Alpha-ESS - Battery Reviews

About Alpha-ESS

AlphaESS is a Chinese battery manufacturer founded in 2012. It opened an Australian subsidiary in 2015 and has been supplying home batteries here ever since. 

Australian Office Contact Details

AlphaESS has had an Australian office since 2015, and its current location is in Homebush West in Sydney, across the tracks from Paddy's market. Contact details are:

AlphaESS Office: 31 Richmond Road, Homebush West, NSW 2140

Phone: 02 9000 7676

Email: [email protected]

Technical support & warranty: [email protected]

AlphaESS Batteries

Most AlphaESS units have a built-in hybrid inverter. This allows a home's solar panels to be connected to the system, so the panels and battery share the same inverter. They also have a system with a battery inverter rather than a hybrid inverter. This is designed to be used with any existing solar system.   

Like almost every home battery system, AlphaESS has lithium iron phosphate batteries. These are a popular choice due to their durability and low cost.

AlphaESS offers a wide range of residential battery systems, including hybrid inverters that connect directly to solar panels and AC-coupled batteries designed for retrofitting to existing solar systems. It's single-phase systems commonly have 5 kW inverters, while its three-phase SMILE-G3 range includes 5, 10, 15, and 20 kW models. Storage capacity depends on the system and battery modules selected. Many models can provide backup power during blackouts, provided the installation is configured for it.

AlphaESS Warranty

AlphaESS used to provide a 10-year battery performance warranty, but only a 5-year warranty on the electronics in many of its SMILE systems. 

For the models covered by its revised Australian warranty, installed from 1 November 2024, AlphaESS increased the product warranty to 10years. The battery performance warranty also runs for up to 10 years and guarantees at least 70% of usable battery capacity, but is subject to a throughput limit of 3,120 kWh discharged for each kWh of usable battery capacity. At one full cycle per day, this limit would be reached after approximately 8.5 years.

Warranty conditions vary with the model and installation date, so buyers should check the warranty covering their particular system.

As for how strong the warranty backing is, we're aware of a situation where an Australian customer battled for months with AlphaESS over a Storion OF5 warranty claim; which resulted in the owner sending a letter of complaint to the ACCC and Office of Fair Trading. 

If you're an AlphaESS battery owner, we'd really appreciate you adding your review by clicking the button towards the top of this page.