Best solar inverter brands in South Africa

There are several high-quality inverter brands that South African households can buy to ensure their home solar power system delivers the best potential return on investment.

The inverter is the most technically complex part of the solar power system setup and effectively acts as the brain of the operation.

Its primary role is to convert the DC current generated by solar panels and discharged by batteries into usable AC current.

It also manages the flow of electricity with fine-tuned software and as configured by the user.

The inverter must balance supply and demand, helping reduce grid usage and protect the batteries from abuse, ensuring they last as long as possible.

MyBroadband asked energy product distributor Rubicon and solar power system installer AWPower for their expert insights on the best inverter brands in South Africa in January 2025.

Rubicon managing director for sustainable technology and e-mobility Greg Blandford said that leading inverter brands stood out for their software capabilities, support, and functionality.

Blandford and AWPower managing director Christiaan Hattingh both said that Solis was among their top inverter brands.

Blandford explained that Solis is the world’s third-largest inverter manufacturer and offered an excellent feature set, good value for money, and significant support in South Africa.

Some of the company’s inverters are sold under the Synapse Ultra brand in South Africa.

“It is one of, if not the best, standalone hybrid inverter in the South African market currently,” Blandford said.

“Their inverter range covers a range of sizes from 5kW to 125kW in hybrid models with outstanding power input flexibility and expansion for future use.”

Rubicon also distributes some of Tesla’s energy products in South Africa, including the premium Powerwall all-in-one system.

Blandford said that Tesla’s strengths lay in its cutting-edge software and high-quality hardware, which is very much focused on delivering the best customer experience possible.

“The industry-leading software perfectly manages home power needs working with solar and battery to provide optimal power delivery and cost savings based on time of use tariffs,” Blandford said.

“Other software features such as Storm Watch ensure energy availability for power outages, reserving energy for outages if needed.”

He also mentioned the Tesla product’s load start capability of 185 Locked Rotor Amps (LRA), enabling it to handle the startup of heavier peak usage appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators.

Blandford also had high praise for another all-in-one system — the Sigenergy SigenStor — which features an integrated solar inverter, energy management system, and a scaleable 5kWh to 48kWh battery in a single unit.

He said the Sigenstor boasts AI-optimised software to enhance the user experience and comes with bi-directional EV charging capabilities as an option, supporting up to 25kW input via vehicle-to-home.

Long-term aftersales support essential

Hattingh said that AWPower had seen various inverter brands coming and going in its many years of operation.

Due to the technical complexity and high cost of inverters, AWPower preferred brands that were committed to the South African market in the long run.

Hattingh said where premium brands with the best aftersales support were once very expensive, their pricing had reduced signficantly due to intensified competition in the past few years.

Aside from also recommending Solis, he said that Fox ESS was one of AWPower’s preferred inverter brands.

On a technical level, Hattingh said these inverters were top-quality products — with high efficiency and low noise during operation.

The Fox ESS distributor in South Africa is also keen to assist customers with quick replacements for manufacturing faults.

“In terms of any warranty issues, they have got a policy that they will sort it on the same day or within two or three days,” Hattingh said.

“They are growing rapidly and we are very happy to work with them.”

Two other well-established inverter brands in South Africa are Deye and SunSynk, which have become highly reputed for their configurability and compatibility with a wide range of batteries.

Hattingh said these two brands had distributors that also offered solid aftersales support.

Lastly, Hattingh recommended the premium Dutch brand Victron for its “robust” systems.

“They have also reduced their pricing significantly, so they are also a nice go-to,” Hattingh said.