Based on 8 ratings
Fronius is a leading inverter brand that is manufactured in Austria. This buyers guide will give you some insights into the company, explore key features, and give answers to some FAQs. After analysing this review you can decide if it’s worth paying the price for this inverter. Fronius Inverter Review will cover the Fronius Primo, Fronius Symo and Fronius Symo Hybrid inverters.
Fronius is a Austrian company that released its first inverter in 1994 and is considered as one of the leading Inverter manufacturers in the world. With more than half a million inverters installed in Australia you should consider a Fronius Inverter.
Most inverters depend on heat sink technology to keep the inverter cool while Fronius depends on a fan-based cooling system that is noisy. At peak solar production times the inverter is noisy due to the Fan. The noise can go up to 55 decibels during peak production so you would not want it next to your bedroom.
Fronius Australia has been in Australia since 2010 and is based in Melbourne, VIC. They began their story in 1945 in the small Austrian town of Pettenbach. With a small workshop next to the living quarters and his first employee Andreas Schinker, Günter Fronius laid the foundations for a global company.
In 1992, the leading solar energy company took decision to focus on the “future field” by splitting into three strong divisions:
Fronius is represented by subsidiaries in over 28 countries and by their sales partners and representatives in over 60 countries. Fronius pride themselves as being recognised as innovation and technology leaders. The company’s goal has remained the same: to create a sustainable future through innovation, quality and a highly rated service.
| Inverter Type |  Performance |
 Value |
 Battery |
 Monitoring |
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| Inverter |  |
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| Hybrid/Battery | |
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| Optimisers |
Fronius Inverters are recognised as high performing inverters with higher rate of self- consumption, intelligent control of energy flows and limiting energy export to the grid. Fronius is known for its reliability and high quality products across the globe.
Fronius are certainly a premium product, and that is reflected in the price. However, do you get your money’s worth? Being one of the established companies, Fronius maintains high standards of Manufacture and products. There are a few questions I will be asking myself?
The Fronius Inverter is a durable product for Australia’s extreme weather conditions. All the Fronius Inverters are certified by the Clean Energy Council. Fronius Primo is a market leading inverter which thrives in the severe climate of Australia. It is one of the bestselling inverters in Australia.
There’s nothing worse than making the investment into solar energy solutions, only to realise that there is shading on your roof! While this issue does not entirely negate the effects of solar panels, it does significantly reduce their efficacy. If your house has shading issues you might consider panel optimisers. Combined with Half Cell solar panels. Optimisers reduce the impact of shading. This means that if a single panel is shaded it does not affect the overall string performance. Fronius does not have their own solar panel optimiser.
Customers doing their research of solar options should always consider the performance, warranty and pay-back period of an inverter before a decision. While the Fronius inverters are more expensive than most of their counterparts, you get what you pay for. The strong performance of these inverters means that you will be getting more efficiency and power for your dollar. This increased efficiency means a shorter payoff period for your initial investment.
In addition to these factors, the warranty reliability should always be considered. Even the warranty is only 5 years, the reliability of the Fronius brand means you can rest assured your investment is safe. Even though Fronius offer a free 5-year warranty extension you need to remember its only for the parts. All other costs should be borne by the customer. This cost includes Installer costs and freight charges to and back to the Fronius factory. This can cost around $500 if the inverter fails after 5 years during the extended warranty period. Nevertheless Fronius inverters provides reliability and stability even though it comes at a higher cost.
Battery storage is a prudent investment for anyone looking to get the most out of their solar system. Storing your excess solar energy means that the energy you capture throughout the day does not get exported for 11 cents. You can later use the stored power at your home during peak usage times. Fronius provides a “Hybrid” inverter that combines a PV/Solar inverter with a Battery inverter. Fronius is a great choice if you are considering adding energy storage or claiming feed in tariffs. If you want to retrofit a battery, consider adding a Fronius Hybrid.
If you want to add a battery at a latter stage you can still do so with a standard Fronius string inverter by AC coupling a compatible battery.
A good warranty makes a world of difference to customers. While some premium solar products may cost more upfront, this early investment can often save buyers massively in the long run. Low-end, discount products without good warranties can be a serious mistake when issues appear a few years later. Fronius provide premium products backed by a company with a great international reputation.
Fronius grants Warranty plus for a period of 5 years from dispatch from the Fronius factory. After these 5 years Fronius grants free extended 5 years which covers the parts of the inverter, Customer has to pay for incidental cost during this period. Customers also have the option of buying additional warranties for longer periods that covers parts and incidental costs. Pricing and warranty details can be found on the Fronius Solarweb website.
Fronius Free Extended Warranty
Fronius Warranty Plus
The Fronius Warranty Plus is a paid warranty which can be bought for a period of 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Pricing is available on the Fronius website is a payable service. This warranty covers material warranty, service and transport services.
The warranty does not apply if ⁄ the fault is the result of improper installation, operation, commissioning or transport; failure to comply with the installation instructions or operating instructions; insufficient ventilation; work performed on the warranty product by a third party not authorised by Fronius; failure to heed the safety rules, operating instructions and installation standards; force majeure (storm, lightning, overvoltage, fire, etc.
While there are no guarantees, Fronius is one of the leading inverter manufacturers in the world. The Fronius warranty is as good or better than other leading brands. See these two warranty documents for more information Fronius Warranty and Fronios Warranty Extension.
The Fronius Inverter is a premium solar inverter option with outstanding performance and great features. Fronius Austria is well established in the solar industry, they produce high quality solar solutions across the globe.
Where they fall short is cost, Warranty and noise. This is a premium product with a premium price tag, so if affordability is your top priority then the Fronius Inverter may not be for you. Also at that price tag one would expect a longer product warranty. Some customers complain about the. If the inverter is installed close to living space or bedroom, the noise may be noticeable and irritating. For this reason, it is advised that customers place their inverter away from these areas.
Although the cost may be too much for some, the reputation of the company means there that they are dependable. This reliability combined with the quality performance of their inverter and the added features on their system means a Fronius Inverter is a smart investment.
Do your research on the pros and cons of this product and share your experience with us.
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Not sure why people think this is a good inverter, I am often getting 104 errors and the fan just drives me crazy with the loud noise. I have put a cover over it at night because it just whistles right through the walls OMG I regret buying this big huge crap.
Not sure why people think this is a good inverter, I am often getting 104 errors and the fan just drives me crazy with the loud noise. I have put a cover over it at night because it just whistles right through the walls OMG I regret buying this big huge crap.
i have a Fronius Primo installed on my panels and to tell you the truth it god dam useless! I live in a hot environment and after four or five years the inverter just shuts down and operates at half pace! Although the inverter is mounted an steel post it in open air and has a cover over it so the direct afternoon sun doesn't get on it there plenty of air flow around it! Last years summer we had 30 days in the 40 degrees and a record 51 degrees one day! For the last few months when checking it I've noticed sometimes it working to it's full capacity and other times it's output is 1/4 1/2 3/4 the output it should be! First i thought the fault could be a dry solder joint, lose connection on the solar panels or surges in power that could shut it down but then someone told me it could be the internal fan that had failed! The unit had a noisy fan but at the moment there's nothing! The unit doesn't bring up any alarms for heat or fan failing and for such an expensive inverter if the fan fail you would think there would a sensor sensing current flow to the fan and when this didn't occur an alarm would be produced. I have been outside playing with this thing for weeks, months now and I've had enough! To get a tradesman here would cost the earth and after reading Fronius Warranty that's not worth the paper it's written on either! Look like when I'm in the city again I go and buy another brand.invrter. Fans may be a good idea for cooling but not if they are going to fail all the time! Why would I buy another Fronius Inverter if they are going to fail after just four or five years! NO! NO1 NO1 Sorry! I would NOT recommend this brand of inverter at all! Cheers
These inverters are horrible they aren’t new inverters they are all refurbished had to go trough about 40 inverters in ten years at my house after my warranty is up they don’t want to have anything to do with me. Buyers beware.
I had purchased solar system back in 2009 paid a hefty price they installed 3 Fronius inverters in the 10 years I had the system I had to replace two inverters a year finely when my warranty is over and my inverters are out again I complained and they sent me a one time 1 inverter to replace it, never the less another inverter goes out and now Fronios doesn’t want anything to do with my situation I will never use any of these products again. Buyers Beware.😮😮😝
Was installed under cover and looked and worked good, apparently. Six mths after 5 yr warranty stopped working showing Error 301. Did not re programme itself. Installer inspected and said it was U/S although he didnt inspect the unit. Advice by him and online is to replace rather than try to repair as costs similar and no warranty with repair. Still looks as good as the day it arrived and appears none can tell me what's wrong with it. Solar dealers only want to sell you a new one. Probably cost $3 to $4 grand 6 years ago so no advantage in having solar for those years. Touted as the best but hardly lasted the distance. Might as well buy $800 x 5 year warranty unit
I have owned 2 Fronios inverters and both have ended up with a State 104 code which in real terms means you need a new inverter. There are pages and pages on the net about this problem. Over-priced, over-rated junk. Buy an alternative. I'm now using Growatt which is performing very well
Very disappointing about this product i am struggling to get a replacement for a faulty inverter. and couldn't login to the app and they haven't fixed yet watch out before you purchase
Fronius has been in the solar game for so long, and I'ts a german brand made in Germany. Will not trust any chinese made inverters.
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