Fronius stands as a prominent global technology firm specialising in pioneering solutions for the energy sector. Founded in Austria by Gunter Fronius in 1945, the company has evolved into a key player in the renewable energy industry.
Commencing as a small welding enterprise, Fronius swiftly broadened its product portfolio, encompassing battery chargers, welding transformers, and various industrial electronics. In the 1990s, the company shifted its focus to renewable energy technologies and introduced its inaugural grid-connected inverter for photovoltaic systems in 1995.
Since that pivotal moment, Fronius has continued to foster innovation, becoming a leading supplier of solar inverters, battery storage systems, and monitoring solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The company is unwavering in its dedication to sustainability and has garnered acclaim for its initiatives to curtail environmental impact and promote renewable energy.
Presently, Fronius boasts a global presence, with subsidiaries and sales partners in over 60 nations across the globe. With a workforce exceeding 5,000 individuals, the company places a strong emphasis on research and development, amassing over 1,000 patents and patent applications.
Notably, Fronius inverters played a pivotal role in the 2018 establishment of the Tokmak solar farm in Ukraine, a remarkable 51.9MW project utilising 65 Fronius Eco 27.03-s units. This vast expanse, equivalent in size to 130 football fields, can provide clean and sustainable energy to 80,000 people.
(Source: Fronius)
In 2022, the manufacturing facilities located in Sattledt, Austria, and Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, overcame challenges stemming from unstable supply chains, component shortages, and staffing concerns. Despite these hurdles, they successfully achieved a production rate of 32,000 inverters per month.
Looking ahead to the end of 2023, they are poised to increase their monthly output to 52,000 inverters, equating to an annual production capacity of 624,000 inverters. Furthermore, this company has garnered recognition and awards for its commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability, with accolades including:
- The Austrian National Environmental and Energy Technology Award in 2007
- The Austrian Climate Protection Award in the ‘Ideas and Innovation’ category in 2007
- The Energy Globe Austria and World Energy Globe Awards in 2008 for their hydrogen-powered logistic systems
Other notable awards include:
- The Plus X Award for ‘Product of the Year’ in 2013 and 2015
- The Smart Grid Pioneer Award in 2014 for their ‘morePV2grid’ project
- The MTB Gold Medal Award in 2016 for their ‘Energy Package’
In 2020, they received the Intersolar Award for their ‘Symo GEN24 Plus,’ and in 2022, the ‘Wattpilot’ earned them another Intersolar Award.
Fronius Australia Pty Ltd.
90-92 Lambeck Drive
Tullamarine, VIC 3043
Tel : +61 (0)3 8340 2900
Email : pv-sales-australia@fronius.com
If you wish to complete their contact us form, this can be found here.
Single Phase Solution
Fronius Primo GEN24 Plus
If you have a single phase grid connection, then the Fronius Primo GEN24 Plus is the inverter for you. This inverter comes in several sizes to meet your needs, 3.0, 3.6, 4.0, 4.6, 5.0 and 6.0 kW are available and the combined data-sheet for these inverters can be found by clicking on the inverter image.
Some of the product advantages are that the Primo GEN24 offer you is maximum flexibility, backup power for every situation, easy installation and comes with lots of support and tools. The other great thing with this Fronius inverter, is that if you do not want to buy a battery at the start, you can buy the Fronius Primo GEN24 inverter, then when you’re ready, you pay an additional charge and they will remotely download the software to your inverter to make it a PLUS (HYBRID). very clever indeed. All six inverter sizes weigh 15.4 kg and have a maximum efficiency of 97.6%
The inverter comes with a 5 + 5 warranty, this means first 5 years is covered for parts and labour, and second 5 years is for parts only, Meaning if something was to go wrong with it in year 7, you would have to cover the labour costs for someone to come out, assess it, and arranged fixing it from there. The other issue with Fronius is they like to do al their own in-house warranty claims, this generally means an installer removing your inverter and sending it back to Fronius office, located in East Australia, and then waiting for them to fix it, this can sometimes mean you are down without your solar system working for a number of days, if not weeks.
Fronius did once upon a time produce their own batteries, they were 4.5 kWh but came with some disadvantages along the way, such as only a 5 year warranty, could only be installed inside, and was really quite expensive. Needless to say, they has since discontinued these and now the Primo GEN24 Plus, are only compatible with BYD HVS and HVM batteries.
Battery BYD HVS – 2.56 kWh Modular
The HVS (High Voltage Small) Battery box from BYD is capable of high-powered emergency back up, has a high efficiency due to real high-voltage series connections, is a cobalt free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, meaning maximum safety, life cycle and power, and meets some of the highest safety standards, such as VDE 2510-50. Each battery box is composed of 2-3 HVS batteries connected in series to achieve a usable capacity of 5.12 to 7.68 kWh, and you can even parallel 3 of them together giving you a maximum of 23.04 kWh
| Battery | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Usable Capacity (kWh) | 5.12 | 7.68 |
| Weight (kg) | 91 | 129 |
Battery BYD HVM – 2.76 kWh Modular
The HVM (High Voltage Medium) Battery box from BYD is capable of high-powered emergency back up, has a high efficiency due to real high-voltage series connections, is a cobalt free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, meaning maximum safety, life cycle and power, and meets some of the highest safety standards, such as VDE 2510-50. Each battery box is composed of 4-7 HVM batteries connected in series to achieve a usable capacity of 11.04 to 19.32 kWh, and you can even parallel 3 of them together giving you a maximum of 57.96 kWh.
| Battery | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usable Capacity (kWh) | 11.04 | 13.8 | 16.56 | 19.32 |
| Weight (kg) | 167 | 205 | 243 | 281 |
Three Phase Solution
Fronius Symo GEN24 Plus
If you have a three phase grid connection, then the Fronius Symo GEN24 Plus is the inverter for you. This inverter comes in several sizes to meet your needs, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 kW are available and the combined data-sheet for these inverters can be found by clicking on the inverter image.
Some of the product advantages are that the GEN24 offer you maximum flexibility, backup power for every situation, easy to install and comes with lots of support and tools. The 3 smaller size inverters weigh 15.6 kg, whereas the 3 larger size inverters weigh 23.4 kg and all have a maximum efficiency of 98.2%.
The inverter comes with a 5 + 5 warranty, this means first 5 years is covered for parts and labour, and second 5 years is for parts only, Meaning if something was to go wrong with it in year 7, you would have to cover the labour costs for someone to come out, assess it, and arranged fixing it from there. The other issue with Fronius is they like to do al their own in-house warranty claims, this generally means an installer removing your inverter and sending it back to Fronius office, located in East Australia, and then waiting for them to fix it, this can sometimes mean you are down without your solar system working for a number of days, if not weeks.
Battery BYD HVS – 2.56 kWh Modular
The HVS (High Voltage Small) Battery box from BYD is capable of high-powered emergency back up, has a high efficiency due to real high-voltage series connections, is a cobalt free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, meaning maximum safety, life cycle and power, and meets some of the highest safety standards, such as VDE 2510-50. Each battery box is composed of 2-4 HVS batteries connected in series to achieve a usable capacity of 5.1 to 10.24 kWh, and you can even parallel 3 of them together giving you a maximum of 30.72 kWh.
| Battery | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usable Capacity (kWh) | 5.12 | 7.68 | 10.24 |
| Weight (kg) | 91 | 129 | 167 |
Battery BYD HVM – 2.76 kWh Modular
The HVM (High Voltage Medium) Battery box from BYD is capable of high-powered emergency back up, has a high efficiency due to real high-voltage series connections, is a cobalt free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, meaning maximum safety, life cycle and power, and meets some of the highest safety standards, such as VDE 2510-50. Each battery box is composed of 4-8 HVM batteries connected in series to achieve a usable capacity of 11.04 to 22.08 kWh, and you can even parallel 3 of them together giving you a maximum of 66.24 kWh.
| Battery | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usable Capacity (kWh) | 11.04 | 13.8 | 16.56 | 19.32 | 22.08 |
| Weight (kg) | 167 | 205 | 243 | 281 | 319 |
Battery LG Resu Flex – 4.3 kWh Modular
The LG Resu Flex, is a high-voltage battery system for 3-phase hybrid inverters for domestic use. They come in 3 different sizes, 8.6, 12.9 and 17.2 kWh. They can be wall mounted, such as the image, or they can be floor mounted. There are 2 main components, a control unit, the Battery Protection Unit (BPU), and at least 2 battery modules, the Battery Module Assemblies (BMA), with 4.3 kWh. The system can be expanded to up to 4 battery modules, giving you 17.2 kWh, and then you have the ability to connect 2 systems in parallel, allowing for up to 34.4 kWh of usable capacity.
| Battery | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usable Capacity (kWh) | 8.6 | 12.9 | 17.2 |
| Max Charge / Discharge Power (kW) | 4.3 | 6.5 | 8.5 |
Pros
PRO – European Manufacturer
PRO -Australian Office
PRO – The cooling mechanism means it produces more power, has a longer life span, and stays cooler.
PRO – Well designed unit allowing for a neat and tidy installation.
Cons
CON – More expensive than others in the marketplace.
CON – Fronius do not have their own battery option.
CON – The fan does make some noise, so this needs to be considered when planning inverter location on your property.
Our Thoughts
A quality European manufactured product, with a strong and long trading history.
The Australian office allows for warranty issues to be catered for, even if your installation company disappears.
They will be a good choice by anyone wanting a quality and premium inverter, that will last the test of time and produce power for years to come. Being compatible with the BYD or LG Batteries isn’t a bad thing, as they are both quality battery manufacturers.
We would put them on our own house or business, although making sure the noise doesn’t impact our everyday living by placing the inverter well out the way.