Sofar Solar, a Chinese firm specialising in solar inverter and energy storage system design, development, and manufacturing, was established in 2012 by a group of passionate engineers and entrepreneurs dedicated to the potential of renewable energy to revolutionise our world. During its initial years, Sofar Solar concentrated on crafting top-notch solar inverters prized for their efficiency and reliability.
This swift success led to a reputation for producing industry-leading inverters, prompting an expansion of their product range to include energy storage systems and related solutions. By 2016, Sofar Solar had emerged as a prominent global player in the solar industry, operating in over 40 countries.
Continuous innovation drove the company’s evolution, with a shift towards creating intelligent energy solutions for optimising energy usage and minimising carbon footprint. In 2018, the company unveiled its state-of-the-art energy storage system, the Sofar HYD-ES, engineered to offer dependable and efficient energy storage for both residential and commercial use.
The system garnered widespread acclaim from customers and experts, solidifying Sofar Solar’s leadership in the energy storage sector. Today, Sofar Solar remains committed to innovation, developing new products that enable customers to harness the full potential of renewable energy.
The company’s steadfast dedication to sustainability and environmental responsibility underscores its mission to create a cleaner and more sustainable future for all.
Sofar Solar boasts a cutting-edge manufacturing facility situated in Foshan, within China’s Guangdong province. Covering an expansive area of more than 20,000 square meters, this facility is equipped with the latest manufacturing technology and equipment.
The manufacturing facility is organised into various departments, including:
- Research and development
- Production
- Quality control
- Logistics
A team of seasoned engineers and technicians oversees the production process, ensuring that all products adhere to the highest standards of quality and reliability. Sofar Solar has an impressive annual production capacity, exceeding 2 GW, for solar inverters and energy storage systems.
Their product range is extensive, encompassing single-phase and three-phase inverters, hybrid inverters, and energy storage systems. In addition to its Foshan manufacturing facility, Sofar Solar maintains a research and development centre in Shenzhen, a hub for leading technology companies worldwide.
The R&D centre is staffed by experienced engineers and scientists dedicated to creating innovative products aimed at helping customers optimise energy usage and reduce their carbon footprint. Sofar Solar’s manufacturing facilities hold certifications of the highest international standards, including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, signifying their commitment to environmentally responsible and sustainable production practices.
The company is actively engaged in minimising its environmental impact and advocating sustainability across its operations. Sofar Solar has received numerous accolades, such as the China Good Design Award for Solar Inverters in 2016 and the Intersolar Award for their AC-coupled energy storage system in 2017.
These awards recognise the company’s innovative energy solutions and its dedication to sustainability. Sofar Solar has also been honoured with awards from prestigious industry events and associations, confirming its position as a top player in the renewable energy sector.
Sofar Solar AusCo Pty Ltd.
6 / 81 Beal Street
Meadowbrook, QLD 4133
Tel : (+61) 1300 176 327
Email : service@sofarsolar.com.au
If you wish to complete their contact us form, this can be found here.
Single Phase Solution
SOFAR HYD 3000-6000 EP – 3-6kw
If you have a single phase grid connection, let us introduce the HYD 3000-6000-EP, the latest multi-talented hybrid inverter designed for solar and storage applications. This cutting-edge inverter ensures reliable performance during grid-outages by providing up to 5 kW of emergency power supply (EPS) within a rapid response time of <10 ms through its integrated EPS-port.
The integrated energy management system offers a range of user-friendly modes, optimizing the overall user experience. These modes include an automatic self-use mode, allowing for seamless operation. Users also have the flexibility to set different time and date ranges or day of the week rules to meet their specific requirements. All modes can be easily configured using the large LCD screen, ensuring convenience and ease of use.
The inverter comes in 7 different sizes, 3.0, 3.68, 4.0, 4.6, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 kW, all come with a 10 year product warranty and weigh 21.5 kg. All batteries come with a 10 year product and performance warranty and weigh 47 kg each.
Among its many features, the HYD 3000-6000-EP is compatible with SOFARSOLAR’s LV battery series, GTX 5000, enabling seamless integration and expanded storage options. You can add up to 4 batteries in parallel, with a depth of discharge of 90%. The battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery, meaning the cathode material is lithium iron phosphate, and the anode is a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing. This means they have a lower cost, highly safe, toxicity is low (no cobalt) and a long life cycle. These type of batteries are used extensively within the EV market.
To facilitate seamless connectivity, a WiFi-stick is provided with the inverter, allowing for easy connection to the SOFAR View monitoring portal for efficient monitoring and control.
(source – Sofar Solar)
| Battery | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 5.12 | 10.24 | 15.36 | 20.48 |
| Usable Capacity | 4.6 | 9.2 | 13.8 | 18.4 |
Three Phase Solutions
SOFAR HYD 5K-20KTL – 5-20kW
The HYD 5K~20KTL-3PH is a versatile three-phase hybrid inverter designed for solar and storage applications. It excels in providing emergency power supply (EPS) during grid outages, delivering up to 20 kW of unbalanced three-phase power within a rapid response time of <10 ms through its integrated EPS-port.
Featuring two MPPTs and two independent battery ports (available on the 10K to 20KTL models), this inverter allows for flexible configurations of battery capacity this inverter is compatible with SOFARSOLAR’s high-voltage energy storage systems, namely the BTS battery storage system and GTX 3000-H, among others.
With the capability to connect up to ten inverters in parallel on the EPS and AC ports, this device is well-suited for micro-grid installations, whether on or off-grid.
The integrated energy management system offers various user-friendly modes, optimizing the overall user experience. This includes an automatic self-use mode, along with the ability to set different time and date ranges or day of the week rules.
Configuring the modes is made effortless with the large LCD screen and a WiFi-stick is provided with the inverter for easy connection to the SOFAR View monitoring portal.
The 3 phase hybrid inverters come in 6 different sizes, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 15.9, and 20.0 kW. Giving you lots of flexibility about the amount of draw you want from you batteries at one time. They can also be paired up with 2 battery offerings.
Some of the product advantages of using the ME5K to 20KTL inverters are that they have a maximum charge and discharge efficiency up to 97.5%, wide battery voltage range, flexible switching between grid-tied mode and energy storage mode, and compact design with 2 battery inputs.
The inverter comes with a 10 year product warranty and weighs between 30-34 kg depending on the model you chose. All batteries come with a 10 year product and performance warranty and the BTS Battery weigh 50 kg each and the GTX3000 battery weighs 30 kg each.
Sofar – BTS E5 – E20 – D5 High Voltage Battery – 5 kWh Modular
This high-voltage intelligent energy storage system is the perfect way to get grid independence and energy security. It features long life cycle CATL battery cells with 4.75 to 19kWh usable energy and supports parallel operation of up to 2 units (with 2 inverters) with a total of 38kWh usable energy.
The modular design makes transportation and installation simple.
It was designed especially for HYD 5K~20KTL-3PH inverters.
| Battery | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 5.12 | 10.24 | 15.36 | 20.48 |
| Usable Capacity | 4.75 | 9.5 | 14.25 | 19 |
| Rated Power | 2.5 | 5 | 7.5 | 10 |
Sofar – GTX3000 High Voltage Battery – 2.5 kWh Modular
This high-voltage energy storage system is the perfect way to get grid independence and energy security. It features long life cycle CATL battery cells with 9 to 22.5kWh usable energy and supports parallel operation of up to 4 units with a total of 90kWh usable energy.
These batteries can be combined in stacks of four to ten batteries along with the BCU unit. You can then parallel up to 4 stacks.
With user-friendly one-button operation, remote diagnosis and real-time data monitoring you will have complete control of your battery system.
| Battery | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 10 | 12.5 | 15 | 17.5 | 20 | 22.5 | 25 |
| Usable Capacity | 9.0 | 11.25 | 13.5 | 15.75 | 18 | 20.25 | 22.5 |
| Rated Power | 5.12 | 6.4 | 7.68 | 8.96 | 10.24 | 11.52 | 12.8 |
Sofar Solar inverters also come with an online monitoring portal called SolarMAN and further information on this can be found here.
If you change your Wi-Fi provider or password, then you may need to set your inverter up again. The Sofar Solar Wi-Fi setup tutorial can be found here.
Sofar Solar warranty terms and conditions can be found here.
Pros
PRO – Great product and Price.
PRO – Australian Office
PRO – Good selection of inverters
PRO – They manufacture all components themselves.
PRO – Always found them brilliant at solving warranty issues in an extremely timely manner.
Cons
CON – Struggling to find one really. for the price, they’re a good little unit.
Our Thoughts
A quality product, manufactured by a Chinese company with a strong and long trading history. We expect to see great things from Sofar Solar in the future.
The Australian office allows for warranty issues to be catered for, even if your installation company disappears. From our experience dealing with Sofar Solar previously, they have exceptional customer service and honour warranty claims quickly and efficiently.
They will be a good choice by anyone, that will last the test of time and produce power for years to come. The inverters come with a standard 10 year warranty, but you can extend the warranty up to 20 years via their website.
We would definitely install them on our own house or business.