Solar PV Inverter lifespan

michaels

Can't remember if our fit is 15 years or 20 but I remember at the time (2015) we were advised to factor in one replacement inverter into our calcs).  Annoyingly there was a window to upgrade out solar edge inverter warranty for a nominal fee (perhaps within the first 2 years?) but I missed this by about a month so missed out.  Ours is now nearly 8 years old and fingers crossed, touch wood etc.

We also have micro-inverters on each panel, have not heard that these are common failures?

paul991

most of the older inverters had fans in which would fail and cause over heating . my inverter is a samil about  9 years old so would be out of any extended warranty and samil uk went under anyway so saved myself  some money    

jimjames

I probably should have added to my post that my inverter is outdoors which I suspect will reduce the lifespan of any inverter compared to being in a more sheltered and less variable temperature/moisture location.

paul991

maybe  but most are well sealed and being outside wont be in the high temperatures of a well insulated loft space  

David_Mills

Well as of today my Sunny Boy SB1700 has been operating with very few stoppages (mostly due to power cuts or electrical work in the house, it only once cut out spontaneously and had to be restarted) fof fourteen years and one month. I've cleaned lichen and bird poo off the panels a couple of times recently, and the whole system seems to be performing as well as it did on day one. Even if it goes wrong today, it will have been well worth it. Best investment ever made.

When installed, I had all the control stuff put in a downstairs room so no access problems except to the panels themselves. And I can see at a glance if everything is working (which it is, lovely sunny day)

Exiled_Tyke

michaels said:

Can't remember if our fit is 15 years or 20 but I remember at the time (2015) we were advised to factor in one replacement inverter into our calcs).  Annoyingly there was a window to upgrade out solar edge inverter warranty for a nominal fee (perhaps within the first 2 years?) but I missed this by about a month so missed out.  Ours is now nearly 8 years old and fingers crossed, touch wood etc.

We also have micro-inverters on each panel, have not heard that these are common failures?

My 2015 install is for a 20 Year FIT period. (I think the scheme started with 25 year spans) 

I too missed out on the upgrade option. I'm 9 1/2 years down the line with my inverter.  Fingers crossed! 

I did have an Optimiser (I presume this is what you are referring to) fail after a couple of years. SE were a pain trying to lay the blame on panel failure until it was proven beyond doubt.  I know Martyn has had much better experiences with SE sorting out technical issues.  

I also have some micro-inverters on a separate system.  These have been ok for six years.  

QrizB

My Kaco Powador (?) was installed at the very beginning of 2012 and failed in mid-2023. The original FIT installer had suggested we might need a replacement every 8-10 years and to budget £1k in 2012 money.

I replaced it DIY with a Solis for half that in 2023 money. The Solis has WiFi so I can get stats without having to climb into the (unboarded) loft, so that's a useful benefit of a decade's progress.

KevinG

I'm on my third inverter, original (Mastervolt) failed after 6 years, replaced with second-hand Sunny Boy which lasted 4½ years, replaced with another second-hand Sunny Boy which has survived another 3 years. Both replacements cost less than £200 to buy and about £100 to install.