The WHES Copia-SH Single-Phase Hybrid Inverter series represents a sophisticated and versatile power conversion solution engineered for modern residential energy independence. Designed to form the intelligent hub of a home's energy ecosystem, it seamlessly manages power flow between photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, a battery storage system (specifically the Myrtillo battery box), the utility grid, and even backup diesel generators. Its defining characteristic is a split-design philosophy, where the inverter and battery are separate units. This architecture provides exceptional installation flexibility, allowing the system to adapt to spaces where a single, large all-in-one unit might not fit, thereby meeting the physical constraints of diverse residential scenarios without compromising on capability or performance.
At its core, the Copia-SH is a true hybrid inverter. It performs the dual, critical functions of converting DC electricity from solar panels into usable AC power for the home, while simultaneously orchestrating the charging and discharging cycles of the connected battery. This intelligent management is the key to maximizing self-consumption of clean, self-generated solar energy. The system ensures that surplus solar power produced during the day is stored rather than exported, and then deployed to power household loads in the evening or during a grid outage, significantly reducing reliance on the grid and enhancing household resilience.
Design and User Experience
The product introduction highlights a user-centric design approach categorized into key pillars: Fancy, Integrated, Friendly, Effective, Reliable, and Intelligent.
- Fancy & Integrated: The inverter boasts an automobile-inspired aesthetic and utilizes a fanless, integrated cooling design. The absence of moving cooling parts contributes directly to its quiet operation and improves long-term reliability by eliminating a common point of mechanical failure.
- Friendly: This aspect is demonstrated through two major features. First, the inverter operates at less than 25dB, making it exceptionally quiet and suitable for installation in garages, utility rooms, or on external walls without causing noise pollution. Second, with an IP65 ingress protection rating, it is fully protected against dust and low-pressure water jets from any direction, enabling safe and reliable installation either indoors or outdoors, which grants installers and homeowners great flexibility in siting the unit.
- Effective & Reliable: Performance is underscored by high charge and discharge efficiencies (up to 98.5% and 97.7% respectively), minimizing energy losses during conversion and storage cycles. Its reliability is paramount, offering an uninterrupted power supply. A critical metric here is the off-grid (EPS) switching time of less than 10 milliseconds, which guarantees that essential household circuits experience no perceptible interruption during a grid failure, protecting sensitive electronics and ensuring continuous operation of critical loads.
- Intelligent: The Copia-SH is built for the future of energy management. It supports the ECOS Energy Management System (EMS) for holistic control, is compatible with Virtual Power Plant (VPP) participation, and can integrate into broader Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems. Features like remote firmware updates and system control allow for ongoing optimization and convenience.
Technical Specifications and Performance
The provided technical table details four models within the series: WH-SHC362 (3.6kW), WH-SHC462 (4.6kW), WH-SHC502 (5.0kW), and WH-SHC602 (6.0kW). The specifications reveal a robust and capable product family.
- PV Input and Solar Harvesting: The series is designed for efficient solar energy capture. All models share a high maximum DC input voltage of 600V and a wide MPPT voltage range of 100-550V, allowing for flexible string design. The maximum DC input power scales with the model, from 4800W for the 3.6kW unit to 8000W for the 6.0kW unit, indicating support for significant PV oversizing to maximize production during sub-optimal light conditions. Each model features two independent Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPTs), each with one input string, enhancing energy harvest from arrays with different orientations or shading conditions. The maximum input current per string is 12.5A, with a short-circuit current (IscPV) rating of 18A, ensuring compatibility with mainstream high-current solar panels.
- Battery Integration: The inverter is designed to work with high-voltage battery systems, supporting a wide battery voltage range of 80-500V. It can handle a maximum charge and discharge current of 25A, facilitating efficient energy transfer to and from storage. A notable feature explicitly mentioned in the introduction is its ability to store energy from a diesel generator, providing a crucial backup charging option in off-grid or extended grid-down scenarios where solar generation may be insufficient.
- AC Grid Interaction and EPS Output: On the AC side, the rated output and apparent power to the grid align with the model ratings (e.g., 3600VA for the 3.6kW model). The inverters can draw a higher "Max. Apparent Power from Grid" (double the rated output, e.g., 7200VA for the 3.6kW model), enabling faster grid charging if needed. They operate at standard single-phase voltages (220/230/240V) and frequencies (50/60Hz). The power factor is adjustable from -0.8 to +0.8, allowing the inverter to provide reactive power support to help stabilize the local grid voltage. Total Harmonic Distortion (THDi) is kept below 3%, ensuring clean power quality. The Emergency Power Supply (EPS) output is a dedicated circuit for backup power. Its rated power matches the unit's AC rating. The technical table confirms the switch time is less than 10ms, and the EPS output also maintains excellent power quality with a THD under 1% for linear loads.
- Efficiency Metrics: The system demonstrates high conversion efficiencies across its functions: a peak PV efficiency of 97.6%, a European weighted PV efficiency of 97%, an exceptional PV MPPT efficiency of 99.9%, a battery charge (by PV) efficiency of up to 98%, and a battery discharge efficiency of 97.7%. These high figures ensure minimal energy is wasted as heat, maximizing the economic and practical yield from the solar and storage investment.
- Protection and General Data: The inverter includes a comprehensive suite of protective features, including over/under voltage protection, DC isolation, anti-islanding, reverse polarity protection for both battery and PV, surge protection, and over-temperature protection. It operates reliably in a wide temperature range from -25°C to +60°C, at altitudes up to 3000m, and in environments with 0-95% relative humidity (non-condensing). Communication with batteries and meters is via RS485 or CAN bus. It complies with key international safety standards (IEC 62109, IEC 62040) and a host of regional grid codes (EN 50549, VDE 4105, G99/98, etc.), facilitating its deployment in markets across Europe and other regions.
Conclusion
The WHES Copia-SH Single-Phase Hybrid Inverter is a thoughtfully engineered solution that successfully balances advanced technical performance with practical, user-friendly design. Its split-design approach solves a common installation space challenge, while its robust technical specifications—from the wide MPPT range and high efficiencies to the ultra-fast backup switching and diesel generator support—deliver genuine energy resilience and independence. The quiet, weatherproof operation and intelligent connectivity features like VPP and IoT readiness make it a future-proof cornerstone for homeowners seeking to take control of their energy costs, increase sustainability, and secure a reliable power supply for their households under any conditions.
