Fanless Noisless Quiet inverters

[curiouscarbon]

And what does natural convection mean

this usually implies that there is not a fan, but there is a heatsink, where the fins run long way vertically up and down. air between the fins will heat up, causing buoyancy upwards motion when heated above ambient temperature. this creates a gentle wind proportional to the heating past ambient.

 

[Cool kid]

this usually implies that there is not a fan, but there is a heatsink, where the fins run long way vertically up and down. air between the fins will heat up, causing buoyancy upwards motion when heated above ambient temperature. this creates a gentle wind proportional to the heating past ambient.

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Thanks so much for this explanation and also for the illustration diagram so during natural convection process will there be any sounds produced and maybe how does it differ from intelligent fan cooling

 

[curiouscarbon]

Thanks so much for this explanation and also for the illustration diagram so during natural convection process will there be any sounds produced and maybe how does it differ from intelligent fan cooling

Natural convection usually results in much slower air flow than fan cooling, so convection only types might need bigger heat sink for same power vs fan type. Airflow with convection is proportional to temperature above ambient, but it is best for hardware life to keep degrees above ambient constrained. So the airflow speed is generally slower and thus quieter than fan.

Pretty much anything that uses gravity / natural convection with heat sink fins, and no fan, I would expect to be silent. The airflow is so slow and no mechanical spinning thing.

Any device that uses a fan (even intelligent as in temperature controlling speed) would expect to make some degree of perceivable noise.

Airflow is usually the biggest cause of noise in inverter in my opinion.

 

[Cool kid]

Natural convection usually results in much slower air flow than fan cooling, so convection only types might need bigger heat sink for same power vs fan type. Airflow with convection is proportional to temperature above ambient, but it is best for hardware life to keep degrees above ambient constrained. So the airflow speed is generally slower and thus quieter than fan.

Pretty much anything that uses gravity / natural convection with heat sink fins, and no fan, I would expect to be silent. The airflow is so slow and no mechanical spinning thing.

Any device that uses a fan (even intelligent as in temperature controlling speed) would expect to make some degree of perceivable noise.

Airflow is usually the biggest cause of noise in inverter in my opinion.

Thanks am abit grey about the technical part but will try to internalise and understand this informative piece of information.am greatful that I always find some good and great pple here who are always willing to help and enlighten us further about concepts that we don't really understand for that reason I salute you and say thankyou .With your explanation I tend to think Solis inverter as suggested by @Solar Guppy would have less noise compared to goodwe as it's the one using conventional cooling .That said I will still need some in-depth review about the two products so this time round I will explore further and get to view a few videos on YouTube on the same .if you know of good reviews out there I wouldn't mind if you pointed me to that direction and maybe share a link .

 

[Solar Guppy]

Thanks am abit grey about the technical part but will try to internalise and understand this informative piece of information.am greatful that I always find some good and great pple here who are always willing to help and enlighten us further about concepts that we don't really understand for that reason I salute you and say thankyou .With your explanation I tend to think Solis inverter as suggested by @Solar Guppy would have less noise compared to goodwe as it's the one using conventional cooling .That said I will still need some in-depth review about the two products so this time round I will explore further and get to view a few videos on YouTube on the same .if you know of good reviews out there I wouldn't mind if you pointed me to that direction and maybe share a link .

You won't find anything on Goodwe as they just started selling in the US, Solis 5G HVES has been out for 2+ years but I am told the sales Volume has been low, it is not a reflection of the product performance, it is the requirement for a BYD battery box HV which is UL9540 certified with if you want to use the backup functionality.

In General, you have the DYI crowd which is mostly 48V and not code compliant unless it's using a listed configuration which for the most part is tier 1 vendors ( Schneider , Outback, SMA ) and Sol-Ark all have listed combinations.

The high voltage products are technically a better options, but for the most part it is all listed equipment and that isn't something that the budget DYI seem to vote with their wallet to purchase.

Tesla, Enphase, Generac are only for qualified professionals, and their systems are what most homeowners are getting for turn-key systems, at least in the US.

Finally the Solis 5G HVES is in the last year(s) of sales for US market ( I have be told ), they are working on the next generation that will have options for 2X+ more kw backup and parallel options, whole home ATS like Tesla and Enphase can do.

In General, the ESS / Storage market is in flux, the code changes in NEC2020 has the potential to be what pushes the market to more HV solutions? only time will tell, it certainly is MUCH simpler, small gauge wiring, plug and play battery's that just work out of the box.

I own a pair of the Solis 5G HVES, they are fantastic performers hardware wise, not a single issue, software is usable but has bugs that will never be fixed, this attitude seems to be common in China designed products from reading on many forums.

 

[Jankzilla]

I just want to add some info to this thread because there isn’t a great deal of info out there about quiet inverters and it’s something I’m working through myself at the moment.

I’m not sure where the info came from that Goodwe inverters are fan cooled, all of the ones I have seen are convection cooled, meaning fanless. As mentioned, this does not necessarily mean that they will be completely silent. There is a lot of energy and a lot of components performing various functions so perhaps some humming or clicks are to be expected — even some whining. But for what it’s worth, the EM series (Goodwe’s low cost hybrid series) are rated at <25dB which is pretty dang quiet.

Beyond that, I see people recommending high voltage systems to someone wanting a quiet system. I think for the most part, people who need very quiet systems are either in tiny homes, apartments or RVs. This tends to be lower budget and smaller systems, which are broadly antithetical to high voltage systems.

With that being said, it’s true that these fanless systems tend to be more expensive. They use components that are rated for higher temperatures, they have big metal heat sinks and they may use different technology to achieve the same result.

There are however several companies that make such units. In addition to the aforementioned Goodwe, Solis (5G) and Outback inverters, I’ve seen ones from SunSynk, Deye, Schneider, Luxpower, Solinteg and others.

Just so anyone else looking knows, there are quite a few options out there. However, for the most part they are 48V+ and more expensive than your typical Voltronics high frequency inverters with the same (or greater) rated output. So bear that in mind from a cost perspective.

It seems that there are some ”silent” models available at lower voltages if you are willing to go under 1.4kW but those models are beyond the scope of this post. So if you are working under a very tight budget and you need a quiet system, consider one or more extremely lean inverters that don’t make any noise. I think Schneider has a reasonably priced 700W one but don’t quote me on that.

 

[fromport]

In General, the ESS / Storage market is in flux, the code changes in NEC2020 has the potential to be what pushes the market to more HV solutions? only time will tell, it certainly is MUCH simpler, small gauge wiring, plug and play battery's that just work out of the box.

EV coupling with V2G/V2H/V2L is the other reason why this is the future!

 

[MurphyGuy]

My two Sunny Islands are pretty much silent. If you put your ear next to them, you can hear a humming sound, but it's not really audible from 3 to 5 feet away.

They do have fans, but after running my whole house during power outages for the past three years, I've just never heard them turn on.

 

[saggys]

Morningstar has a new line of inverters coming on the market soon, up to 2500 watt output, no cooling fans.

 

[Cool kid]

I just want to add some info to this thread because there isn’t a great deal of info out there about quiet inverters and it’s something I’m working through myself at the moment.

I’m not sure where the info came from that Goodwe inverters are fan cooled, all of the ones I have seen are convection cooled, meaning fanless. As mentioned, this does not necessarily mean that they will be completely silent. There is a lot of energy and a lot of components performing various functions so perhaps some humming or clicks are to be expected — even some whining. But for what it’s worth, the EM series (Goodwe’s low cost hybrid series) are rated at <25dB which is pretty dang quiet.

Beyond that, I see people recommending high voltage systems to someone wanting a quiet system. I think for the most part, people who need very quiet systems are either in tiny homes, apartments or RVs. This tends to be lower budget and smaller systems, which are broadly antithetical to high voltage systems.

With that being said, it’s true that these fanless systems tend to be more expensive. They use components that are rated for higher temperatures, they have big metal heat sinks and they may use different technology to achieve the same result (eg transformerless inverters).

There are however several companies that make such units. In addition to the aforementioned Goodwe, Solis (5G) and Outback inverters, I’ve seen ones from SunSynk, Deye, Schneider, Luxpower, Solinteg and others.

Just so anyone else looking knows, there are quite a few options out there. However, for the most part they are 48V+ and more expensive than your typical Voltronics high frequency inverters with the same (or greater) rated output. So bear that in mind from a cost perspective.

It seems that there are some ”silent” models available at lower voltages if you are willing to go under 1.4kW but those models are beyond the scope of this post. So if you are working under a very tight budget and you need a quiet system, consider one or more extremely lean inverters that don’t make any noise. I think Schneider has a reasonably priced 700W one but don’t quote me on that.

Thanks so much for the info and insights hopefully after working on it hope you will share with us your findings ,while at it please find time and look at kehua inverters would like to hear your opinion about them and how they compare to goodwe inverters in terms of noise level , will look at the options youve given above keenly and yes as you have pointed out ,what I was looking for was something not so bulky but something small in size and quiet that can be used in a residential home or rather an apartment.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Since about 1997, I have used a Morningstar 300 Watt inverter; no fan, very quiet. Significant load creates some quiet hum/buzz but not noticeable after initial startup. Proximity to inverter, how hard or soft the room is, and what is going on there that also makes noise, all factor in, right?

Seems like any inverter pushing out a good sized chunk of power is going to make some kind of circuit noise…

 

[Jankzilla]

Thanks so much for the info and insights hopefully after working on it hope you will share with us your findings ,while at it please find time and look at kehua inverters would like to hear your opinion about them and how they compare to goodwe inverters in terms of noise level , will look at the options youve given above keenly and yes as you have pointed out ,what I was looking for was something not so bulky but something small in size and quiet that can be used in a residential home or rather an apartment.

I can’t speak to Kehua inverters as they are not available where I live, but in the end I went with a Goodwe GW3048 EM which is a 2.3kW inverter that can output 3kW while grid powered. Quite a small unit but I’m just making a UPS for some essential computers etc.

One thing I can tell you is that if an inverter lists the noise level and cooling method on the data sheet, that is always a good sign. Goodwe states convection cooling and <25dB for the EM series. There are quieter inverters out there but I got a great deal on this one and it checked all the boxes.

 

[husknbusk]

Just adding that I discovered Mean Well advertises a couple of fanless models (NTS-250P and NTS-400P):

NTS-250P/400P adopts a fully digital MCU design, which focuses on miniaturization, high efficiency, and intelligence. The main features include fanless design which allows quiet operation and reduces dust accumulation.

 

[Cool kid]

Just adding that I discovered Mean Well advertises a couple of fanless models (NTS-250P and NTS-400P):

NTS-250P/400P adopts a fully digital MCU design, which focuses on miniaturization, high efficiency, and intelligence. The main features include fanless design which allows quiet operation and reduces dust accumulation.

Can you kindly post us a link we read about them I would be interested

 

[rhino]

Scroll down a bit here: https://www.mouser.com/new/meanwell/mean-well-chargers-inverters/