SMA inverters are the best of the best when it comes to quality, functionality and customer satisfaction. Considering how much time the company has had to polish its products, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. SMA isn’t the most affordable brand, but a little price difference can go a long way. The review below describes what you get buying a legendary SMA inverter.
About SMA Company
SMA has been working on its technologies for decades – the company was started in 1981. It is an especially long stretch by the standards of the solar industry, where the stories of most brands began after the year 2000. SMA Solar Technology AG is a German company founded by a team from the University of Kassel. At present SMA employs more than 5,000 people and gets more than 1 billion dollars of revenue each year.
The company makes inverters for all applications. There are SMA models for residential, commercial, utility and even off-grid projects. Each of these categories has a name under which the inverters are sold. They are as follows:
- Sunny Boy for residential customers
- Sunny Tripower/Highpower for commercial market
- Sunny Central for solar farms and other large-scale projects
- Sunny Island for off-grid operations
Four decades later, the company hasn’t lost the spirit and willingness to innovate that allowed it to climb to the top. SMA solar inverters are certainly among the very best devices on the market, which has been confirmed time and again by independent labs such as PVEL. For example, in 2019 one of the company’s inverters became a top performer in three different tests.
SMA solar inverters for sale
SMA Sunny Boy Inverter 3kw SB-3.0-1SP-US-41
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — SB-3.0-1SP-US-41
- Operating Temperatures — -40 to +140°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 4800
- Input voltage DC — 480
- Output Voltage AC — 240
- Rated Efficiencies — 97.6%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 21.1 x 28.5 x 7.8 in
- Weight — 57 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
SMA Sunny Boy Inverter 6kw SB-6.0-1SP-US-41
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — Sunny Boy 6.0-US
- Operating Temperatures — -40 to +140°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 6000
- Input voltage DC — 600
- Output Voltage AC — 240
- Rated Efficiencies — 97.7%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 21.1 x 28.5 x 7.8 in
- Weight — 57 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
SMA Sunny Boy Inverter 7kw SB-7.0-1SP-US-41
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — SB-7.0-1SP-US-41
- Operating Temperatures — -40 to +140°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 7000
- Input voltage DC — 600
- Output Voltage AC — 240
- Rated Efficiencies — 97.6%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 21.1 x 28.5 x 7.8 in
- Weight — 57 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
SMA Sunny Boy Inverter 6w SBS-6.0-US-10
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — SBS-6.0-US-10
- Operating Temperatures — -40 to +140°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 6000
- Input voltage DC — 600
- Output Voltage AC — 240
- Rated Efficiencies — 97.5%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 21.1 x 28.5 x 7.8 in
- Weight — 57 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
SMA Sunny Tripower CORE1 50.0kW 3-Ph Inverter
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — CORE1 50-US
- Operating Temperatures — -13 to +140°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 50000
- Input voltage DC — 1000
- Output Voltage AC — 480
- Rated Efficiencies — 98%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 24.4 x 28.8 x 22.4 in
- Weight — 185 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
SMA Sunny Tripower CORE1 62.0kW 3-Ph Inverter
Specifications
- Condition — New
- Manufacturer — SMA America LLC
- Model — CORE1 62-US
- Operating Temperatures — -4 to +122°F
- Type — Grid-Tie Inverters
- Watts — 62000
- Input voltage DC — 1000
- Output Voltage AC — 480
- Rated Efficiencies — 98%
- Dimensions LxWxH — 24.4 x 28.8 x 22.4 in
- Weight — 185 lbs
- Warranty — 10 years
- Delivery time — 5-7 business days
Quality and Performance
The quality and reliability of SMA inverters has been proven by time. 40 years of testing is an advantage that no other company can match. While the competitors are closing in, the pioneer in the field of string inverters continues to be one of the best options in all possible applications, be it residential, commercial, industrial or an entirely off-grid project.
Partly due to competition, in 2013 SMA decided to explore the possibility of manufacturing abroad. The company bought a plant in China, but five years later the company announced that it would manufacture 100% of its products in Germany. This decision was greeted with enthusiasm, because it could be reasonably assumed that SMA decided to prioritize quality above all else.
When it comes to performance, SMA solar inverters are hard to rival. After all, that’s why the company has such an impeccable reputation and is referred to with words like ‘icon’ and ‘legend’. The efficiency of an average SMA inverter is close to 98%, and the available wattage ranges from 3,000 to 60,000 watts and above. Aside from being technically advanced, the equipment produced by SMA is also accompanied by very intuitive, yet powerful software. Performance tracking and various other tools are now always at your fingertips via a mobile app.
Warranty and Service
All SMA inverters come protected with 5 year warranties. However, the warranty period can be easily doubled – all you need to do is register the device via the SMA website within 12 months of installation. There is a possibility to extend this period even further: to 15, 20 or even 25 years. This is associated with a fee, which will vary depending on the region, model and other factors. SMA warranties completely protect the owners from any defects. The labor, parts and shipping are also covered.
What to look for when choosing an SMA solar inverter
The great abundance of models allows you to find a device that perfectly suits your needs, but sometimes it can be a bit confusing to navigate through dozens of different models. There are a few points that can make this journey easier:
- Application. Determining what kind of inverter you need can save you the trouble of browsing through devices meant for other kinds of projects. SMA inverters can be divided into five big groups: on- and off-grid, hybrid, utility-scale and commercial. The group names are self-descriptive.
- Wattage. To reduce the number of candidates still further, you will need to come up with an optimal inverter size. A failure-proof strategy is to simply look at the DC output of your PV system. Oversizing is also possible, but the panels’ output shouldn’t be larger than the inverter’s wattage by more than 30%. This requires careful consideration of the conditions in your area.
- Additional functionality. All modern SMA inverters rely on powerful software and support the SMA mobile app, which grants even the basic models very advanced functionality. However, more sophisticated models offer even more useful features.
- Affordability. SMA solar inverters aren’t in the list of the most affordable, but you can save some money by opting for an entry-level model. You still get the same quality, warranty and reliability, but may miss some of the more advanced features.
FAQ
Q: Does SMA make three-phase inverters?
A: Yes, Sunny Tripower models are 3 phase inverters.
Q: Are there any SMA microinverters? I remember seeing them a few years back, but can’t find them now
A: SMA indeed had been manufacturing microinverters for a few years, they were sold as Sunny Boy 240. However, they are no longer produced, and the company hasn’t disclosed any future plans for the microinverter market.
Q: Is it a good idea to use Tigo optimizers together with an SMA inverter?
A: SMA owns a stake in Tigo, the manufacturer of solar optimizers. Not only that, but the company also designed the new Sunny Boy models so that they could operate with Tigo optimizers without any problems. This fact certainly speaks in favor of the alliance, but please consider other factors before making a decision.