SMA solar inverters reviews
Based on 1473 ratings Aus Ranking
- 5 star 977
- 4 star 424
- 3 star 35
- 2 star 16
- 1 star 21
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SMA Customer Service: 1800 762 287
SMA are the big granddaddy of inverter manufacturers. Founded way back in 1981, the company is based in Germany, turns over billions annually and employs around 3,500 people.
SMA solar inverters were originally only produced in German factories, but the firm went through a period in 2017-2018 where they manufactured their "Sunny Boy" inverters, which are used extensively in home solar installations, in China.
Then in December 2018, the company announced it intended to move manufacturing out of China. However, in May 2020 we were informed SMA will continue to partly manufacture their Sunny Boy inverters in China and partly in Germany for the foreseeable future. What is manufactured where isn't clear.
SMA Inverters - Core Products
Regardless of country of manufacture, if you want a safe bet, you can't go wrong with an SMA inverter. The only downside is that you tend to pay a premium for them.
The Sunny Boy (single-phase) and Sunny Tripower (three-phase) product lines form the core of SMA's home and commercial offerings. SMA also manufacture a battery inverter for off-grid applications called the Sunny Island.
Beyond home and commercial products, the company also produces thumping great central inverters for solar farms.
You can compare specifications and estimated pricing of SMA residential solar products available in Australia with models from a bunch of other brands on the SolarQuotes inverter comparison table.
SMA A Solar Battler
The company has faced its share of challenges over the years from increasing competition and thinning margins (hence its China fling), but appeared to be turning things around - although COVID threw a spanner in the works.
- 2023 (January - June): 7,213MW capacity shipped
- 2022: 12,200 MW
- 2021: 13,584 MW
- 2020: 14,415 MW
- 2019: 11,409 MW
- 2018: 8,449 MW
- 2017: 8,538 MW
Challenges Persisted For SMA In 2022
The 2022 and 2021 result was a little disappointing, attributed in part to a shortage of electronic components that restricted the company's delivery capacity rather than a lack of orders. The company said it was attributable to the continued tight situation with the supply of electronic chips - and it wasn't the only inverter manufacturer experiencing similar issues.
Looking past supply chain issues, SMA sees sunnier days ahead and is planning to close-to-double production capacity at its headquarters in Germany from 21 GW currently to almost 40 GW by 2024.
In August 2023, SMA reported a successful first half; with significant increase in sales and earnings in all segments; returning to profitability earlier than planned.
According to the company, more than 750,000 SMA inverters had been installed across Australia by the end of 2020; so they've certainly been popular here and remain so - both among Australian households and installers.
Overall, SMA has shipped more than 130 GW of solar inverter capacity globally to date.
SMA Inverter Warranty Notes
SMA Sunny Boy and Tripower inverters come with a standard 5 year warranty. But from 1 October 2021, all home inverters commissioned in Australia receive an extra 5 years of full warranty upon product registration - so a total of 10 years.
SMA have a strong local presence in Australia - first established way back in 2007 - in the rare event you experience an issue requiring technical or warranty support.
The contact number for SMA support is 1800 SMA AUS (1800 762 287). Note that the initial voice message encourages SMA inverter owners to first contact their installer. But if you stay on the line and choose the appropriate menu option, you'll find the SMA team to be very helpful in answering technical and warranty related questions.
If you're looking to find an SMA-certified installer to assist you with an existing SMA installation, you can use SMA's "Power Up" online service here.
As you'll see from the SMA inverter reviews below, complaints about SMA inverter performance or reliability pretty rare, which is why the brand is one of the most popular in Australia - and part of the reason why the company is currently listed as an SQ recommended inverter brand.
If you're an Australian owner of an SMA inverter, feel free to contribute your review and rating.
SMA Solar Inverter Reviews
Bought From: ITP Home Energy Show additional information
Bought From: Soltek Energy Show additional information
Bought From: Platinum Solar Designs NSW Show additional information
Bought From: Mark Group Australia Show additional information
Bought From: Opera Solar Show additional information
Bought From: Solaire Connect Show additional information
Bought From: All Green Environmental Solutions Show additional information
Bought From: SunEnergy Show additional information
Bought From: Solaire Connect Show additional information
New monitoring app is ok by me.
Bought From: EcoSmart Solar Rockhampton Show additional information
Bought From: Case Statewide Solar Show additional information
Bought From: Expert Electrical TAS Show additional information
Bought From: Hawking Electrical Energy Solutions Show additional information
I don’t recommend them, the company I went through to have solar put on my roof, won’t use them anymore and the electrician (subcontractor) said they are no good. Electrician said that they used to be good but have dropped the ball on the quality in a big way.
SMA wouldn’t cover the warranty on the last inverter and I listened to the sparky arguing over the phone with them, that the initial installation was fine and that it was the inverter that had failed (note he didn’t install it, so it wasn’t his work and therefore had no need to defend the previous electricians work). The sparky was pretty frustrated with their warranty department.
I’m glad I was with a solar installation company, that are still operating (they replaced the SMA inverter with another brand, at their cost) as I would have been up the creek and had to pay for the whole bill myself.
Don’t buy SMA.
Bought From: Allstate Solar Show additional information
As for the inverter itself, fantastic it just works. In-fact I forgot the whole system is even installed, just dramatically lowered power bills.
The SMA app could do better to be 100% honest the information it provides is very basic. It a little frustrating they only account for flat rate priced electricity, not peak/off peak. So they need to improve that, however on the other hand they haven't locked the inverter down so even if SMA was to go out of business and the app shutdown you can still get a lot of information from the inverter and applications like Home Assistant integrate with the inverter (without an internet connection required!!) to get your stats and present it in a different way. So while I think SMA has some work to do on the app, they have allowed others to come in and develop their own apps.
Bought From: Expert Electrical TAS Show additional information
Bought From: Expert Electrical TAS Show additional information
Bought From: Case Statewide Solar Show additional information
SMA has 133 solar inverters in our database
| Model | DC Voltage | AC Power | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1100LV | 400 V | 1000 W | 93.00 |
| 2000HF | 700 V | 2000 | 96.30 |
| 2500HF | 700 V | 2500 | 96.30 |
| 3000HF | 700 V | 3000 | 96.30 |
| 3600TL | 750 V | 3600 | 97.00 |
| 5000TL | 750 V | 4600 | 97.00 |
| 7000HV | 800V | 7000 | 96.20 |
| SB 2000HF-30 | 700 V | 2000 | 96.30 |
| SB 2100TL | 600 V | 1950 | 96.00 |
| SB 240-US-10 | 240 V | 240 | 96.00 |
| SB 2500HF-30 | 700 V | 2500 | 96.30 |
| SB 3000HF-30 | 700 V | 3000 | 96.30 |
| SB10000TL-US | 208 V | 10000 | 97.50 |
| SB10000TL-US-12 | 240 V | 10000 | 98.00 |
| SB11000TL-US | 240 V | 11000 | 98.00 |
| SB1100U | 240 V | 1100 | 91.00 |
| SB1300TL-10 | 600 V | 1300 | 96.00 |
| SB1600TL-10 | 600 V | 1600 | 96.00 |
| SB2000HFUS-30 | 208 V | 2000 | 97.00 |
| SB2000HFUS-30 | 240 V | 2000 | 97.00 |
| SB2500HFUS-30 | 208 V | 2500 | 96.50 |
| SB2500HFUS-30 | 240 V | 2500 | 96.50 |
| SB2500TLST-21 | 750 | 2500 | 97.00 |
| SB3000HFUS-30 | 208 V | 3000 | 96.50 |
| SB3000HFUS-30 | 240 V | 3000 | 96.50 |
| SB3000TL-21 | 750 | 3000 | 97.00 |
| SB3000TL-US-22 | 208 V | 3050 | 96.50 |
| SB3000TL-US-22 | 240 V | 3050 | 96.50 |
| SB3000TLST-21 | 3000 | 750 | 97.00 |
| SB3000US | 208 V | 3000 | 95.00 |
| SB3000US | 240 V | 3000 | 95.50 |
| SB3300U | 240 V | 3300 | 94.50 |
| SB3600TL-21 | 750 | 3680 | 97.00 |
| SB3800TL-US-22 | 208 V | 3850 | 96.50 |
| SB3800TL-US-22 | 240 V | 3850 | 97.00 |
| SB3800U | 208 V | 3500 | 94.00 |
| SB3800U | 240 V | 3800 | 94.50 |
| SB3800US | 240 V | 3800 | 96.00 |
| SB3800US-12 | 208 V | 3800 | 94.50 |
| SB4000TL-21 | 750 V | 4000 | 97.00 |
| SB4000TL-US-22 | 208 V | 4050 | 96.50 |
| SB4000TL-US-22 | 240 V | 4050 | 97.00 |
| SB4000US | 208 V | 3500 | 95.50 |
| SB4000US | 240 V | 4000 | 96.00 |
| SB4000US (CL) | 208 V | 3300 | 95.50 |
| SB4000US (CL) | 240 V | 3800 | 96.00 |
| SB5000TL-21 | 750 | 5000 | 97.00 |
| SB5000TL-US-22 | 208 V | 4576 | 96.50 |
| SB5000TL-US-22 | 240 V | 5051 | 97.00 |
| SB5000US | 208 V | 5000 | 95.50 |
| SB5000US | 240 V | 5000 | 95.50 |
| SB5000US | 277 V | 5000 | 95.50 |
| SB6000TL-US | 208 V | 6000 | 98.00 |
| SB6000TL-US | 240 V | 6000 | 98.50 |
| SB6000TL-US-22 | 208 V | 5200 | 96.50 |
| SB6000TL-US-22 | 240 V | 6000 | 97.00 |
| SB6000U | 208 V | 5200 | 94.50 |
| SB6000U | 240 V | 6000 | 94.50 |
| SB6000U | 277 V | 6000 | 94.50 |
| SB6000US | 208 V | 6000 | 95.50 |
| SB6000US | 240 V | 6000 | 95.50 |
| SB6000US | 277 V | 6000 | 96.00 |
| SB7000TL-US | 208 V | 7000 | 98.00 |
| SB7000TL-US | 240 V | 7000 | 98.50 |
| SB7000TL-US-22 | 208 V | 6007 | 96.50 |
| SB7000TL-US-22 | 240 V | 7007 | 96.50 |
| SB7000US | 208 V | 7000 | 95.50 |
| SB7000US | 240 V | 7000 | 96.00 |
| SB7000US | 277 V | 7000 | 96.00 |
| SB700U | 120 V | 696 | 91.50 |
| SB7700TL-US-22 | 208 V | 6732 | 96.50 |
| SB7700TL-US-22 | 240 V | 7700 | 96.50 |
| SB8000TL-US | 240 V | 8000 W | 98.00 |
| SB9000TL-US | 240 V | 9000 W | 98.00 |
| SC 1850-US | 1000 V | 1661000 W | 98.00 |
| SC 2200-US | 1000 V | 2079000 W | 98.00 |
| SC125U | 208 V | 125000 W | 93.50 |
| SC250U | 480 V | 250000 W | 97.00 |
| SC500CP-US | 600 V | 500000 W | 97.00 |
| SC500HE-US-MV (w/ Cooper xfmr) | 600 V | 500000 W | 97.00 |
| SC500U | 480 V | 500000 W | 97.00 |
| SC630CP-US | 1000 V | 630000 W | 97.50 |
| SC720CP-US | 1000 V | 720000 W | 97.50 |
| SC750CP-US | 1000 V | 750000 W | 97.50 |
| SC800CP-US | 1000 V | 800000 W | 97.50 |
| SC850CP-US (w/ ABB xfmr) | 1000 V | 887914 W | 97.50 |
| SC900CP-US (w/ ABB xfmr) | 1000 V | 942040 W | 97.50 |
| SI 3.0M-11 | 230 V | 2300 W | 95.30 |
| SI 4.4M-11 | 230 V | 3300 W | 95.30 |
| SI2012 | 15 | 2000 | 93.60 |
| SI2224 | 31 | 2200 | 93.60 |
| SI3324 | 32 | 3300 | 94.50 |
| SI4248 | 63 | 4200 | 95.00 |
| SI4548 | 120 V | 2300 W | 94.50 |
| SI5048 | 63 | 5000 | 95.00 |
| SI6.0H | 63 | 4600 | 95.00 |
| SI6048 | 120 V | 5000 W | 94.00 |
| SI6048 | 240 V | 42000 W | 96.00 |
| SI8.0H | 63 | 6000 | 95.00 |
| ST36 | 240 V | 36000 W | 95.50 |
| ST48 | 240 V | 48000 W | 96.00 |
| STP 10000TL-10 | 1000 V | 10000 | 98.10 |
| STP 10000TL-20 | 1000 V | 10000 W | 98.00 |
| STP 12000TL-10 | 1000 V | 12000 | 98.10 |
| STP 15000TL-10 | 1000 V | 15000 | 98.20 |
| STP 15000TLEE-10 | 1 000 V | 15000 | 98.50 |
| STP 15000TLHE-10 | 1 000 V | 15000 | 99.00 |
| STP 17000TL-10 | 400-800V | 17000 | 98.20 |
| STP 20000TL-30 | 1000 V | 20440 W | 98.40 |
| STP 20000TLEE-10 | 580-800V | 20000 | 98.50 |
| STP 20000TLHE-10 | 580-800V | 20000 | 98.50 |
| STP 25000TL-30 | 1000 V | 25550 W | 98.40 |
| STP 5000TL-20 | 1000 | 5000 | 98.00 |
| STP 60-US-10 | 400 V | 59859 W | 98.00 |
| STP 6000TL-20 | 1000 | 6000 | 98.10 |
| STP 7000TL-20 | 1000 | 7000 | 98.00 |
| STP 8000TL-20 | 1000V | 8000 | 98.00 |
| STP 9000TL-20 | 1000 | 9000 | 98.00 |
| STP10000TL | 1000 V | 10000 | 98.10 |
| STP12000TL | 1000 V | 12000 | 98.10 |
| STP15000TL | 1000 V | 15000 | 98.10 |
| STP17000TL | 1000 V | 17000 | 98.10 |
| STP20000TL-US-10 | 277 V | 20000 W | 98.50 |
| STP8000TL | 1000V | 8000 | 98.10 |
| STP8000TL-10 | 1000 V | 8000 | 98.10 |
| SWR1800U | 120 V | 1800 W | 91.50 |
| SWR2100U | 240 V | 2100 W | 93.00 |
| SWR2500U | 208 V | 2100 W | 92.50 |
| WTP 5000TL-20 | 1000V | 5000 | 98.00 |
| WTP 6000TL-20 | 1000V | 6000 | 98.10 |
| WTP 7000TL-20 | 1000 V | 7000 | 98.00 |
| WTP 8000TL-20 | 1000V | 8000 | 98.00 |
| WTP 9000TL-20 | 1000V | 9000 | 98.20 |