Sonnen’s new battery for solar self-consumption could succeed in US

(credit: sonnen)

German battery company Sonnen never made the grand splash in the US that Tesla made with its Powerwall. But the company has ambitions to match its US-native rival. Sonnen opened up its US headquarters in Los Angeles just this past January, at first selling a $10,000 battery called the “eco protect,” which offered off-grid capabilities to homeowners that wanted a backup in case of emergency.

This week, Sonnen announced a new stationary storage battery called the eco compact—a 4kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery that homeowners can buy for self consumption, not just for backup power. The eco compact can be expanded by purchasing additional modules in 4kWh increments up to 16kWh. The base unit costs $5,950 plus installation, which Green Tech Media estimates would fall in the range of $900 to $3,000.

But Sonnen’s base price includes an inverter, and it guarantees the battery for up to 10,000 cycles, which could put it close to competitive with Tesla’s 7kWh Powerwall (which is actually only a 6.4kWh battery, according to the most recent specifications). SolarCity estimates Tesla’s Powerwalls cost about $7,340 after installation and the purchase of an inverter, but Tesla also only guarantees its Powerwall for 10 years or, according to an Australian warranty Green Tech Media cites, just 5,000 cycles. (Of course, this all could change in the coming months—rumor is that Tesla is gearing up to launch Powerwall 2.0 soon.)

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