Description
One of the most reputable inverters on the market the Goodwe ES 4.5kW Hybrid inverter just does it all.
Ahead of its time, the Goodwe came on the market just as Hybrid inverters were becoming popular, with thousands of units sold every year and with little to no issues it's the SolarAdvice's go-to when suggesting an affordable, reliable and robust option.
What makes it so special?
The biggest advantages are the ability to have essential and non-essential loads , this enables you to add one essential load that consists of the lights, fridge and appliances you want as a first priority. The non-essential load can consist of bigger appliances such as washers, dryers, geysers or pumps for when you have excess power coming from the Solar array it can start powering those as a second priority. This is perfect for those wanting to run an energy sufficient household .
You also have 2 MPPT inputs that allow you to have 2 solar arrays independent from each other , this is especially good for sun coverage on roof structures that get different exposure strength during the day. Eliminating the inefficient panel issue you can have with the single string option.
Not only is the inverter fanless making it silent, but you can also install it outside undercover in a dry area out of the way.
Inverter Features
Essential & Non-Essential Loads
Being able to have Essential & Non-Essential loads enables you to split out your heavy appliances, saving your battery backup.
Completely Autonomous
Autonomous Hybrid Solar Inverter keeps the lights on and your bills to zero with no effort. This solar inverter is smart by knowing what to do and when.
Robust & Reliable
A great looking unit makes the Goodwe a firm favourite over other inverters in this range, the quality of the Goodwe inverters are fantastic.
Compatibility
Compatible with most AGM and Lithium-ion batteries on the market, this inverter has many years of development making it stable and robust when configured correctly.
Blending AC & DC
The Goodwe is a true Hybrid inverter , it blends the DC (panels & batteries with the AC grid in the most efficient way.
Phone App
Keep on top of you consumption remotely with the Solar System monitoring iPhone or Android app.
Silent
Unlike most inverters that have fans you can enjoy peace and quiet with this modern Hybrid.
5-Year Warranty
Get peace of mind with a standard 5-year warranty with an option to extend to 10 years.
How Does The Hybrid Inverter Work?
The Hybrid inverter gives you the best of both worlds, not only does it act like a Grid-Tied inverter, but it also gives you the freedom of an Off-Grid inverter.
Often when wanting to go solar we think of "Off-Grid" and independence , but what if you can do that and fall back to the grid if for a period or even a moment you needed extra power? Then a Hybrid inverter is an ideal solution , you can have your cake and eat it too, plus it's cheaper!
Here are the different arrangements that you can have:
As you can see you can use this inverter as a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for when the grid goes down, or you can use it as Solar solution and you can use the backup system for night time use. Perfect for those looking to start with a backup in order to deal with Load Shedding, then upgrade to a Solar solution later by adding panels.
If you're looking for an automated solution that you will never need to manually intervene with, this is your perfect power companion .Goodwe ES Series Setup
Product Diagram
Goodwe Mobile App For Monitoring
You will need to download the “EZ-Manage” phone app in order to commission this inverter on site.
You can download the app, and other GoodWe software here:
- Apple: Download here
- Android: Download here
Documents:
- Application Note Firmware upgrade guide
- Installation Manual Quick Installation Guide
- Approved Battery Option Statement
- Test Certificate Goodwe ES NRS097 test report
- User Manual 5048ES
- User Manual PV Master APP
- Warranty
- Warranty GoodweStorage
Buy the Complete 4.6kw Goodwe Kit
Goodwe 4.6kW – PylonTech 4.8kWh Lithium-ion – Solar Power Kit
How Many Appliances Can I Run?
This varies with the size of your system, for example, with a 4kw system can run 4000 Watts worth of appliances at any one time.
Note: You can run all these appliances at the same time for 4 hours (estimated)
| Appliance | Watts (per hour) |
|---|---|
| Standard Fridge | 120 |
| Fridge Freezer | 120 |
| Personal Computer | 200 |
| 46″ LCD Flat screen TV | 250 |
| Modem | 12 |
| Alarm System | 15 |
| 12 LED Lights | 240 (20 Watts Each) |
| DSTV Decoder | 30 |
| Total: | 977 watts |
Estimating Your Own Usage
How Long Will The Power Last?
- Approximately 5 hours at Peak Power during the day
- Approximately 4 hours Off-Peak Power during the evening (backup power)
Wish to know more on Solar Power?
- What is Solar Energy, the complete guide to Solar Power
- Solar Battery – The Stylish Lithium Option
- The Basic Components of a Solar Panel System
- Is your roof suitable for Solar Panels? A Quick Guide
- Monocrystalline Solar Panel: An Introduction
- Solar Inverters: What You Need To Know
- Grid Tied Solar System Calculator
- Solar batteries – What makes AGM Great?
- Getting off the grid – Choosing a Solar PV System
- Solar Battery – Introduction to Lead-Acid Models
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I look at the GoodWe GW5048D-ES inverter the same way as I saw Nokia cell phones.
Both companies produce great hardware, but the operating software for both is poor.
In the case of GoodWe the operating firmware is not only poor, it is buggy too.
I have a GW5048D-ES and when grid power is lost during solar hours (think load shedding), the inverter barely charges the battery any more and discards many kW of potential pv generation when one needs the power the most.
This is extremely frustrating to witness.
During normal on grid operation the inverter MPPT system resets the opportaing point every time there is a load change in the household and then takes minutes to recover, consequently a large quantity of PV production is discarded every solar day. (Eg. If one has a stove plate running with a stew in a pot and the stove plate cycles on for a number of seconds and then remains off for some 10s of seconds on an ongoing cycle, the inverter exhibits very poor PV generation efficiency, again discaring kilowatts of potential PV generation.)
One can only hope that at some point GoodWe correct their poor firmware, which would then enable a good product.
Hi, thanks for your review on the Goodwe.
This has to be the first time we’ve had any issue with the Goodwe inverter, we would love to know more about the problem you’re having and perhaps your investigation will help us fix it for you.
Have you installed the app for the Goodwe? If so would you be able to share the data with us so we can check what’s happening?
And lastly what firmware version are you on?
Thanks!
Thanks for your interest in the issues I am having with this inverter. My installer tells me I am not the only GoodWe owner suffering with these issues. I am in direct contact with Mr D Havenga, and have supplied a number of reports to him, but I am becoming very frustrated with what seems to be an inability to correct the issues and an unwillingness to replace the inverter. I am running the very latest FW 181811. It is my opinion that 161608 was the least problematic on my system and every version there after (17178,171710,181810) has simply been worse.
Drop me a mail and we can chat and I’ll forward you my fault reports.
Hi
No problem, if you send your reports and everything else you have to [email protected] so we can assist you further.
So we have been running with this inverter for a while and we have to say we quite happy with. It can handle A LOT of concurrent load. For example in our case we were running 4 computers, 1 tv, a washing machine, and a kettle. . . . and this was working fine. We switched on the dishwasher which caused it to trip with so much load but it came back online within 5 mins by itself.
A note on the software. It’s very finicky to setup but once it works it gives you a lot of insight into what is happening with your usage and system. Great inverter overall