Sonnen’s latest home energy storage solution sees significant price drop

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Lux reseach analyst Christopher Robinson said the cost would be aorund US$1700/kWh. Credit: Sonnen
German energy storage hardware and services provider Sonnen has released a new residential solar battery system including self-learning software and grid-tied functions.

The sonnenBatterie eco compact is designed to increase household solar self-consumption, help managing time-of-use and support grid services, but it does not include backup power.

Sonnen claims the 4kWh battery systems are available for up to 40% of the cost of its other storage offerings at US$5,950. The price includes inverter, battery modules with a 10,000 cycle lifetime, smart energy manager and measurement technology, but not installation.

Christopher Robinson, research associate at Lux Research, told Energy-Storage.News: “The system cost is cheaper than Sonnen’s previous systems, but on a US$/kWh basis this is still not quite competitive with others such as Tesla.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“Tesla’s kWh battery retails for US$3,000, but with installation and power electronics the price is closer to US$6,200. Adding installation costs to Sonnen’s system, it will only achieve US$1700/kWh compared to Tesla’s US$1,000/kWh. “

Due to its modular design, the battery can be scaled up in 4kWh additions up to 16kWh in one unit.

The battery helps to store solar energy generated during the day and to reduce use of energy from the grid during peak times.

Robinson said it was not unusual for the backup function to be removed since many developers had included this functionality to residential storage units and consumers reacted with very little interest.

He added: “Tesla originally announced a 10kWh backup unit, but cancelled it due to low orders. In many target markets for stationary storage, such as the US and Europe, there are too few power outages to make backup power enough of a benefit.”

The eco compact batteries are now available for pre-order with products due to ship by the end of 2016.

Boris von Bormann, chief executive of sonnen, said: “We’ve seen increasing demand from our installation partners for a lower cost energy storage product that enables homeowners to use more of the power generated by rooftop solar systems.

“With the sonnenBatterie eco compact we are providing a simple, cost-effective version of our proven energy management technology that enables more solar-powered homeowners to supply up to 100% of their own power needs. As a result we expect to see a dramatic increase in the installation of storage across the country”.

Read Next

August 19, 2025
Hithium has partnered with The Imperial Electric Company to deliver 1GWh of energy storage across Pakistan’s residential and C&I sectors.
August 14, 2025
Governor of Maryland, US, Wes Moore, has announced a US$2 million initiative to make battery storage more accessible for residents and business owners in the state.
Premium
August 13, 2025
Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with the co-founder and chief products officer of microinverter and home energy storage system supplier Enphase Energy, Raghu Belur, to discuss the domestic content of its systems and the company’s latest earnings report.
August 11, 2025
A 535MW fleet of aggregated household battery storage systems, including Tesla Powerwalls, effectively reduced net load on the California grid in a recent test event.  
Premium
June 25, 2025
Energy storage virtual power plant (VPP) provider Sonnen has launched its first VPP in Canada with utility Epcor, electric retail provider Solartility, the University of Alberta and construction company Landmark Homes.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter