Deye in NZ: Two Families, and the One Your House Takes

Who Makes It

Deye is a Chinese manufacturer based in Ningbo and listed on the Shanghai exchange. It is one of the largest hybrid inverter makers in the world, and it arrived in New Zealand the way a lot of good value hardware does: quietly, through installers, without much advertising.

The hardware reaches homes here through several distributors rather than one, which is worth knowing because it tends to keep pricing competitive and means you are not locked to a single supplier to get parts.

The Two Families

Most New Zealand houses are single phase, which points at the SG05LP1 family. Larger homes, lifestyle blocks and newer builds with heavy loads are often three phase, which points at the SG01HP3. Here is a representative model from each, straight off the AU datasheets.

The quiet advantage of the single-phase unit is that it is naturally cooled. No fan means nothing to fail and nothing to hear, and under 30 dB is quieter than a fridge. The three-phase machine uses a fan and is rated up to 55 dB, which is worth thinking about if it is going on a wall shared with a bedroom.

You can put both next to every other inverter sold here in our inverter comparison tool.

What Is Approved Here

Every grid-connected inverter in New Zealand has to meet AS/NZS 4777.2, and each lines company publishes a list of the models it will connect. Deye is well represented on those lists, but not every Deye model is, and this is where a quote can quietly go wrong.

Deye's current ranges are comfortably covered. The single-phase SG05LP1 models are approved on Orion's list to June 2027 and appear on Vector's. The three-phase SG01HP3-AU-AM2 range, from 5 kW up to 25 kW, is approved on both, out to May 2028.

The older three-phase range is the one to watch. Orion's March 2026 list places the SUN-5K through SUN-12K-SG04LP3-AU models in a separate section for the 2015 version of the standard, headed for phase-out on 30 September 2026. Vector does not list them at all. Some New Zealand retailers were still advertising the 12 kW version of that range in late September 2026.

Lines companies do not all publish the same list. The only list that matters is the one belonging to the network your house is connected to.

None of this makes Deye a risky choice. It means the model string on your quote is worth ten seconds of checking, because two inverters with nearly identical names can sit on opposite sides of a standards deadline.

The Matching Batteries

Deye makes its own low-voltage batteries for the 48 volt inverters, and two of them are stocked in New Zealand.

• AI-W5.1-B. A stackable module holding 4.6 kWh usable out of 5.12 kWh nominal, at 90% depth of discharge. Stack up to six for 27.6 kWh usable. Around $4,568 including GST.
• RW-M6.1-B. A slim wall pack rated 6.14 kWh, which can be paralleled up to 32 units. Around $5,260 including GST.

Both are LFP, cobalt-free, IP65 and carry ten years on the datasheet. Both are also low voltage, so neither will pair with the three-phase SG01HP3, which needs a high-voltage stack. Our battery comparison tool puts them beside the other batteries sold here.

What to Check Before You Sign

• That the model on your quote is on YOUR lines company's list. This is the one that actually bites with Deye, because the approved lists are not identical. Orion's March 2026 list carries Deye's three-phase SUN-5K to 12K-SG04LP3-AU under the older 2015 standard, in a section headed for phase-out on 30 September 2026. Vector does not list those models at all. Meanwhile the newer SG01HP3-AU-AM2 three-phase range is approved by both, out to 2028. Ask which list your network publishes and find the exact model string on it.
• The suffix, not just the kilowatts. Deye sells an -EU and an -AU version of nearly everything, and they are not the same machine. The AU three-phase takes 18 kW of panels where the EU sheet publishes 15.6 kW. If a quote or a spec sheet shows a model ending -EU, ask why, because the AU variant is the one built for these networks.
• Which battery family the inverter belongs to. The SG05LP1 is a 48 V machine and takes low-voltage packs like Deye's own AI-W5.1-B or RW-M6.1-B. The SG01HP3 wants a high-voltage stack at 160 to 700 V. They are not interchangeable, and a battery quoted against the wrong family simply will not run.
• Usable kilowatt hours, not the headline capacity. Deye's AU brochure for the RW-M6.1-B states 6.14 kWh usable on a 100% depth-of-discharge basis, while the New Zealand retailer selling the same pack states 5.53 kWh. Same cells, different basis. Ask for usable kilowatt hours and the depth of discharge they were measured at, then compare that number across brands.

Compare quotes for your own roof and your own switchboard, not brands in the abstract. A Deye quote next to two others tells you more than any review, including this one.

Common Questions