Sonnen solar batteries reviews
Based on 55 ratings Aus Ranking
- 5 star 46
- 4 star 6
- 3 star 0
- 2 star 2
- 1 star 1
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Sonnen is a German brand that has attracted quite a bit of attention in Australia, partly due to manufacturing (well, assembling) batteries in South Australia (at one point - not currently).
Founded in 2010, Sonnen GmBH was one of the first suppliers of lithium ion solar batteries for home use in Germany. These days, sonnen is 100% owned by Shell (Shell Overseas Investment B.V.).
About sonnenBatterie Evo
Unveiled in early December 2021, the sonnen Evo battery offers 10 kilowatt-hours of usable storage and 5 kilowatts continuous power. Aside from a power boost compared to sonnen's previous home battery, other improvements include the Evo can be installed outdoors and has built-in backup capabilities. Available since 2022, you can learn more about sonnen's latest home energy storage product in our sonnenBatterie Evo review.
About sonnenBatterie Eco
Sonnen's flagship product prior to the Evo was 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 Eco 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, but the arrival of the Evo solves that. 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 products are 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.
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.
Sonnen Solar Battery Reviews
Great If Working
I really enjoyed my SonnenBatterie Eco 3 after it was installed in 2019. The monitoring app was fantastic but it was dumbed-down a year or so ago with functionality much reduced eg battery discharging data removed from consumption graphs. Then in August 2023 the inverter failed. It tooks weeks for Sonnen to respond to emails etc and 9.5 weeks for the replacement to be installed (Covid/parts shortage/ backlog etc). Then in May 2024 the replacement inverter failed. Again weeks before Sonnen even acknowledged there was a problem. It has been inoperative now for 7 weeks with no date set for the repair (parts shortage/backlog/internal changes etc). I was previously willing to put up with the terrible customer service because of the perceived quality of the Sonnen equipment. However now I'm doubting the latter is the case. I can not now recommend Sonnen.Show additional information
Bought From: Variety Solar Pty Ltd Show additional information
Bought From: Solaire Connect Show additional information
Bought From: Kozco Energy Group Show additional information
We now need to find an energy retailer that pays a better feed in price than AGL.
Bought From: Energy Buster Show additional information
Bought From: Solar Dynamics Show additional information
Bought From: Helcro Solar Show additional information
It has been some weeks since the team completed the battery install, and well, what can we say about the experience? Go for it! We are not regretting our decision!
Throughout the entire process, Kik Electrics, and the very supportive Justin Raymond, were great! Justin provided us with the full information and knowledge that we required to gain the most from installing a battery/backup system. He also coped very well with all of our questions!! Justin was also very supportive regarding the application to the then relevant Victorian rebate scheme. The installation team were diligent, informative, and completed the install with minimal disruption. They provided post fitting knowledge on how to operate the system to maximize the efficiency with our expected use. They were efficient and friendly and really did tidy up, and left our place spotless.
If anyone out there is looking for a competent, capable, informative, and supportive team, you will not go wrong with Kik Electrics!!
Bought From: KIK Electrics Pty Ltd Show additional information
Bought From: Essential Solar Show additional information
Bought From: Ingot Energy Show additional information
Great outdoor house battery
Bought as part of a package with additional solar panels, and with a $1,000 cashback offer (ended Aug 2023), this was installed swiftly, with minimum interruption. Guided through a little set-up to get the web-based comms working (battery location was a long way from the router, but installer and I came up with a solution, which didn't cost me any extra.Battery charges quickly in the morning, no problem with how it discharges either - quick when we're cooking or washing, a slow drain when it's just keeping the fridge running.
App is great, giving an overall picture of solar panels, battery, and grid, which we use daily to help determine when/if to run appliances to minimise drawing from the grid.
Love that we can set the battery minimum from the app, so we can have this low in the winter, but increase it when the risk of brownouts rises in the summer.
Haven't had an opportunity to see how it performs when the grid goes down, other than proving it works when it was installed.
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Excellent Battery for the home.
Reliably charges from our solar system and automatically discharges when the house load increases above the solar capability.It really maximizes self-consumption and the monitoring App gives a neat diagram of the system flows, in kW's with another screen showing overall production,consumption, and battery %. The screen shows instantaneous peaks in consumption which allows you to see how much appliances such as kettles use.
Very few blackouts occur in our area and I have set a reserve of 10% in the battery.
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Bought From: Tindo Solar Show additional information
However our move to one energy source, electricity and that source rapidly increasing in costs, I believe the time is right to install now to avoid additional peak rate costs.
So far the battery has proven to meet / match our evening peak load for meal preparation and air conditioning, helping us to make our home comfortable at no additional operating costs.
Bought From: RK Solar And Consulting NSW Show additional information
Awful product, does not work no customer service other than lip service
The battery does not charge. All Sonnen does is run analytics from Adelaide. They have not sent anyone to inspect/fix the battery, so this is now costing me money as the weather warms up.As it has now got a bit hard their customer service does not respond at all. But they will contact you if you turn their app off to say 'your battery has gone offline'.
I would not recommend this product to anyone.
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Bought From: Sapphire Solar Show additional information
Bought From: Solar Wholesalers SA Show additional information
Reliable solid performer
Got the 9.43 Eco 7.5kwh unit in Dec 2018 after having a 3.8kw micro inverter array installed in Dec 2014.Started benefiting from using our own power during the day in spring/summer months & with some left to use at nights.
Recently installed 3 more panels taking us to 5kw array - immediately noticed more battery uptake.
Plan to increase battery to max 15kwh module very soon, now we can fill it more easily - should give us more of our own power left to use on hot summer nights.
Very happy with this Battery which has performed flawlessly since installation.
Prior to our Battery, we were selling most of our power to the provider for 7c/kwh & buying it back from them when we were home at night for 27c/kwh !
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Love the app, can easily track remotely
Sonnen monitoring made contact when battery offline
Bought From: Kozco Energy Group Show additional information
Bought From: Solar Wholesalers Show additional information
Bought From: Green Solar Energy NSW Show additional information
Bought From: Smart Energy Answers Sydney O Show additional information
near 3 years on
We originally installed a 10 kW-Hr system in Aug 2018, and expanded to 14 kW-Hr in Aug 2020. The system has worked well for 2.5 years, and apart from a glitch when Sonnen upgraded the firmware, it has been very reliableThe monitoring app provides all the detail we need on power generated, used to charge the battery, exported to grit, consumed locally.
We also participate in the SonnenConnect VPP, which more than pays for itself. Overall, with the generated power, battery usage and VPP fee we receive, our overall power bill is around $0 per year (down from $4500 per year prior to solar)
The only downside is that it does not provide backup during grid outages, which thankfully are not a common event
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Bought From: Natural Solar Show additional information
Bought From: RK Solar And Consulting NSW Show additional information
Sonnen battery
Great product, neat and trouble free installation.Had it for 20 months and had no issue, and the battery has wonderfully optimised my self-consumption. Sizing is perfect for us as in summer when battery is fully charged it does not get fully discharged overnight. In winter I often don’t have enough power to fully charge battery.
The App provides a good summary of the data on daily, monthly and yearly level.
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Bought From: RK Solar And Consulting NSW Show additional information
Bought From: Natural Solar Show additional information
Bought From: DQ Electrical Show additional information
Bought From: NRG Solar SA Show additional information