Finn's Orion Inverters Review & Verdict
Finn Peacock has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO
Back in the early days of home solar in Australia, Orion inverters seemed to be reasonably popular here. But it has been a very long time since they've been available in this country. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the reviews below mentions the reviewer's Orion was still chugging away after 12 years.
Orion Inverters: Pros & Cons
- Haven't been available in Australia for years
About Orion
Orion was a Taiwanese-manufactured solar inverter brand available in Australia in the early years of Australia's home solar revolution.
Company Info
The company that manufactured Orion inverters is a bit of a mystery. The devices were imported into this country by an Australian wholesaler - Solar Energy Australia (SEA) - and when they ceased doing so (and why) isn't clear.
Orion Inverters In Australia
The inverters sold here were generally tiny in terms of capacity compared to those of today - just 2kW. But back then, a 2kW home solar system would have been big!
One of the commonly installed models was the SPG-360-2K0-1, which provided a maximum continuous output power of 2000W, with a short duration rating of 2200W. Rated IP43, it was designed for indoor use only. The SPG-360-2K0-1 was equipped with a standard RS232 socket for connection to a PC, and there were optional components for communications and logging via RS 485. Otherwise monitoring was done via a 16 character LCD display on the front panel.
Orion 2kW inverters were transformerless, had a typical conversion efficiency >94% and a built-in single MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker).
It may have been light on power, but the Orion was rather hefty at 11.3kg; and measured 350 x 300 x 120mm.
It appears some larger capacity Orion inverters made it to our shores as well - we've found references to a 4.6kW unit launched in 2011, which had 3 MPPTs (impressive for the time). Weighing 27.85kg, it made the 2kW unit look like a lightweight.
Warranty Information
The original Orion inverters had a warranty of 2 years that was then extended to 5 years; so there wouldn't be any around today covered under warranty. But if yours is, when it eventually fails, don't bother about trying to get it repaired. Splash out on a new inverter.
Orion has no solar inverters in our database
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Orion Reviews (5)
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- 5 star 1
- 4 star 3
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- 1 star 1
View Timeline
04 January 2023
System Size
3kW
Installed By
02 December 2020
System Cost
Under $3000
System Size
2kW
Installed By
21 May 2019
System Cost
Under $3000
System Size
2kW
Installed By
14 December 2017
Panel Brand
Pyramid power (Other)
System Cost
$3,000 to $6,000
System Size
4kW
Installed By
19 October 2017
Panel Brand
System Cost
Under $3000
System Size
2kW
Installed By
This Orion I speak of is ticking over like clockwork. Large house with a pool and Air Cond and it must be 12yrs old and still exporting to the grid very well on sunny days. They sure do manufacture electrical equipment very well in Taiwan. Respect to them.