Rich Solar’s Nova 12K Hybrid Inverter looks pretty sharp, but as we all know by now, looks can be deceiving with solar equipment. While we were recently impressed by Rich Solar’s Alpha 5 Pro Batteries, we've had mixed experiences with their inverters in the past, so it’s up in the air if the Nova 12K is actually worth the money.
How does the Rich Solar Nova 12K hold up? Let’s dive in and find out.
Before we get into performance testing this unit, we’re going to start with a quick rundown of the specs for the Rich Solar Nova 12K Inverter:
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s talk about what works – and what doesn’t.
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As we kind of expected from our past experiences with Rich Solar’s inverters, there are a few serious issues with the Nova 12k, but let’s start out on a positive note by discussing the things we liked about this inverter:
One standout feature is the open layout behind the front panel. Some inverters have plastic covers that must be removed to access components, but the Nova 12K gives you a clear view immediately. This exposed look might not be for everyone, but you can’t argue with the fact that it makes installation and maintenance much easier.
The Nova 12K is built to handle a reasonable degree of exposure to the elements. There’s some nice weather stripping around the main panel door, as well as solid seals around all of the terminals and input ports. It even has some nice snap-locks on the door, so you don’t have to worry about it swinging open during high winds or a storm.
As mentioned, we probably wouldn’t recommend mounting it outside, especially if it’s fully exposed, but it should be fine if you have it installed in some sort of sheltered outdoor location.
From our perspective, we just like that the weather rating offers peace of mind for any type of setup. Even if you just end up installing it indoors, you know you have a durable inverter. If you run into some sort of roof leak, have it out in a cold garage, or even just manage to spill something on it, you don’t have to worry about frying the internals. Plus, Rich Solar backs it with a 5-year warranty, so they definitely have confidence that it can last.
Compared to some other Rich Solar inverters, the Nova 12K’s display screen is simple and effective. It cycles through key information, so you don’t have to navigate multiple menus to find what you need. It clearly displays input and output power, battery status, and load – no unnecessary clutter. We had a slight issue with the navigation buttons being directionally reversed, but it’s definitely something you could get used to.
We tested the Nova 12K with Rich Solar’s Alpha 5 Server Rack Batteries, and the communication between the inverter and the batteries was seamless. When charging from the grid, the system efficiently balanced power distribution across multiple batteries. This helps ensure even charging and prolongs battery life. If you’re already running a rack of Alpha 5s, this compatibility would be a big draw.
Rich Solar’s U.S.-based support team is a major plus. We tested their responsiveness and got quick, helpful answers. This is a stark contrast to some other brands with overseas support — we’re looking at you, RUiXU!
We already hinted at the fact that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with this pricey inverter. And, as we kind of expected, we ran into a few issues pretty quickly. Some were almost complete deal-breakers, while others were just small gripes. Here are the main problems we encountered:
This is a BIG issue. Most high-end inverters have some level of surge capacity to handle temporary spikes in power demand. The Nova 12K does not, meaning if you have appliances with high start-up surges, like a heavy-duty air conditioner or a well pump, you’re probably going to run into some serious issues.
When we tried to use it to fire up the massive heater we have in our garage, it was a complete flop.
Inverter alarms should alert you when something’s wrong – that’s their job. However, the Nova 12K’s alarm is so quiet and tucked away inside the unit that you won’t hear it unless you have the front panel door open. We found this out the hard way when we accidentally overcharged the batteries, and the alarm was completely inaudible, even when we were standing right beside the unit.
It was only when we opened the panel door that we could hear the light beeping of the alarm. While the screen was flashing and putting up codes, the alarm was pretty much useless, which doesn’t fill us with much confidence going forward.
For an inverter that is meant to handle high power loads, the wire terminals feel undersized. We struggled to fit our large-gauge wiring into them and even had to trim some wires to make them fit. This is not ideal, as larger terminals would provide better, more secure connections.
There’s also a really flimsy and puny communication cable hanging out right behind the main door. It’s so small that we were worried we were going to damage it just getting the unit up and running. We really would have preferred if this was a little more heavy-duty or even just tucked away.
When it comes to any piece of solar equipment, real-world performance matters more than just the specs you see listed on the box. We wanted to put the Nova 12K through a series of tests to get a real impression of how it would hold up, and the results were surprising. So, now that we’ve covered what we liked and disliked about it, let’s jump into these tests:
One of the first things to check with any inverter is its idle consumption — how much power it draws just being on. Rich Solar doesn’t try to hide the fact that this thing has a high idle rate, but we were blown away by just how high it was.
When we tested it, the Nova 12K pulled nearly 150W while idling, which is extremely high. For comparison, the comparatively sized EG4 18kPV Inverter consumes only about 60 to 70W when it's idling. This means the Nova 12K is consuming more than double the power at idle, without providing any additional benefits. In other words, it’s pulling serious power just to stay on, so it’s far less efficient than some of the other inverters in its class.
The inverter is rated for 10,000W of continuous output, so we pushed it to see if it could handle that load. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing:
Again, this suggests that the 10,000W continuous rating is misleading. Most inverters can run their rated continuous wattage indefinitely, but the Nova 12K struggles to maintain it.
Unlike most high-power inverters, the Nova 12K has no surge capacity. We tested this by trying to start a large compressor, which requires a high surge wattage. The inverter managed to start it only when no other loads were running, but as soon as we added even a 1,500W load, it couldn’t handle the surge and shut down.
We reached out to Rich Solar for clarity, and they explained that the inverter is designed for grid-tied use, meaning it expects to pull extra power from the grid when needed for surging. Not only is this limiting, especially for off-grid users who need a reliable surge rating to handle appliance start-up loads, they don’t really make it clear in any of their marketing.
One positive aspect of the Nova 12K is its grid pass-through capability. We were able to pass through 15,000W directly from the grid to a large garage heater, even without batteries connected. However, when we tried to use the batteries in conjunction with the grid, things became unstable. Rich Solar didn’t provide clear answers about what the unit is designed to handle in this mode.
It’s just weird, and, once again, doesn’t leave us feeling overly confident about how reliable this thing would be in the long term.
On the bright side, the inverter offers multiple MPPT input tabs, allowing for flexible solar configurations. It also includes an arc fault detector, a useful safety feature not always found in high-power inverters. The solar input also just worked as advertised. Nothing to complain about here.
We’d say the Nova 12K operates at a medium noise level, similar to the EG4 18kPV Inverter. It’s not obnoxiously loud but is noticeable in a quiet environment. We set it up in the garage and that’s probably the type of place where you’ll want to leave it.
The Rich Solar Nova 12K Hybrid Inverter is a solid option for those looking for a weather-resistant unit with decent efficiency and straightforward compatibility with the brand’s Alpha 5 Batteries. However, the complete lack of surge capacity and high idling didn’t impress us, especially when you consider the fact that this thing is priced at nearly 4,000 bucks!
It works, and even at that price, that’s not to be taken for granted. We’ve certainly seen worse inverters. We also think this thing would have been amazing a couple of years ago, but solar technology progresses quickly, especially when it comes to inverters. The brutal truth is this thing is already starting to fall behind and show its age, but that doesn’t seem to be reflected in the price.
If you’re planning a system where you don’t have large start-up loads and can work within the wiring limitations, the Nova 12K could definitely be a good choice.
But, if you need an inverter with better surge handling and more robust output power, you may want to look at alternatives like the EG4 18kPV Hybrid Inverter or even the brand-new FlexBOSS 21. Given these units are similarly priced, we’d just have a hard time recommending the Nova 12K over them.
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