Our Products

Best Solar Inverters 2025

First, let's clarify the role of an inverter. Solar panels generate DC power, while household appliances operate on AC power, as supplied by the electricity grid. The primary role of a solar inverter is to convert DC solar power to AC power. The solar inverter is one of the most important parts of a solar system and is often overlooked by those looking to buy solar energy. This review highlights the best inverters from the world's leading manufacturers to ensure your solar system operates trouble-free for many years.

 

Types of Solar Inverters
While solar inverters are the most common type of inverter used for residential solar, they are just one of several inverter options available for solar and energy storage systems. Below, we describe the four main inverter types used for on-grid and off-grid solar systems. Learn more about the different types of solar systems and how they work.

 

• String Solar Inverters

This review focuses on common 'string' solar inverters, the most popular type. These inverters use one or more strings (groups) of solar panels connected in series. String solar inverters are the most common type used in the UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia. They are also growing in popularity in the US, where microinverters are extremely popular.

Advancements in battery and inverter technology have led major string inverter manufacturers, such as Fronius and Huawei, to incorporate battery integration as a standard feature, effectively transforming their string inverters into hybrid inverters. However, this functionality remains disabled by default until an activation fee is paid to unlock the energy storage capabilities.

• Hybrid Inverters

Sometimes called battery-ready inverters, are similar to string solar inverters but enable the direct connection of a battery storage system to allow greater self-sufficiency using solar. Most hybrid inverters provide basic backup power during a blackout but are generally not designed for continuous off-grid use. While more expensive, hybrid inverters are becoming more cost-competitive against solar inverters as hybrid inverter technology advances and batteries become cheaper and more appealing.

 

• Off-grid Inverters

Off-grid power systems generally require more powerful battery inverters with built-in chargers, which can be set up as either AC or DC-coupled solar systems. Modern,

Off-grid Inverters

, or multi-mode inverters, can also be used to build advanced hybrid grid-tie energy storage systems. Many off-grid systems also use solar charge controlers (MPPTs), which are DC-coupled between the solar panels and battery, to regulate the charging process and ensure the battery is not over-charged.

 

• Microinverters

Microinverters

, or micros, are very small solar inverters attached directly to individual solar panels. Since each microinverter and panel operate independently, they are an excellent option for complex roof layouts and locations with shading. Despite the slightly higher cost, micros are very popular due to several advantages over string solar inverters, with numerous manufacturers now offering micros in their lineup. See ourmicroinverter comparison chart While this review focuses on common string solar inverters, we would rank microinverters, such as those from Enphase, as one of the top 3 solar inverter options.