How Many Solar Panels for a 5kW Inverter? Deye Figures

How many solar panels a 5 kW inverter can take is not a rule of thumb. It is a line in the inverter's record, and it is different from one 5 kW model to the next. On our best-known 5 kW hybrid, the SUN-5K-SG04LP1-EU, that line reads: maximum PV input power, 8 kW. With 550 W modules that is fourteen panels, 7.7 kWp on a 5 kW inverter.

The same record carries a second line, maximum PV access power, at 10 kW, which would be eighteen modules. We print both because the record states both. Our sizing engine caps an array at the input figure, 8 kW, and that is the number used in the rest of this guide.

Products mentioned in this article

Deye 5 kW Single-Phase String Solar Inverter SUN-5K-G04

• Rated AC Output Active Power:5000 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.5 %

AED 2,170

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Deye 5 kW Single-Phase Hybrid Solar Inverter SUN-5K-SG04LP1-EU

• Rated AC Output Active Power:5000 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.6 %

AED 3,211

Order now — Deye 5 kW Single-Phase Hybrid Solar Inverter SUN-5K-SG04LP1-EU

Deye 3.6 kW Single-Phase Hybrid Solar Inverter SUN-3.6K-SG04LP1

• Rated AC Output Active Power:3600 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.6 %

AED 3,211

Order now — Deye 3.6 kW Single-Phase Hybrid Solar Inverter SUN-3.6K-SG04LP1

Deye 5 kW Single-Phase String Solar Inverter SUN-5K-G05P1-EU-AM2

• Rated AC Output Active Power:5000 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.5 %

AED 2,126

Order now — Deye 5 kW Single-Phase String Solar Inverter SUN-5K-G05P1-EU-AM2

Deye 5 kW Single-Phase Off-Grid Solar Inverter SUN-5K-OG01LP1-EU-AM2

• Rated AC Output Active Power:5000 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.6 %

AED 2,633

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Deye 5 kW Three-Phase Hybrid Solar Inverter SUN-5K-SG04LP3-EU

• Rated AC Output Active Power:5000 W
• Max. Efficiency:97.6 %

AED 5,914

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The three lines that decide the count

Power. Maximum PV input power is the ceiling on the array's total wattage. Divide it by the wattage of your module and round down: 8,000 ÷ 550 = 14.5, so fourteen.

Voltage. The SUN-5K-SG04LP1 states a maximum PV input voltage of 500 V, an MPPT voltage range of 150-425 V, a start-up voltage of 125 V and a rated PV input voltage of 370 V. Panels in series add their voltages, so the string's open-circuit voltage on the coldest morning must stay below 500 V, and its working voltage should sit inside 150-425 V. We sell no panel, so that open-circuit voltage is not in our records: read it from the datasheet of the module you buy.

Current. This unit has two MPPT inputs with one string each and accepts 13 A of operating current on each, with a maximum short-circuit current of 17 A each. A module that produces more than 13 A is clipped on this input. If your modules are high-current, look at the 18 A and 20 A models in the table below.

So fourteen modules on this inverter means two strings of seven, one per MPPT input, provided seven of your modules in series stay under 500 V.

Not every 5 kW inverter takes the same array

Nine Deye records are rated 5 kW. Their PV lines are not the same.

The spread is three panels, from eleven on the SUN-5K-G04 to fourteen on the hybrids. The voltage window moves even more: a three-phase unit such as the SUN-5K-SG04LP3-EU accepts longer strings, up to 800 V of PV input, than a single-phase one. A string inverter such as the SUN-5K-G05P1-EU-AM2 starts tracking from 70 V. And the off-grid SUN-5K-OG01LP1-EU-AM2 takes the same 8 kW as the hybrid with 18 A per input. All four ratings of the hybrid family are on one page, the SUN-3/3.6/5/6K-SG04LP1 datasheet.

The same question for 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 kW

The figures below are the maximum PV input power of the single-phase hybrid records, turned into 550 W modules.

On every one of them the PV input power is 1.6 times the rated power. That ratio is a property of these records, not a law: the three-phase SUN-5K-SG04LP3 states 1.5 times, and the 5 kW string inverters between 1.3 and 1.5.

How many the inverter can take, and how many you need

The ceiling is not the target. What you need follows from your consumption, not from the inverter. An apartment using 13.8 kWh a day in the UAE needs 13.8 ÷ (5.7 × 0.8) = 3.03 kWp, which is six 550 W modules on that same 5 kW hybrid. Fourteen would be more than twice what the home uses.

The sizing calculator does this sum for your own appliances and tells you the panel count, the inverter and the battery together. The apartment kit with evening backup is the worked example: one SUN-5K-SG04LP1-EU, one battery, six panels. If you are still choosing between a hybrid and a string unit, the hybrid vs string inverter comparison sets the two side by side, and the full range of Deye inverters lists every rating with its price.

5 kW or 5 kVA?

Many people search for a 5 kVA inverter and mean a 5 kW one. The record keeps the two apart: the SUN-5K-SG04LP1 states a rated power of 5 kW and a maximum apparent power of 5.5 kVA. The panel count does not depend on either of them. It depends on the PV input lines above, so read those, whichever label the unit carries.

Before you order

Write down three numbers from your module's datasheet: its wattage, its open-circuit voltage and its operating current. Check them against the three lines of the inverter's record. If all three fit, the count is right. The price on each product page is the price you pay, and orders are collected in store, in Dubai or Riyadh.