Fronius GEN24 vs Sungrow SH hybrid inverter Perth: which is right for your system?

If your Perth solar + battery quote lists a hybrid inverter, it is very likely a Fronius GEN24 or a Sungrow SH. Both are single-unit hybrids that run your panels and your battery from one box, and on the numbers that matter for daily generation they are close to a tie. The real decision comes down to which battery you want to sit behind it, how backup is wired at your place, and which brand your installer actually services well. Sungrow SH tends to be the sharper price and has the widest installer network in WA. Fronius GEN24 brings the Solar.web monitoring platform and a strong European engineering reputation. Neither is a wrong answer, and this guide walks you through the differences that decide it.

Here is the short version before the detail.

• Efficiency: near-identical. Both peak around 97.6 to 97.7%, so this is not a real tiebreaker.
• Battery: the Sungrow SH is built around Sungrow's own SBR battery, and the GEN24 is usually paired with BYD. This is the difference you will feel most.
• Backup: both keep part of your home running in a blackout, if the backup circuit is wired for it.
• Installer depth: Sungrow has the deeper Perth service network. Fronius has a smaller but well-trained one.

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What are the Fronius GEN24 and Sungrow SH?

Both are hybrid inverters: a single unit that converts your panels' DC power for the house and manages charging and discharging a battery, all in one. That is different from a plain string inverter, which only handles panels. If you are still deciding whether you even need a hybrid, our guide on hybrid inverters in Perth and when you actually need one is the better starting point.

Fronius Primo GEN24 (single-phase) is Fronius's current single-phase hybrid, available from 3 to 10 kW. It is hybrid-ready from day one, so you can add a battery at install or bolt one on years later. There is a dedicated Fronius GEN24 Perth review if you want the single-brand deep dive.

Sungrow SH (single-phase hybrid) is Sungrow's single-phase hybrid line: the SH-RS range runs SH3.0RS through SH6.0RS, then SH8.0RS, then SH10RS. It is a separate line from Sungrow's SG string inverters, which have no battery function.

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Which one is more efficient?

Practically speaking, neither. Peak efficiency lands at about 97.6% for the Fronius GEN24 5 kW and about 97.7% for the Sungrow SH5RS. That gap is a rounding error. Across a Perth year, once you account for temperature and partial-load running, the difference in energy actually delivered to your house is a fraction of a percent, well under 1%. Do not let a spec sheet decimal point decide a purchase this size.

If you want to understand what these headline numbers do and do not tell you, our guide on how to read solar inverter specifications breaks down peak efficiency, European weighted efficiency, and why the two differ.

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Which batteries can each inverter use?

This is the difference that actually shapes your system, now and years from now.

The Sungrow SH is built around the Sungrow SBR. Sungrow designs the SH and its SBR battery as one integrated system, and that native pairing is what most Perth quotes will show you. It is tight, well-tested, and usually the sharpest-priced solar + battery combination in WA. The SH can be certified to run with some other high-voltage batteries too, but the SBR is the pairing it is built for and the one your installer will almost always propose. If you are weighing the two Sungrow-adjacent battery options, Sungrow SBR vs BYD Battery-Box Premium compares them directly.

The Fronius GEN24 is usually paired with BYD. The GEN24's main validated DC-coupled battery partner in Australia is the BYD Battery-Box Premium (HVS and HVM). Fronius also lists a small number of other high-voltage batteries, but BYD is the pairing most Perth installers know and stock. BYD is one of the largest battery makers in the world, and the GEN24 plus BYD combination is well proven locally.

The plain-English takeaway: a Sungrow SH system leans toward one brand end to end, which keeps it simple and sharp on price. A Fronius GEN24 system is a two-brand pairing, Fronius inverter plus BYD battery, that Fronius validates and supports. Both are practical, well-supported setups in Perth.

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Does either one keep the power on during a blackout?

Yes, both can, and both need the backup circuit wired for it at install. Blackout backup is never automatic just because you own a battery. It depends on how your switchboard is set up.

Fronius GEN24 backup. The GEN24 can form its own local grid from the battery when the mains drop out, and your solar keeps charging the battery through the outage during daylight. Backup is native to the inverter: a basic single-socket backup point, or a fuller whole-of-home backup option that needs extra grid-separation hardware. Which one you get is a wiring decision your installer makes at quote time.

Sungrow SH backup. The SH powers a dedicated backup circuit from the SBR battery during an outage, and solar generation continues through it as well. Sungrow's setup needs that backup circuit pre-wired, usually as a small backup sub-board for the loads you want to keep running.

For both, the important numbers, how much of the house stays on and at what power, vary by model and by how the switchboard is wired. Ask your installer to spell out exactly which circuits stay live in a blackout before you sign.

One thing worth clearing up: the Fronius Ohmpilot is not a backup device. It is a hot-water diverter that sends spare daytime solar into your hot water tank instead of exporting it cheaply. It is a nice add-on for cutting your hot water bill, but it has nothing to do with keeping the lights on in a blackout.

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Which monitoring app is better?

Fronius Solar.web is widely rated as one of the better monitoring platforms in the Perth market. It shows generation, consumption, battery, and export data with clean, readable charts, and it lets you enter your tariff for cost tracking. Installers and owners tend to speak well of it.

Sungrow iSolarCloud is functional and steadily improving. It covers the same ground, generation, battery, consumption, export, and self-sufficiency, with a mobile app. Some people find the interface a little less polished than Solar.web, but the underlying data is comparable.

If daily monitoring matters to you and you like a clean dashboard, Solar.web is a genuine point in the GEN24's favour.

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Which has better installer support in Perth?

Sungrow SH rides on the deepest installer network of any brand in WA. If something goes wrong down the track, finding a Perth technician who knows the SH and stocks SBR parts is straightforward. That depth is a real long-term advantage.

Fronius GEN24 has a smaller but well-established Perth base. Fronius-authorised installers here have typically done Fronius factory training, and the warranty pathway through Fronius Australia is regarded as reliable. You will have fewer installers to choose from, but the ones you find are usually well trained.

For a wider brand-level comparison beyond the hybrid models, see Fronius vs Sungrow inverters for Perth solar.

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How much do they cost, and which is cheaper?

A full installed price depends on your roof, your switchboard, your battery size, and which installer you use, so any single number in a guide like this would be guessing. Get at least two written quotes for your own address and compare the total system cost, not the inverter price on its own.

That said, the direction is consistent: a Sungrow SH plus SBR system is usually the cheaper of the two at equivalent capacity. That comes from Sungrow's scale and its single-brand, integrated design. A Fronius GEN24 plus BYD system generally sits a little higher, reflecting the two-brand pairing and Fronius's premium positioning. Treat that as the trend, and let your actual quotes fill in the numbers.

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Fronius GEN24 vs Sungrow SH: the specs side by side

On a single-phase 5 kW comparison the two are remarkably close on the hard specs. The gap is the battery ecosystem around them, not the inverter itself.

Building a three-phase home instead? Both brands step up to a three-phase hybrid: the Fronius Symo GEN24, and Sungrow's SH-RT and SH-T range. Our three-phase hybrid inverter guide for Perth covers how that changes the sizing and the backup wiring.

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Which should you choose?

Lean Sungrow SH + SBR when:

1. Price is your main lever, and you want the sharpest solar + battery number.
2. You are happy with a single-brand, integrated Sungrow system.
3. Your installer carries Sungrow SH experience and SBR stock.
4. You want the deepest Perth service network for the long haul.

Lean Fronius GEN24 + BYD when:

1. Your installer is Fronius-authorised and recommends it.
2. Fronius Solar.web monitoring genuinely matters to you.
3. You value Fronius's European engineering reputation.
4. BYD's modular capacity suits your storage plans. The Battery-Box Premium HVM scales from 8.28 up to 22.08 kWh by adding modules, so it grows with your needs.

Both are strong hybrid choices for a Perth home. The efficiency numbers are a tie, the battery ecosystem is the real fork in the road, and the deciding factor is usually which brand your installer knows best and can service for the next decade. Get quotes for both, compare the whole-system cost, and let the installer's expertise and service relationship carry more weight than the badge on the box.