issue”
Growatt Official Response
When you receive a replacement product, Growatt will warrant that for the remainder of your 10-year warranty, you don’t get an extra 10 years.
After the first 5 years of the Growatt warranty, the warranty changes a bit. Growatt does not cover logistics or labour or freight or compensation. As Growatt puts themselves:
“Also the replacement may have a little flaw on its surface, and the warranty excludes any general defects if the inverter is still generating power to the grid.”
– Growatt
This means from years 1-5 you will get a new Growatt inverter. And from years 5-10 you will get a Growatt inverter with, “a little flaw on it”. We can’t confirm if this is or would be a refurbished inverter or, quite literally, just a dirty inverter or one that got scuffed in the factory and didn’t meet their Quality Control standards. I will update this section once confirmed.
Growatt Sydney Office Officially updated me on the above part in relation to replacing inverters in Australia.
“We will dispatch the replacement units when the faulty one is still warranty, in terms of the replacement unit, it will not bring in another 5 or 10 years warranty. All the warranty period will only be calculated based on the installation date of the ORIGINAL inverter. There won’t be a service difference between the first 5 years of warranty and the last 5 years. As for installation compensation, our current policy is to cover up to $150 including GST. This policy could be changed as we are now looking for more options to make our service better.”
Growatt Official response to my interpretation of the warranty procedure
Growatt Wifi Review
Growatt sells a plug and plays with a dongle that can be mounted to their latest inverters. When installed, your Growatt inverter will, every 5 minutes, send data to Growatt that you can see on the app or website.
The datasheet states that the Growatt wifi module can transmit data up to 100 meters away.
If Growatt releases any updates for the inverter, you can receive firmware updates for your inverter automatically.
If you’re looking for solar panels Brisbane, give us a call on 07 3153 4178.
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