A Change for the Better: From Old to New Sunny Boy

Every time when a new generation of the product is launched, people tend to be curious looking for the similarities and differences between the generations. In this blog we’ll look into the differences and improvements of the new Sunny Boy AV-40 compared to the older model, and how it meets the needs of an ever changing market.

The Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL is the world’s most successful residential string inverter, with more than 1 million devices installed worldwide. So when the time came for this trusted platform to be upgraded, the original development team worked hard to deliver a worthy successor.

SMA Quality Worldwide

The Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL was assembled at our facility in Kassel, Germany, while the Sunny Boy AV-40 is assembled at our facility in Yangzhong, China. However, this makes no impact on the final quality the product. The reason lies in SMA Quality systems. Both locations implement the same SMA procedures and systems, which have ensured the quality for SMA devices for over 35 years. Learn more about SMA’s Quality & Product Development systems in this short video here.

Part of the Kassel facility for production and testing and a similar part of the Yangzhong facility

Lighter & Smaller

The Sunny BoyAV-40 was redesigned to provide the same power with fewer components thus increasing product reliability and usability. The circuit boards were also redesigned and stacked to be more space economical, using newer more efficient individual components. All this has contributed to the Sunny Boy AV-40 being 40% lighter and 30% smaller than its predecessor without compromising on quality while at the same time enhancing the features.

The Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL on the left, and the new Sunny Boy AV-40 on the right showing a much smaller and simpler device (shown to scale)

Smaller device, smarter screen

The Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL communication was based on a 4-inch LCD screen and Bluetooth connectivity, but times have changed and the Sunny Boy AV-40 has changed along with them. The new inverter is able to communicate with any WiFi-enabled smart device and replaces the old 4-inch LCD screen with a new virtual smart screen improving reliability and access. The Sunny Boy AV-40 gets even smarter when used with an SMA Energy Meter, which can be used to provide consumption data along with its own production information. For information on accessing the inverter Smart Screen, check out our YouTube Tech Tip video.

An older LCD screen on the Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL compared with the new Smart Screen

Quick commissioning with Smart Screen

A major difference between the Sunny Boy 3000-5000TL and Sunny Boy AV-40 is how the inverter is commissioned to meet the local country standards. The Sunny Boy AV-40 is designed to be quickly set up during commissioning via WiFi and its built-in Web User Interface. If an Installer needs to commission multiple devices with the same set of parameters, they can freely use the Configuration File feature which can complete complex programming of an inverter in less than 10 seconds. All this allows for less installation time and lowers costs for all parties.

Smart Connected: the new Standard in Service

The Sunny BoyAV-40 is also the first device in the Sunny Boy family to provide the free Smart Connected Service Package. This helps the Sunny Boys to stay ahead in a modern market where Cloud systems can be used to help work more efficiently and deal with Service issues before you even know there is a problem. And in the unlikely even the inverter needs to be replaced, the Sunny Boy AV-40 will be replaced with a new inverter pre-shipped to the site ready for your installer to replace. This means your system is back up and running at full power sooner, saving you time and money. To learn about Smart Connected, check out this short video or read our blog post here.