Smarten Superb 2500 Solar PCU Review – nothing superb about this one

Smarten Superb 2500 is the MPPT based PCU (Power Conditioning Unit) from Smarten Power Systems.

As usual the number 2500 doesn’t have to do with anything related to its power. Actually this is a 2200 VA solar inverter. That means it should be able to handle around 1600 watts loads.

Its a double battery – 24V – model.

The Superb series have MPPT charge controllers instead of PWM.

This has a 30 amps MPPT charge controller, that means you can connect a max of 1000 watts solar panel to this system.

The issue that I didn’t like is the maximum VoC of 85 volts. This should have been around the 100v mark.

Most 24V panels have a VoC of around 45v, this means that we cannot connect two 24V panels in series (which would make the VoC at 90V) to this inverter. So they have to be connected in parallel.

This defeats the purpose of having the MPPT charge controller, that is unless you are connecting 3 numbers of 12V solar panels in series. That would be rare, but its a possibility for maybe one in a hundred.

I don’t know what will happen if you connect more than one 24v solar panels in series. Maybe there is some over voltage protection which stops it from getting damaged. Not sure.

Another thing I didn’t like is the lack of service centers for this company.

As per their official website, they seems to have just one service center in India – just in Delhi.

So if you buy the system and face issues, unless you are in Delhi, you might be in trouble.

What goes correct for this model is the relatively low cost of the system – its around Rs 14,000 to 15,000 available online. I don’t think that its available offline. (Maybe no dealers are ready to take the risks of giving out a product which has pretty much no service).

And as per their website, they say its a repairable PCB (Printed Circuit Board) – I am again struck by this – if you see the pictures, you could see that this is a SMD circuit board which is pretty hard to service.

Maybe what they meant is there is nothing to service, just change the board when its having a complaint.

So if you end up having issues with the board, you will have to get the board directly from the company. Sometimes you might be lucky to have the board serviced by a local tech.

Advantages of Smarten Superb 2500

– has a MPPT charge controller (which may be practically useless due to the low VoC)
– relatively lower price

Disadvantages of Smarten Superb 2500

– lack of service centers
– low VoC
–
I have checked out the system with 24V panels and I am satisfied with its working, I wouldn’t recommend buying it unless they are able to provide proper service. For those who have bought the system already, hope you stay lucky.

Do checkout my reviews, use the comment box below to ask your doubts, I will try to answer them.