Deye SUN-16K-SG01LP1-EU (16 kW) - single-phase hybrid inverter

The sites that genuinely need sixteen single-phase kilowatts

Sixteen kilowatts from one phase is a solution for a large house or a business where no three-phase supply exists and consumption is already industrial in character. Properties in this class are typically 300 to 400 m² with several air conditioners, a pool, a borehole, an electric sauna and an induction kitchen, along with small production sites: a bakery, a cheese dairy, a tyre shop, a self-service laundry. In such places what matters is not average consumption but the ability to cope when everything switches on at once — and that is the main reason to choose 16 kW over 10 or 12. The limit to understand: sixteen single-phase kilowatts mean output currents above 70 A, a level at which the power installation costs real money and needs a proper design. If a three-phase supply exists or can realistically be obtained, three-phase models deserve a look instead — the SUN-16K-SG05LP3-EU-SM2 (item 2063), for instance, offers the same power distributed across phases with a third of the cable current.

72.7 A output and 100 A pass-through: what the board must handle

Rated output current is 72.7 A at 220 V and 69.6 A at 230 V, with a maximum of 80 A: these figures shape the whole installation more than anything else in the datasheet. The cable to the backup board should be 25 mm² copper with an 80 A breaker, and terminals must be torqued properly, because at such currents a weak contact turns into a heater within weeks. Grid pass-through here is 100 A, meaning up to 22 kW can flow through the inverter while mains power is present: in effect it does not limit the house at all and simply acts as the controlling node. That places a requirement on the service connection too: if your main breaker is 50 A, 100 A of transit will never happen and the figure stays on paper. The practical conclusion is simple — for this model the power side is designed with an electrician in advance rather than improvised after the inverter is on the wall.

290 A of battery current: how many modules that implies

The battery channel is built for 48 V with charge and discharge current up to 290 A, roughly 15 kW at 51.2 V, so the inverter delivers almost its full sixteen kilowatts from storage even with no sun. For those 290 A to be real the bank must sustain them: three SE-F5 modules (item 1944) at 120 A each total 360 A and cover the requirement with margin, whereas two modules would cap the system at about 12 kW. The alternative is a large block such as the RW-F16 (item 1931) with 16 kWh, where a single cabinet already provides the current and takes less space than three wall modules. At 290 A the battery power path becomes a project of its own: 70 to 95 mm² cable, a battery breaker or fuse rated 300 to 350 A, a copper busbar once there are more than two modules, and equal-length leads. At these currents every milliohm of contact resistance turns into watts of heat, so lug quality and tightening torque matter more than the brand of cable.

Three 26 A trackers and an array of up to 20 800 W

The photovoltaic side consists of three independent MPPTs with two strings each, 26 A of operating current per tracker and short-circuit current up to 44 A. Six strings give real layout freedom: three groups of panels with different orientations or different types work independently, which on a complex roof yields noticeably more than one large array. The array limit is 20 800 W, about 30 % oversizing relative to the nameplate, a sensible compromise for a site that consumes heavily all year rather than only in summer. The MPPT window spans 150 to 425 V against a 500 V maximum with a 125 V start-up, tracking efficiency is 99.9 % and the platform's rated PV voltage is 370 V. With sixteen kilowatts of load the arithmetic is worth facing: a 20 kW array yields only 3 to 5 kW in December, so battery and grid are not supplements to the panels here but equal sources, and the system is designed as a genuinely combined one.

A 32 kW peak, but only for five seconds

Apparent power is 17 600 W, and in island mode the inverter holds double its rating, about 32 kW, for five seconds. The duration of that peak is exactly what separates this model from the smaller ones: the 10 and 12 kW versions hold double power for ten seconds, here it is five, and for heavy starting duty that difference is material. In practice five seconds is enough for a pump, a compressor or a machine tool to start, but if you have several motors starting in sequence or equipment that accelerates under load, check the starting characteristics in advance. Harmonic distortion stays below 3 %, so the waveform suits both sensitive electronics and industrial controls without isolating transformers. One more nuance: a 32 kW peak means an enormous instantaneous current from the battery, and if the bank sits at the 290 A limit, it rather than the inverter becomes the constraint at the moment of start-up.

Mounting, cooling and temperature range

The enclosure is larger than on the smaller models — 464 by 763 by 282 mm at 48.5 kg — and this is no longer a case of two people hanging it quickly: solid masonry, a reliable mounting rail and three people or a lifting device are needed. Cooling is intelligent and typical noise is quoted at no more than 30 dB, a good figure for sixteen kilowatts, with the fans reaching high speed only under sustained full load. The operating range is -45 to +60 °C with derating beginning above +45 °C: the upper limit matters more here, because summer is precisely when the inverter runs flat out. IP65 permits mounting under a canopy, but 48 kg of electronics on an external wall is always a trade-off between ease of service and thermal conditions; a ventilated technical room remains the better option. Surge protection is type II on the DC side and type III on the AC side, and certification covers VDE4105, VDE0126, IEC 61727/62116, AS4777.2 and CEI 0-21.

How it differs from its neighbours in this catalogue

Against the SUN-12K-SG02LP1-EU-AM3 (item 2052) the difference is more than four kilowatts: a different enclosure 13 kg heavier, 290 A of battery current instead of 250, 100 A of transit instead of 60, an array limit of 20 800 instead of 19 200 W and quieter cooling — but a shorter peak, five seconds against ten. If your simultaneous load stays within twelve kilowatts, the 2052 is cheaper as a system and simpler to install; sixteen is for cases where the headroom is genuinely used rather than reserved for some day. The smaller SUN-8K-SG01LP1-EU (item 2047) with two trackers and 190 A of battery current covers an ordinary private house and needs a far more modest power installation. With a three-phase supply the comparison should instead be with the SUN-16K-SG05LP3-EU-SM2 (item 2063) or the SUN-20K-SG05LP3-EU-SM2 (item 2056): the same kilowatts spread across three phases, lower cable currents and direct supply for three-phase motors. And separately: this model is a hybrid, so it works with no grid at all — something no grid-tie unit of the G series can do.

Describe the site and list the loads that run simultaneously, and we will work out whether sixteen kilowatts are really needed and which battery bank will unlock them.