Huawei is considered a leader in the communications and mobile telephony industries, and for several years it has also been one of the leading manufacturers in the photovoltaic industry.
In 2018, Huawei entered the home photovoltaic inverter market with a very successful product at a competitive price. Two years later, Huawei introduced the second generation of home hybrid inverters.
Huawei is a Chinese consumer electronics, IT equipment, and solutions manufacturer founded in 1987 and headquartered in Shenzhen. The 2021 edition of the list of companies investing the most in research and development placed Huawei in second place, behind Alphabet and ahead of powerhouses like Microsoft, Samsung, and Apple.
Huawei inverters
Huawei inverters are adapted to work with energy storage units (L1 and M1 series) – you can choose from an LG or Huawei Luna2000 battery.
Inverters can function without optimizers, just like classic string inverters. Optimizers can be used under selected PV modules, and optimizers can be installed under each photovoltaic module. Huawei inverters even have a built-in IV voltage-current curve tester.
Huawei inverters are equipped with the PID recovery function, which limits the degradation of photovoltaic modules by the PID phenomenon.
Huawei Single-Phase iInverters
The second generation of Huawei inverters hit the market in April 2020, two years after the first. The SUN2000-L1 series covers powers from 2kW to 6K, features two MPPT inputs and an operating voltage range from 100V to 600V.
The SUN2000-L1 model is a hybrid inverter ready to connect to an energy storage facility. The single-phase inverter works with LG RESU and Huawei LUNA2000 energy storage units. It is worth noting that after connecting the LG RESU battery, the maximum voltage on the DC side will be reduced to 495V, which limits the number of PV panels that can be used.
Huawei Three-phase inverters
In 2020, it introduced the M1 series inverters to the market, which differed from their M0 series predecessors primarily in the possibility of using optimizers and connecting an energy storage facility. Huawei SUN2000 M1 series only works with the Huawei Luna2000 energy storage with a capacity of 5kWh – 30kWh.
Optimization
The task of the power optimizer is to adjust the voltage on the photovoltaic panel in such a way that the current flow through each panel is the same, depending on the intensity of solar radiation and shading. This allows you to get maximum power from your photovoltaic system.
Power optimizers and microinverters are among the so-called MLPE devices – devices working directly on photovoltaic modules (MLPE – module-level power electronics).
In the SolarEdge system, the optimizer controls the voltage regardless of whether it affects the system power or not. Huawei optimizers control the voltage only when selected photovoltaic panels work worse than others.
Huawei allows the selective use of optimizers, so we only use them on PV panels that will be shaded. This will save you a lot of money compared to Solar Egde (which requires optimization of all panels).
In addition to the selective installation of optimizers on PV panels, Huawei enables the effective operation of a short chain of PV panels. Solar Edge inverters operate with constant voltage (single-phase 380V, three-phase 750V), which means that the string of photovoltaic panels must generate this voltage in every situation.
Most Solar Edge optimizers operate with a maximum voltage of 60V, which means that in the case of short strings the voltage may be too low, resulting in reduced inverter efficiency and reduced production. The Huawei inverter, on the other hand, works efficiently with a voltage of 90V.
Electric arc detection (AFCI)
Huawei inverters have an electric arc detection and interruption function. AFCI circuit breakers are used to detect electrical arcs. Loose electrical connections can cause fire, hence this type of protection is becoming more and more common.
AFCI protection is required in the US and Canada, but no country in Europe requires it yet. Importantly, the American standard requires manual restart of the inverter after AFCI activation, which means a paid visit by the installer. Due to the fact that AFCI systems in inverters are relatively new, it sometimes happens that the inverter incorrectly reports an error related to the occurrence of an electric arc.
Cooperation with an energy storage facility
Single-phase inverters work with LG RESU and Huawei Luna2000 batteries. However, three-phase inverters only with Luna 2000. Huawei inverters enable island operation to a limited extent. In addition to energy storage, island operation also requires the so-called back-up box. Thanks to the back-up box, in the event of a power grid failure, the inverter switches to island operation. After the failure is removed, the inverter switches to on-grid operation.
Full functionality in the island mode is available only in the case of single-phase inverters: in the event of a grid failure, we use the electricity from the solar energy storage and the battery is charged.
In the case of three-phase inverters, there is only limited functionality. In the event of a failure, battery power is available on one phase. Therefore, in order to be able to use electricity during a network failure, it would be necessary to create a separate circuit containing all the receivers that we would like to operate during the failure. Unless these devices are connected on one of the phases, which is unlikely.
Unfortunately, there is no battery charging function in the island mode of the 3-phase inverter – we only use the energy available in the warehouse until it runs out.
Exploitation
Huawei inverters are aesthetically designed and manufactured devices. They have the so-called natural cooling, i.e. no fan. Being a mechanical element, the internal fan is considered a weak point. However, the lack of a fan can lead to high temperatures, which will shorten the capacitors’ life. In addition, the lack of a fan causes the inverter to operate more quietly.
The user manual warns against touching the casing of the working inverter, which may suggest high operating temperature. In practice, however, the temperature of the inverter housing does not exceed 45 degrees Celsius, which means that the housing is warm (but not hot) when touched.
The user manual recommends performing routine maintenance on the SUN2000 inverter, which generally involves inspecting the device once every six months to make sure that the cables are properly attached and that the inverter does not make any abnormal noises.
The manual also recommends checking whether the radiators are not dusty, which is important because due to the lack of a fan, cooling using radiators requires them to be dust-free. Dust and dust cause deterioration of heat dissipation, which may contribute to an increase in operating temperature, which in turn may result in accelerated drying of capacitors and failure of the inverter.
System monitoring – FusionSolar
The FusionSolar monitoring portal operating in the cloud allows you to measure the operation of a photovoltaic installation. It is quite intuitive and allows you to read basic operating parameters.
Warranty for Huawei inverters
The factory warranty for Huawei inverters is 10 years for three-phase inverters SUN2000 xxx KTL-M0, SUN2000 xxx KTL-M1 and single-phase inverters SUN2000L. The warranty starts 30 days after shipment from the Huawei factory. The warranty can be extended to 15 or 20 years.
Prices of Huawei Solar Inverters
The table below shows the approximate prices of inverters.
| Huawei Solar Inverter Model | Model | 1-3Phase | Price |
| SUN2000-2KTL-L1 | 2 kW | 1-phase | 54,460.21 |
| SUN2000-3KTL-L1 | 3 kW | 1-phase | 58,951.78 |
| SUN2000-3.68KTL-L1 | 3.68 kW | 1-phase | 68,777.07 |
| SUN2000-3KTL-M1 | 3 kW | 3-phase | 79,438.26 |
| SUN2000-4KTL-M1 | 4 kW | 3-phase | 83,511.13 |
| SUN2000-5KTL-M1 | 5 kW | 3-phase | 89,546.39 |
| SUN2000-6KTL-M1 | 6 kW | 3-phase | 98,248.39 |
| SUN2000-8KTL-M1 | 8 kW | 3-phase | 112,143.52 |
| SUN2000-10KTL-M1 | 10 kW | 3-phase | 124,214.04 |
Summary
- Huawei inverters enable operation both with and without optimizers.
- Huawei inverters for home installations have a 10-year warranty.
- It is possible for inverters to cooperate with energy storage units, but only single-phase inverters allow for full functionality in the event of a grid failure