Sonnen solar batteries reviews

Sonnen is a German brand that has attracted quite a bit of attention in Australia, partly due to manufacturing (well, assembling) batteries here - in South Australia.

Founded in 2010, Sonnen GmBH was one of the first suppliers of lithium ion solar batteries for home use in Germany.

About sonnenBatterie Eco

The company's flagship product line is the sonnenBatterie Eco (yes, the weird caps situation is annoying), which translated simply means 'sun battery' - clever, huh? For some reason, things always sound cooler in German.

The sonnenBatterie is an all-in-one unit - sort of. It includes AC battery inverter built-in but requires a solar inverter. The unit can be AC coupled or DC Coupled with 3-phase hybrid variant.

Various capacities are available, for example the 9.43 - which  actually has 15kWh nominal capacity, 13.5kWh of which is usable (same as Powerwall 2). The 9.43 has pretty low power output capabilities, a maximum 3.3kW.

You can view more specifications on our battery comparison table.

SonnenFlat

Sonnen battery owners in NSW, QLD (Energex region), SA, ACT, TAS and VIC have the option of joining sonnenFlat, which enables them to receive a guaranteed annual allowance of electricity from the mains grid for a fixed monthly fee, with supply charge included.

Pricey Batteries, But Okay

At the prices Sonnen charges, its batteries (like many others) currently won’t pay for themselves under realistic conditions within the warranty period (10 years or 10,000 cycles, whichever comes first) if purchased directly from the company.

Cheaper prices can be had from the company's partners; but you'll still need to crunch the numbers to determine if a Sonnen battery is right for you financially-speaking. 

A significant reduction in cost would certainly help Sonnen achieve its stated vision of a "world in which everyone is able to cover their energy needs with decentralised and clean energy sources".

Another disadvantage, depending on your situation, is the sonnenBatterie Eco is indoor-rated only - it can't be installed outside. Other than that, we haven't found much to complain about, except for some of Sonnen's claims from time to time that we've found to have been a little optimistic.

The product is good and the company seems stable - so if you're happy to fork out the extra cash and are aware of its limitations, a Sonnen battery could be a suitable energy storage solution in your situation, and you'll be helping to support Australian jobs too.

If you're an Australian Sonnen owner, your opinion of your system would be valued by other visitors this page - please leave your rating and review.