Xantrex / Enerdrive solar inverters reviews

Canada's Xantrex is part of the USA's Mission Critical Electronics (MCE) and its inverters are imported into Australia by Enerdrive.

Contact Details

Address: 110-8555 Baxter Pl., Burnaby, BC V5A 4V7, CA
Telephone: +1 1-800-670-0707
Website

Company Info

Founded in 1983, Xantrex was publicly listed in 2004, then was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2008. In 2014, it was acquired from Schneider by Mission Critical Electronics (MCE), which is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, USA - but Xantrex's HQ remains in Canada.

Xantrex Inverters In Australia

Xantrex inverters brought into Australia these days by Enerdrive are small 12V and 24V units for off-grid applications.

Xantrex once offered a range of inverters suitable for grid connection, some of which were approved by Australia's Clean Energy Council. This means systems using them were eligible for Australia's solar rebate (assuming the system's solar panels were CEC approved too). 

Among inverters that were previously available here were the Xantrex XW hybrid inverter charger series available in capacities of 4kW, 4.6kW and 6kW.  The XW could be used for grid-backup and grid-tie applications with battery energy storage. It was a self-contained DC to AC inverter, battery charger, and AC transfer switch. 

Also available in Australia were the GT 2.8 and GT 5.0 inverter models, which were claimed to have been designed for Australian conditions. Offering up to 96% efficiency, the GT could work with strings of solar panels in the 195 to 550 Vdc output voltage Maximum Power Point range (240 to 550 Vdc for the GT5.0-AU model). The GT used the Xanbus communications protocol, which allowed it to communicate with multiple units connected within a system.

Warranty Details

Xantrex inverters were covered by a 5-year warranty that could be extended to 10 years. Given how many years have elapsed since CEC listing, inverters with the standard warranty would no longer be covered; and the time has likely run out on those that were installed with an extended warranty.

If you're in the market for a new inverter, here's what you should know.