{"id":25783,"date":"2018-12-05T11:30:24","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T01:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=25783"},"modified":"2025-12-18T16:07:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T06:37:15","slug":"alpha-ess-battery-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Alpha ESS Battery Review: Everything You Need To Know About The Storion-SMILE"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_26327\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26327\" class=\"wp-image-26327 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Alpha-ESS-review.jpg\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Battery Review\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Alpha-ESS-review.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Alpha-ESS-review-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Alpha-ESS-review-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Alpha-ESS-review-1024x536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-26327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alpha ESS Storion SMILE battery is the second battery eligible for the SA Battery &#8216;rebate&#8217;. But is it worth considering?<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Update: SQ&#8217;s in-house installer, Anthony, has more recently written about the Alpha ESS SMILE5 battery <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review-2\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alpha-ess.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alpha ESS<\/a> is a Chinese manufacturer of home battery systems.\u00a0 Because they have promised to do some assembly in Adelaide they are now the second company eligible to receive South Australia&#8217;s substantial home battery subsidy, as reported by\u00a0Michael\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-subsidy-mb0825\/\">here<\/a>. More batteries will become eligible in January.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>According to the South Australian Government&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energymining.sa.gov.au\/consumers\/solar-and-batteries\/hbs-closed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Home Battery Scheme site<\/a>, there are two models of Alpha ESS battery system eligible at this time &#8212; the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW and the Storion-SMILE5.\u00a0 But Alpha ESS has told me these two models are almost identical.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-1' id='enref-25783-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>1<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 They have the following features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From 5.5 up to 33 kilowatt-hours of usable storage when new.\u00a0 Currently available systems have 5.5, 11, and 16.5 kilowatt-hours of usable storage.<\/li>\n<li>Power output of 2.8 kilowatts for a system with 5.5 kilowatt-hours of usable storage and 4.6 kilowatts for all larger ones.<\/li>\n<li>A built in 4.6 kilowatt hybrid inverter.\u00a0 This makes it an all-in-one system and rooftop solar panels can be connected directly to it.<\/li>\n<li>It can also be AC coupled and operate alongside any existing home solar system and solar inverter.<\/li>\n<li>When solar panels are directly attached to its hybrid inverter it can charge its batteries with them during a blackout and also function as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).<\/li>\n<li>It&#8217;s suitable for outdoor or indoor installation.<\/li>\n<li>The inverter and any components other then the battery modules have a 5 year warranty.\u00a0 The battery modules have a 10 year warranty when used for self consumption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The number of companies in South Australia that can sell subsided Alpha ESS systems is rapidly increasing.\u00a0 Last week there were two and today there are six.\u00a0 I contacted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installer-review\/suntrix\/\">Suntrix<\/a> because they were one of the first and they were kind enough to tell me their pre-subsidy and post-subsidy prices for a fully installed Storion-SMILE-B5 GW with the following amounts of usable storage:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>5.5 kilowatt-hours:\u00a0 $9,042 without subsidy, $6,192 after SA subsidy or $5,622 for concession holders.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-2' id='enref-25783-2' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>2<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>11 kilowatt-hours:\u00a0 $13,992 without subsidy, $8,292 after SA subsidy or $7,142 for concession holders.<\/li>\n<li>16.5 kilowatt-hours:\u00a0 $17,220 without subsidy, $11,220 after SA subsidy.\u00a0 (No change for concession holders.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This makes Alpha ESS much cheaper than the alternative eligible systems from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sonnen-battery-update-review\/\">Sonnen<\/a><sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-3' id='enref-25783-3' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>3<\/a><\/sup>, but their warranty is not as good.\u00a0 Note that even with the SA subsidy your home will need a high enough overnight electricity consumption and a large enough solar system for a battery to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sa-battery-subsidy-savings\/\">cost effective<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_26294\" style=\"width: 344px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26294\" class=\"wp-image-26294 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smile.jpg\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE\" width=\"334\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smile.jpg 334w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smile-300x269.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 334px) 100vw, 334px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-26294\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Well, what do you know?\u00a0 Alpha ESS has managed to make a battery system smile.\u00a0 (Image:\u00a0 Alpha ESS)<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Company Information<\/h2>\n<p>Alpha ESS was founded in 2012 and its headquarters are in the Chinese city of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nantong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nantong<\/a>.\u00a0 Currently more than 10,000 of their residential and commercial battery systems have been installed worldwide, with thousands of them in Australia.\u00a0 They have an office in Sydney and presumably will have one in Adelaide any second now.<\/p>\n<p>The battery modules Alpha ESS uses are manufactured by the Chinese company <a href=\"http:\/\/en.evebattery.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EVE<\/a> which stands for Energy Very Endure.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-4' id='enref-25783-4' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>4<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 This company was founded in 2001 and is a large manufacturer of batteries for Chinese electric cars and other purposes.\u00a0 Their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.evebattery.com\/about\/common_394.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">company song<\/a> is awesome.<\/p>\n<h2>The Battery Module Is On The CEC Approved List<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clean Energy Council<\/a> has recently created a list of approved energy storage devices and the battery module Alpha ESS uses in their Storion-SMILE-B5-GW is right at the top!\u00a0 There is only one reason why the CEC gave it the number one position and that is because the list is in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26166 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/cecapprovedlist.gif\" alt=\"CEC approved energy storage devices\" width=\"1828\" height=\"178\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you want to see what other systems are on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CWo_3CIcTBQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">little list<\/a>, it can be downloaded <a href=\"http:\/\/www.solaraccreditation.com.au\/products\/energy-storage-devices\/battery-assurance-program.html\">from this page<\/a>.\u00a0 Being on the list does not mean a system will work perfectly without any problems, but it does mean it should meet Australian standards and be safe.\u00a0 By safe, I mean safe in the way I have no problem typing this with my fingers only centimeters away from a potentially explosive lithium laptop battery\u00a0 I also have no fear of putting a phone with a lithium battery into my pants or shoving it against my face.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-5' id='enref-25783-5' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>5<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 But while we usually consider them to be safe, laptop and phone batteries do explode on rare occasions so you can&#8217;t be 100% certain your battery system will be safe.\u00a0 But hopefully you will be no more likely to die from a home battery exploding or catching on fire than you are from being killed by a short circuit in your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/air-conditioning\/\">air conditioner<\/a> or a ceiling fan falling on your head.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"NASA Lithium Ion Battery Explosion\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o6iYxd9lJpA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>There&#8217;s not a lot of money to be made in selling battery systems that kill people, but to be on the safe side you should only buy batteries that are on the CEC approved list.\u00a0 If it&#8217;s not on the list I wouldn&#8217;t touch it with a 10 foot pole.\u00a0 Not unless the pole was well insulated.<\/p>\n<h2>Problems With The Alpha ESS Website<\/h2>\n<p>Alpha ESS appears quite proud their systems can receive the South Australian Battery subsidy during the exclusive period that lasts until the end of this year&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26183 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/aprovider.jpg\" alt=\"Alpha ESS website\" width=\"1000\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/aprovider.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/aprovider-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/aprovider-768x326.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Goddammit Alpha ESS!\u00a0 Despite what the screenshot above from your site says, you are only <strong>A<\/strong> provider, not <strong>THE<\/strong> provider.\u00a0 Does Sonnen, the German company whose battery systems can also currently receive the subsidy, know you are saying stuff like this?\u00a0 Trust me, you don&#8217;t want to go picking fights with Germans.\u00a0 My grandfather lost a fight to some Germans and they took over his entire country.<\/p>\n<p>While only the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW is available at the moment, there are 5 different battery systems in the image above.\u00a0 On the page that is specifically about the SA battery subsidy they show 4 systems.\u00a0 Each has a trio of brown, origami looking Australias above it, which make it look as though they don&#8217;t know where Adelaide is.\u00a0 It instead seems to be emphasizing the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 You need to be on the grid to get the subsidy and geographically-speaking, there is only grid in the south-east of the state.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26257 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/sasystems1.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE battery range\" width=\"1237\" height=\"597\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can see on the image above it says the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW is a 5 kilowatt battery system which most people would reasonably mean it can supply 5 kilowatts of AC power.\u00a0 But according to its inverter technical specifications, its maximum AC output is only 4.6 kilowatts.<\/p>\n<h2>Technical Specifications &#8212; Battery Module<\/h2>\n<p>Here are the technical specifications of the EVE battery module the Storion-SMILE5 systems use:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26262 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/battspecs.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE-B5-GW battery module specifications\" width=\"743\" height=\"827\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you look at the weight, you can see at 65 kg the modules are pretty heavy.\u00a0 A system with three of them may weigh even more than I do.<\/p>\n<h2>Technical Specifications &#8212; Inverter<\/h2>\n<p>Here are the technical specifications of the hybrid inverter in the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26265 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/invertspecs.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE battery inverter specifications\" width=\"782\" height=\"1035\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Battery Chemistry<\/h2>\n<p>The battery modules are lithium iron phosphate, which is the safest type of lithium battery technology.\u00a0 But just because a battery system uses the least dangerous chemistry doesn&#8217;t mean it will be the least dangerous system.\u00a0 It will depend on how well it&#8217;s designed and how reliable its components are.\u00a0 It&#8217;s like the difference between petrol and diesel cars.\u00a0 Diesel is a safer fuel, but a petrol Volvo is always going to be less dangerous than a diesel trabant.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"3 Liter Auto Trabant Diesel\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-h5j5ryH04A?start=7&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>That said, until we have a better idea of who makes the safest systems, if safety is a major concern you are better off going with the safer chemistry.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy Storage Capacity<\/h2>\n<p>The EVE battery modules the Storion-SMILE5 uses have a nominal capacity of 5.7 kilowatt hours and can have a depth of discharge of up to 96%.\u00a0 This makes the effective storage capacity of each module 5.5 kilowatt-hours.\u00a0 As a system can have 1 to 6 modules the total usable storage capacity can range from 5.5 to 33 kilowatt-hours.\u00a0 Currently only systems with 1 to 3 modules are on offer in South Australia.\u00a0 These give usable capacities of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 module = 5.5 kilowatt-hours<\/li>\n<li>2 modules = 11 kilowatt-hours<\/li>\n<li>3 modules = 16.5 kilowatt-hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But if you want more than this and don&#8217;t mind paying extra for battery modules that won&#8217;t be subsidised, you should be able to get extra ones.<\/p>\n<h2>Power<\/h2>\n<p>Unfortunately, the descriptions given on the Alpha ESS website don&#8217;t make it clear to the casual reader how much power the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW can provide.\u00a0 The number &#8220;5&#8221; figures prominently in its name and their site they straight out say it&#8217;s a 5 kilowatt system:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26248 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/not5kw.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE - 5kW?\" width=\"290\" height=\"123\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Most people would quite reasonably conclude this refers to the system&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/glossary.html#ac\">AC<\/a> power output.\u00a0 But if you look at the battery technical specifications above you can see its maximum charge and discharge rate is give as 56 A or 0.5C:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26263 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/maxcharge.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE charge and discharge current\" width=\"743\" height=\"76\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This mean it can only charge and discharge at a maximum of half the battery&#8217;s nominal capacity of 5.7 kilowatt-hours.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-6' id='enref-25783-6' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>6<\/a><\/sup> So a system with one battery module will only be able to supply around 2.85 kilowatts of continuous power.\u00a0 But this will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/glossary.html#dc\">DC<\/a> power and not the AC power homes use.\u00a0 If the inverter&#8217;s average efficiency of 97% applies then 2.85 kilowatts of DC power will be reduced to 2.76 kilowatts of AC power.<\/p>\n<p>A battery system with 2 or more modules will be able to supply more power but it will be limited by the 4.6 kilowatt AC output of its inverter.<\/p>\n<h2>DC Coupling<\/h2>\n<p>As an all-in-one system the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW can be DC coupled.\u00a0 This involves connecting rooftop solar panels to its built in hybrid inverter as shown in this illustration from the Alpha ESS site:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26284 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/dcc.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE battery DC coupling\" width=\"911\" height=\"473\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you are installing a new solar system this can save you the cost of a standard solar inverter and so the system may be better value than it first appears.\u00a0 In this configuration the battery system can provide backup power during a blackout.<\/p>\n<h2>AC Coupling<\/h2>\n<p>If you already have a solar system installed it may be more convenient to AC couple the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW as shown below.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26288 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/acc.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE battery AC coupling\" width=\"902\" height=\"493\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With this arrangement the battery system will be able to function no matter what type of solar inverter is already installed or what the solar panel capacity is.\u00a0 But if the solar capacity isn&#8217;t large you may have difficulty charging your battery.\u00a0 Unless there are special circumstances it won&#8217;t be able to provide backup power in this configuration.<\/p>\n<h2>Hybrid<\/h2>\n<p>It is possible, although uncommon, to combine DC coupling and AC coupling:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26291 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/hc.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE battery hybrid coupling\" width=\"903\" height=\"492\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This could potentially be done where there is an existing solar power system you wish to keep but you want additional solar capacity to help charge your batteries.<\/p>\n<h2>Backup Power<\/h2>\n<p>When solar panels are directly attached to the Storion-SMILE-B5-GW&#8217;s hybrid inverter it is able to provide full backup and charge its batteries from the solar panels during the day.\u00a0 It also functions as an Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS.\u00a0 This means when a blackout occurs electrical devices that are able to draw on the power supplied by the battery should not have their functioning interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>During a blackout the maximum amount of AC power the inverter can supply is 4 kilowatts.<\/p>\n<p>When AC coupled the Storion-SMILE won&#8217;t be able to provide backup power except in the unlikely situation where the existing solar inverter is a hybrid that can allow the home to operate off-grid.<\/p>\n<h2>Weight &amp; Dimensions<\/h2>\n<p>With 2 battery modules and 11 kilowatt-hours of usable storage the SMILE-B5-GW will be 180cm tall, 25cm deep, and 60cm across.\u00a0 Or at least it is according to one set of figures from the Alpha ESS site.\u00a0 According to another set it&#8217;s just a little larger.\u00a0 Each additional battery module will increase its original size by one-third.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26330 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smiledimensions.jpg\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion-SMILE-B5-GW dimensions\" width=\"459\" height=\"455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smiledimensions.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smiledimensions-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smiledimensions-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/smiledimensions-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Each battery module weighs 65kg and the inverter is 58kg, so a system with 11 kilowatt-hours of usable storage should weigh 188kg.<\/p>\n<h2>Installation Location<\/h2>\n<p>The SMILE-B5-GW is able to withstand rain and can be located indoors or outdoors.\u00a0 It is best to keep it out of the sun to prevent it getting too hot to operate.<\/p>\n<h2>Operating Temperature<\/h2>\n<p>The system is able to operate normally at temperatures from 0 to 40 degrees.\u00a0 From 0 down to -10 degrees and from 40 up to 50 degrees the batteries will still be able to charge and discharge, but at a reduced rate.\u00a0 In most of Australia reduced power output could be an issue during heatwaves.\u00a0 And in some parts of Australia it could be an issue during coldwaves.<\/p>\n<h2>The Warranty<\/h2>\n<p>The Australian warranty can be downloaded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alpha-ess.com\/Web\/Download.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this page<\/a>.\u00a0 The warranty for the inverter and everything that isn&#8217;t a battery module is 5 years.\u00a0 The warranty for the batteries is better and promises they will retain a minimum of 80% of their original capacity after 10 years, but only if certain conditions are met:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The system has an internet connection.<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review\/#en-25783-7' id='enref-25783-7' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(25783)'>7<\/a><\/sup><\/li>\n<li>The batteries are used for &#8220;self-consumption&#8221; only.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the system isn&#8217;t connected to the internet, then the battery warranty will only be for 3 years and Alpha ESS says if you want to make a claim either you or the installer will have to arrange an inspection of the system at your own cost.\u00a0 But under Australian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accc.gov.au\/business\/treating-customers-fairly\/consumers-rights-obligations#compensation-for-damages-amp-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Consumer Guarantees<\/a> it is possible to claim for reasonably foreseeable damage and loss and this would include the cost of having a system that fails to operate correctly inspected.<\/p>\n<p>While they don&#8217;t give a precise definition of &#8220;self-consumption&#8221;, presumably this means the battery is only discharged to meet household needs.\u00a0 This strongly suggests the battery cannot be used as part of a Virtual Power Plant and still receive the full 10 year warranty.\u00a0 When I mentioned this to ESS they told me that their battery systems were already being used as part of a Virtual Power Plant in NSW and they would update their warranty.\u00a0 But as it currently stands now, it states that when not used for self-consumption:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26217\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/otherapps.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"866\" height=\"70\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This condition means if you don&#8217;t use the battery only for &#8220;self-consumption&#8221; and you cycle it an average of 80% or less of its nominal capacity per day, as many households are likely to do, then the warranty will last the full 10 years.\u00a0 But if you cycle it an average of once per day the warranty will only last for 8 years.<\/p>\n<p>I find it interesting that outside the &#8220;self-consumption&#8221; condition they will only provide a warranty equal to 2,920 cycles when the battery module&#8217;s datasheet states its cycle life is 10,000:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26270 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/cyclelife.gif\" alt=\"Alpha ESS Storion Smile battery cycle life\" width=\"623\" height=\"75\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They have an asterisk next to it that says it&#8217;s &#8220;Under specific test conditions&#8221;, but that&#8217;s not much of an out.\u00a0 No one buys a home battery\u00a0 system to operate it under specific test conditions.\u00a0 If they were confident their battery system would last close to 10,000 cycles, its warranty would reflect it.<\/p>\n<p>As Alpha ESS has said they will update the warranty, if you get one of their systems, I strongly recommend checking if the warranty will be affected by joining a Virtual Power Plant.<\/p>\n<h2>They Should Make The Warranty 10 Years For The Entire System<\/h2>\n<p>Hopefully in the near future Alpha ESS will offer a 10 year warranty for the entire system.\u00a0 At the moment the inverter could fail after 7 years and leave the owner to puzzle over if it would be worthwhile to pay to have the inverter replaced for the sake of batteries that will be out of warranty in 3 years time.\u00a0 A full 10 year warranty will avoid these situations and make the decision to invest in a system easier.\u00a0 This should increase sales.<\/p>\n<h2>Double Check What You Are Getting<\/h2>\n<p>I found the Alpha ESS website difficult to follow and confusing at times.\u00a0 Because it&#8217;s not completely clear it&#8217;s important to double check with your installer that you are getting exactly what you expect and that it will suit your needs.\u00a0 I expect that as Alpha ESS increases their presence in Australia their communication ability will improve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update: SQ&#8217;s in-house installer, Anthony, has more recently written about the Alpha ESS SMILE5 battery here. Alpha ESS is a Chinese manufacturer of home battery systems.\u00a0 Because they have promised to do some assembly in Adelaide they are now the second company eligible to receive South Australia&#8217;s substantial home battery subsidy, as reported by\u00a0Michael\u00a0here. More [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battery-storage","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alpha ESS Battery Review: Does The Storion-SMILE Look Any Good?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A review of prices, specifications and other information 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This is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AlphaESS battery warranty complaint","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-company-ethics.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-company-ethics.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-company-ethics.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-company-ethics.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-company-ethics.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89465,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/home-battery-spam-mb3114\/","url_meta":{"origin":25783,"position":2},"title":"Home Battery Snail Mail Spam Still Doing The Rounds","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"February 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A home battery fully installed for $2,880 sounds like a real bargain. But what do you get for that price? A couple of weeks ago, we received a letter at home. A real letter; printed on paper, in an envelope and all. After pushing the spiders in the mailbox out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snail mail home battery offers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/battery-offer-mail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/battery-offer-mail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/battery-offer-mail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/battery-offer-mail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/battery-offer-mail.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73300,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-battery-review-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":25783,"position":3},"title":"Alpha ESS Battery Review: An Unforgettable Installation Experience","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"July 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Alpha ESS battery: hailed by many, criticised by others. Established in China in 2012, Alpha's surge in popularity across the Australian market has many of us asking if these batteries are a fantastic bargain or asking for trouble. Through my journey of installing various models, including the SMILE5 series,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Battery Storage&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/alpha-ess-review.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/alpha-ess-review.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/alpha-ess-review.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/alpha-ess-review.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/alpha-ess-review.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33803,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/alpha-ess-adelaide-vpp-mb1228\/","url_meta":{"origin":25783,"position":4},"title":"Alpha-ESS Opens New SA Battery Assembly Facility, Partners On VPP","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar battery manufacturer Alpha-ESS is pumping up production at a new assembly plant in Adelaide's south and also partnering in a new virtual power plant (VPP). The new facility is in Lonsdale, which is primarily an industrial suburb situated approximately 26 kilometres south of Adelaide's CBD. 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And this wisdom certainly applies to home batteries. Solar batteries have become increasingly attractive due to skyrocketing electricity rates and feed-in tariffs less generous than they once were. 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