Sonnen will start selling its energy storage systems in Australia, and a complete solar/storage solution via its partner True Value Solar. This whole system includes the battery storage, energy management, an inverter, and solar panels. Sonnen battery systems will be available in sizes ranging from 2 kWh to 16 kWh. They can also be expanded further in 2 kWh increments. The typical size for a home may be 8-10 kWh.
“Australians are excited about the opportunities for self-consumption and energy storage right now. With our sonnenBatterie we can offer them a real choice of becoming independent and using clean power for an affordable price,” explained Philipp Schröder, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Sonnen.
About 1.5 million homes in Australia have solar power, so it would seem to be a good market for energy storage products. (It has been estimated that about half could have energy storage technology by 2030.)
True Value has a page about the sonnenBatterie but it doesn’t have any cost information at this time.
One source reported that the price for a Sonnen battery system in the US was $9,900.
The Sonnen batteries have a 10,000-cycle guarantee, and use lithium-ion phosphate chemistry. One estimate indicated annual savings are possible when such a battery system is combined with home solar power, “At current electricity rates, a household with an annual usage of 3,500 kWh and 75 per cent self-consumption can save roughly €750 per year.*”
Sonnen has already shipped at least 10,000 battery systems. The company’s batteries come with software for intelligent energy management, and there is an app which can be run on a smart phone. Sonnen also has a community of its users in Europe. If customers join it, they can receive a €1,875 discount on a battery system and share electricity within the community. This option does not appear to be available in Australia, but it shows that Sonnen is not just a typical battery manufacturer.
A 5 kilowatt solar power system matched with a 7 kWh Tesla Powerwall installed in Australia was said to cost $16,000.
Image Credit: Sonnen
Don't want to miss a cleantech story? Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
