BYD solar batteries reviews

BYD stands for Build Your Dreams - and among BYD's many dreams is being the no.1 company for solar battery storage.

Headquartered in China, BYD has an impressive pedigree. Founded back in 1995 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002, it started out as a battery manufacturer and entered the automobile sector in 2003. That's the opposite of Tesla, which started out on electric vehicles and then moved into solar battery storage.

The company has built many of the million plus electric buses running around China (and many used elsewhere) - so it's had plenty of practice in developing EV and battery technology that gets a good workout. While many Australians may not have heard of the company, it's also one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

BYD Battery Box In Australia

In 2017, BYD brought the "B-Box" to Australia's battery battleground. These days it's known as the Battery Box. 

The BYD-produced battery modules are based on lithium-iron phosphate chemistry, which is currently the safest technology to use in a home energy storage system. BYD Battery-Box offers both high voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) battery models.

Compatible with inverter brands including Fronius, SMA, Goodwe, Victron, Sungrow, Selectronic and Solis hybrid inverters, these are modular systems available in varying capacities. For example, the BYD Battery-Box Premium HVM 13.8 offers 13.8 kWh of usable storage capacity, which is a tad more than the Tesla Powerwall's 13.5kWh . 

What is also more than the Powerwall is its weight - significantly so (205 kg for that config vs 125 kg), but home batteries aren't the type of thing you have to move around once in place.

If 13.8 kWh of usable capacity isn't enough for you, a HVM stack can be as much as 22.1kWh. Additionally,  direct parallel connection of up to 3 identical Battery-Box Premium HVM towers allows a maximum capacity of 66.2 kWh.

If using the BYD Battery-Box Premium LVS, 1 to 6 battery modules can be stacked in parallel offering up to 23.0 kWh usable capacity in one tower. Connecting up to 16 Battery-Box LVS 15.4 in parallel can be achieved, for a maximum capacity of 245.8 kWh.

But if you need that much storage for a household, then the police will probably also take an interest in what you're doing with it.

One of the standout features of the BYD B Box battery system is its power output - up to a very impressive 9.9kW depending on the model and configuration chosen. A compatible inverter enables DC coupling to solar and backup power during blackouts, and it can also be AC coupled.

Additional specifications of some BYD Battery Box models can be located on our solar battery comparison table.

BYD Battery Warranty

BYD warrants the B Box will retain either sixty percent of its usable capacity at ten years from the invoice date, or whenever it reaches its Minimum Throughput Energy, which varies between models/configurations - whatever comes first.

The company has an official service partner in Australia, so any warranty issues should hopefully be sorted out rapidly.

The SolarQuotes View

New generation home batteries still need some time in the field to get a better idea on how they will perform over the long term. But based on feedback from our installer clients, BYD is currently listed on our chart of solar battery brands we'd be happy to install on our own homes.

In SQ's Installers' Choice Awards 2023 for home batteries, BYD scored silver in both best battery and best value home battery brand categories, and bronze for best support.

If you have a BYD battery system, share your thoughts on it with other Australians by leaving a rating and review.