As South Africa moves closer and closer to Stage 8 (or Stage 11 – as some prophets of doom would have us all believe) the battery storage required to keep a household and/or small business running efficiently has crept up from 5 kW being enough to now 10 kW as being ‘adequate’.
“Gone are the days when we could provide a client with a 2.5 kW battery backup. The increased severity and cycles of loadshedding now make 5 kW batteries teeter on the edge,” says Straton Solar.
The choices of battery are pretty wide and that should lead to some stiff competition.
The table below shows 10 Battery Storage Solutions that are all around the 10 kW mark and that have gained local, national and international commendation as being ‘reliable’, well known and asked for items by clients seeking a solution.
Prices quoted are from an average quoted by online retailers and we have calculated a price per kW to allow a better price comparison. We have NOT taken installation costs into consideration (in the case of a Tesla – and most other batteries – that is normaly around the R70 000 mark – very dependant upon the amount of wiring that needs to be changed, added or upgraded). We used todays Rand Dollar exchange rate of R18,11 to $1,00.
| Battery | Size (kWh) | Continuous Output | Peak Output | Rand Price (NOT Installed) | Price per kWh | Warranty | Chemistry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powerwall | 13,5 | 7 kW | 10 kW | 232713,50 | 17238,04 | 10 years 70% retention | NMC |
| FranklinWH | 13,6 | 5 kW | 10 kW for 10 sec | 244485,00 | 17976,84 | 12 years 70% retention | LFP |
| SolarEdge | 9,7 | 5 kW | 7.5 kW | 162990,00 | 16803,09 | 10 years 70% retention | NMC |
| LG ESS Home 8 | 14,4 | 7.5 kW | 7.5 kW | 202832,00 | 14085,56 | 10 years 70% retention | LFP |
| Enphashe IQ | 10,1 | 3.84 kW | 5.7 kW | 144880,00 | 14344,55 | 10 years or 4000 cycles | LFP |
| Sunsynk 10.65 kW | 10,5 | 5 kW | 10 kW | 75156,50 | 7157,76 | 6000 cycles at 80% Depth of Discharge | LFP |
| Hubble AM-10 | 10 | 7.2 kW | 7.2 kW | 74251,00 | 7425,10 | 6000 cycles at 80% Depth of Discharge | LFP |
| Freedom Won Lite Home 10/8 | 10 | 10 kW | 10 kW | 74251,00 | 7425,10 | 10 years or 4000 cycles | LFP |
| Blue Nova BN39V-280-10.9k HC | 10,9 | 9.36 kW | 11.7 kW | 65196,00 | 5981,28 | 7000 cycles at 70% Depth of Discharge | LFP |
| Pylontech 10.5 kWh Battery bank: 3 x 3.5kWh | 10,5 | 5.6 kW | 10.5 kW | 68818,00 | 6554,10 | 7 years | LFP |
What we have NOT done is a comparison between the different levels of technical support offered by the various manufacturers. Being without a battery for any length of time in South Africa translates to pain and lost money.
BUT, we can say that for Nelson Mandlea Bay residents (Gqeberha, Kariega and Despatch) their needs when it comes to Sunsynk batteries will be attended to by a local business providing technical support and repairs to all local suppliers and installers.
Sunsynk identified that they needed a Sunsynk Technical Support center in Nelson Mandela Bay and appointed Straton Solar to do the support on behalf of local suppliers and installers.
Any Sunsynk Lithium-Ion battery that goes faulty can now be serviced locally – offering quicker turnaround times.
The technical center is a B2B center and only deals with local suppliers who sell Sunsynk Batteries to local installers. In other words, if you have a Sunsynk Battery with a problem then your local installer will package it up and either drop the battery off with the supplier or get authorisation to drop it off directly at the Technical Center.