{"id":10764,"date":"2017-05-19T10:00:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-18T23:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=10764"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:24:55","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T00:54:55","slug":"chinese-vs-german-sma-sunny-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/chinese-vs-german-sma-sunny-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"SMA’s Sunny Boy: Under The Hood. Chinese vs German Manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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2 x 5kW SMA Sunny Boy Inverters. One made in China (SMA SB 5.0-1AV-40), one made in Germany (SB5000TL-21). How do they compare?<\/p><\/div>\n

SMA have released a new single phase inverter. They kept the same joyful name of “Sunny Boy” however the model has changed from what was known as the “dash 21” to the “dash 40”.<\/p>\n

But let me tell you a well-known secret about the SMA “dash 40”. The respected German manufacturer is manufacturing these new SMA inverters in China.<\/p>\n

Bombshell<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Has this turned the single phase model of SMA inverters into a cheap Chinese inverter? To find out, I bought myself a 5kW Chinese-built\u00a0SMA “dash 40” and pulled it apart to compare it to the 5kW German made “dash 21”.<\/p>\n

In this post, I’ll first look at the external features: the “smart screen”, the Sunny Home Manager, and the inbuilt DC isolator.<\/p>\n

Then I’ll\u00a0look at the internal build quality, and where the different components are manufactured. Finally, we’ll discuss the after sales service and warranty of SMA.<\/p>\n

While writing this blog I had lengthy discussions with Scott Partlin from SMA. Scott is well respected in the solar industry. He was very candid and helped me understand the direction SMA are heading and the reasoning behind what SMA have done with the new Chinese Sunny Boy that, as they fairly put it, is “assembled in China”.<\/p>\n

Part 1: The Externals<\/h2>\n

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Where is the Sunny Boy screen?<\/h3>\n

The first thing that screams out when you look at the SMA is there is no screen<\/strong><\/em>. The display screen, I am told, was the most common failure\u00a0point in the SMA, so the clever German engineers got rid of it.<\/p>\n

“Kein Problem!<\/em>\u00a0”<\/p>\n

The idea of leaving the screen off is not new. My friends at Sungrow pioneered the stupid idea with their new Crystal series. But thankfully Sungrow (because they are Sungrow) listened to the installer outrage and gave us an optional plugin screen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Rather than marketing “no-screen” SMA have used the euphemism “Smart Screen”. Instead of a screen, we now have the ability to connect the inverter to a smartphone, and the inverter has three simple indicator lights to indicate the inverter’s status.<\/p>\n

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Introducing the SMA smart screen. It’s on your smartphone. Geddit?<\/p><\/div>\n

In my business, it is common to get calls from\u00a0random homeowners who wouldn’t know the difference between an inverter and an instant gas hot water system. They want to know if the solar panels on their new home are working. In fairness, the majority of the time, if the “green light” is on, the solar is working reasonably (assuming they are in fact looking at the inverter). But I always spend a bit more time and ask the homeowner to give me a few readings from the inverter screen. I crunch some numbers to get a clearer picture of the systems’ performance.<\/p>\n

Occasionally although the “green light” is\u00a0on, there are system performance issues, so we arrange an onsite service. This type of “unplugged” diagnosis will be no longer available with the new SMA. The homeowner will have to be technical\u00a0enough to work out how to connect their mobile phone to that Smart Screen inverter thingo\u00a0– not to mention remembering the password!<\/p>\n

I have no doubt that removing screens will increase the occurrence of some solar systems being left underperforming and undiagnosed. That’s not good for anyone.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there is no doubt “..a fault has come to light with the Comms interface where it seems to be unreachable and hence the inverter can’t commission\/operate.”<\/p>\n

All I want to know is: why do people use the word “hence” when the word “so” would have done just fine? Anyway, what’s so good about the Smart Screen?<\/p>\n

Smart Screen vs. dumb screen<\/h3>\n

SMA obviously carefully considered going screen-less. Here are their reasons:<\/p>\n

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  1. Removing the inverter’s display screen will reduce manufacturing costs and\u00a0reduce warranty issues.<\/li>\n
  2. The “smart screen” will allow for much more information (historical data etc.) than the dumb screen.<\/li>\n
  3. The smart screen can be updated automatically by SMA. In a rapidly developing industry, that’s nice!<\/li>\n
  4. The smart screen will make way for what Scott called a “digital compliance paper”. In short, this is the world where an inverter becomes more about software than hardware. You make and ship a million identical inverters. If the customer wants a 2kW inverter, the installer unlocks a 2kW inverter. If they want a 5kW inverter, pay a bit more and unlock a 5. The inverters are all the same, but you pay for access rather than for hardware. In case you think SMA are dreaming, ABB and Huawei are planning the same.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Smart Screen and dumb screen?<\/h3>\n

    Unfortunately, it seems that the industry is moving towards removing inverter screens to reduce production costs and warranty issues. ABB are considering dropping the screen in their next model. Thankfully SolarEdge’s brand new HD Wave currently has a screen, but they too are in early talks about dropping the screen in their next generation. My take? Until the concept of a “Smart Screen” is proven reliable and widely adopted by consumers we need an option of a basic plug-in screen similar to Sungrow’s. Plug-in screens will be more reliable as the exposure to the internal heat of the inverter will be removed.<\/p>\n

    Hey, solar inverter manufacturers – be like Sungrow.<\/p>\n

    SMA Energy Meter<\/h3>\n

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    Energy consumption monitoring was always possible with the old Sunny Boy. The problem was it was expensive and complicated. The new Sunny Boy SMA Energy Meter is now like the Fronius Smart meter. It simplifies the process with a kWh meter that connects directly to the inverter. Both the SMA and Fronius meters monitor:<\/p>\n