Finn's Alpha-ESS Batteries Review & Verdict
Finn Peaco*ck has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO
Alpha ESS make some of the cheapest battery systems approved for grid connection in Australia. If price is your only criteria when buying a battery system, then they are an option. But in my opinion, a low, low price should never be your only criteria when buying a home battery.
Feedback on Alpha ESS batteries from customers generally falls into two camps: 1) The battery is installed and working and they are happy with how little it cost. 2) They have had problems and are rather frustrated.
If I was looking for a cheaper battery, I'd personally choose to pay a bit more and get a Sungrow.
About Alpha-ESS
Energy storage manufacturer Alpha ESS was established in 2012. A Chinese company, it has offices in Australia, the UK, Germany and Italy.
In Australia, the main Alpha-ESS product line is the Storion SMILE5. This is an all-in-one unit, meaning the system includes batteries, a battery management system (BMS) and an inverter.
The battery modules used in the Storion SMILE5 are lithium iron phosphate chemistry; widely considered the safest type of lithium ion battery technology. As far as we're aware, Alpha-ESS still sources battery modules from another Chinese company, EVE, which has been in the battery business since 2001.
The Storion SMILE5 range is available in various capacities and AC/DC/Hybrid coupling options are available. As for power output, the SMILE5 series offers 5kW. This unit does have blackout protection capabilities.
Alpha ESS Warranty
The Alpha ESS SMILE 5 has 10-year product warranty on the batteries themselves, but the balance of the system only has five years warranty.
The performance warranty for Alpha ESS solar batteries guarantees a minimum of 80% of their original capacity after 10 years, assuming the system is connected to the internet and is only used for self-consumption. If the system is not internet connected, the warranty plummets to three years.
If the system is used for purposes other than self-consumption, assumed to include use as part of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), the warranty will expire earlier - when total energy of 2.92MWh per kWh of usable capacity has been dispatched from the battery.
As for how strong the warranty backing is, we're aware of a situation where an Australian customer battled for months with Alpha ESS over aStorion 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 Alpha-ESS battery owner, we'd really appreciate you adding your review by clicking the button towards the top of this page.
