Note: Solar Choice is not a solar installer and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product brand over another.
Fronius Background – Company History
Fronius is one of the top PV inverter manufacturers in the world, and one of the most popular in Australia. On the back of this success, the company now offers a number of battery storage solutions for the Australian market. These include the Fronius Energy Package (consisting of the inverter Fronius Symo Hybrid, the Fronius Smart Meter, the Fronius Solar Battery) and the Fronius Energy Package Powerwall (consisting of the inverter Fronius Symo Hybrid Powerwall, the Fronius Smart Meter and the Tesla Powerwall). Both of Fronius’ storage solutions are based around the company’s hybrid inverter technology, lending to a high degree of flexibility in system design and applications.
December 2023 Update: These two batteries are now discontinued. However, Fronius inverters are compatible with batteries from other brands such as BYD and LG. Therefore, there are still plenty of options for you to choose from. Refer to the chart below for specific series battery compatibility, or you can check it via the provided link here.
Fronius Symo Hybrid inverter
Fronius’ Symo Hybrid inverter constitutes the cornerstone of any Fronius solar-plus-storage system. The Symo Hybrid can simultaneously handle inputs from a system’s solar array and battery bank, supplying a home with whichever is more readily available at the time – all while still having the grid as a backup for when neither is available.
Fronius’ Symo Hybrid inverters can be integrated into grid-connected solar PV systems in a variety of configurations. The most basic of these (and the one which takes advantage of both of the Symo Hybrid’s key functionalities) is a configuration where both the solar array and the battery bank are connected directly into a Symo Hybrid unit. It’s useful to note, however, that the Symo Hybrid can be designed into a wide range of system configurations (discussed below).
The Symo Hybrid may also be used in a solar-only system with the aim of retrofitting a battery bank in the future – after a household’s energy consumption patterns are better understood, and/or when battery prices have come down.
Key benefits:
- Quality inverter from one of the most trusted names in the industry
- Emergency backup power for when grid power becomes unavailable (during blackouts, etc)
- High level of flexibility for system design and applications
- Online monitoring through Fronius’ Solar.web platform
Key product details:
- Capacity range (for solar PV input): 3.0kW – 5kW
- Battery capacity: 4.5kWh – 12.0kWh
- Compatible batteries: Fronius Solar Battery, Tesla Powerwall*
*May require additional hardware and software
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Fronius Solar Battery
Fronius’ Solar Battery is Fronius’ own-brand battery bank for use in solar-plus-storage systems. It comes available in a range of capacities and can be readily easily expanded. The Solar Battery uses lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) technology.
Key benefits:
- Very long service life of 8000 charging cycles
- Very high discharging and charging power – up to 6.4kWh*
- Short charging times
- Safe and high performing lithium storage technology
- No thermal runaway
*for 12.0kWh battery
Key product details:
- Variable sizes from 4.5kWh-12.0kWh
- Battery size can be increased by adding 1.5kWh battery modules at any time
- Very high efficiency due to high voltage battery
- No ventilation concept needed
- No gassing of battery
- IP 20 rated (for indoor installation)
Download datasheet: Fronius Energy Package (PDF)
Fronius Smart Meter
The Fronius Smart Meter is a bidirectional meter which optimises self-consumption and records the household’s load curve. In conjunction with the Fronius Solar.web online portal, the Fronius Smart Meter provides a clear overview of the user’s power consumption.
Contact details:
Kathryn Brookes, Marketing Coordinator
T: 03 8340 2900
E: pv-marketing-australia@fronius.com
Fronius Warranty Offer for Australian Customers
As previously mentioned, the Fronius battery is now discontinued, and the latest 2023 Fronius warranty file does not provide information on the warranty policy for the old battery.
According to the 2016 warranty document, the Fronius battery originally came with a 2-year warranty, which could be extended to 10, 15, or 20 years from dispatch from Fronius.
The warranty period can be extended free of charge if the warranty holder registers the Fronius Solar Battery (including its serial number) at www.solarweb.com within 30 months of dispatch from the Fronius factory.
The warranty holder has the option to choose between the Fronius Warranty for 7 years and the Fronius Warranty Plus for 5 years. For further details on the Fronius battery warranty, you can refer to the warranty file available here.
Read About Home Battery Government Schemes Across Australia
South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Australian Capital Territory all currently have a home battery scheme in place.
The South Australian Home Battery Scheme enables eligible South Australian residents to receive up to $4,000 per installed battery.
The New South Wales Home Battery Scheme offers an interest-free loan up to $9000 for eligible households looking to install a solar battery.
The Victorian Government under the Solar Homes Program provides to those eligible, a maximum discount of $4,174 off the battery sale price. The next release of battery rebates is on the 2nd of September 2020.
The Australian Capital Territory Government under the Next Generation Energy Storage program provides a rebate of $825 per kilowatt (kW). An average household with a 5kW system would be eligible for approximately $4,000.
Read more product reviews from Solar Choice
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I’m in your system and quite honesty we DO need a far better resources for pricing things (especially inverters).
Oh there is a list of approved inverters. but it has no detail on the models, so you have no idea which ones handle batteries, or have export limiting (zero export or highly adjustable), and of these which ones can give you islanding in the day without the need for batteries. All this &can&* be done with specific higher end inverters but finding the models, and then finding out who sells them (and for how much) so you can point your installer to the information, is a pain. We need a better resource.
Hi Ken,
I couldn’t find your enquiry in our system, but definitely agreed that a resource/database of different inverter types is needed as a reference point for installers/suppliers and shoppers alike.
The fact is, however, that there are a number of inverter options available from different inverter brands, of which many installers/suppliers may only have channels to provide one or two.
We will be putting something together on this topic in the near future.
Cost of Fronius hybrid inverter and battery please? Also please supply the cost of the Fronius hybrid inverter and the Tesla Powerwall in both sizes … 7KW and 10KW.
Hi Bhima,
The best way to get quotes through our system is to fill your details into the Quote Comparison Request form to the right of this page. By doing so, you’ll be able to compare quotes from a range of installers in your area of Australia (please note – our service is not available outside Australia).