Welcome as we answer the question what’s the life expectancy of solar inverter?
The first thing that should come to the mind of anyone considering installing a solar energy system is the longevity of the various components.
The reason is that it cost much to have one, so you need to know how long it will serve you. In other words, you need to know the estimate the value of the money you are about to spend.
Researchers in Switzerland have been keeping an eye on a bunch of old solar inverters and power optimizers to see how they are faring; with some interesting results.
Solar panels tend to steal the limelight, but the real workhorse of a PV system is the solar inverter. This device takes all the DC output of the panels and converts it to AC for use in the home and export to the grid. It carries out this task day-in, day-out under all sorts of challenging environmental conditions.
As it’s the component under the most strain, the inverter is also the one most likely to fail first. Buying cheaper good quality solar panels is fine, but cutting corners on inverter quality can lead to disappointment down the track.
While 25 year product warranties for solar panels are becoming increasingly common at the cheaper end of the spectrum, standard inverter warranties tend to be far less generous even among the top-end brands. For example, a top quality inverter brand is Fronius; but Fronius inverters only come with a 10 year product warranty (5 years full + 5 years parts only).
So, how long do inverters last generally?
