BATTERY COMPARISON

 

Mercedes-Benz Enphase Tesla Sonnen LG Chem

Storage in Kilowatt-hours (Kw h)

2.5 – 20 1.14 – 14.8 14 4 – 16 9.8

Type of Battery

Lithium Ion Lithium Iron Phosphate Lithium Ion Lithium Iron Phosphate

Lithium Ion

Warranty

Limited 10 year

80%

10 year – 80% 10 year 10 year

80%

10000 cycles

Varying

(Read Below)

Cost

(Smallest to Largest)

$5000 – $13000 $2000 per Battery

(up to 13)

$8200 $4000 – $10000

$7000

 

Mercedes-Benz

Like some of the main competitors for home energy storage, Mercedes-Benz has name recognition on its side.  It is a modular system, meaning you can increase storage by adding more batteries.  The battery type is Lithium Ion and has a 10-year warranty, which guarantees 80% storage.  The size of battery storage ranges from 2.5 to 20 Kilowatt-hours, with costs ranging from $5000 to $13,000.  Currently, Mercedes Benz is associated with Vivint Solar.

Enphase

Enphase offers a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, which has a different chemical make-up than most of the competitors for battery storage.  One main claim Enphase makes is the ease of installation.  The claim is that the home owner could install the system in around 30 minutes.  The size of battery storage ranges from 1.14 14.8 Kilowatt-hours, with a price of around $2000 per battery.  They also offer a 10-year warranty, which guarantees 80% storage.  A major complaint about the system is that the output rate is limited to 280 watts.  The Enphase system is compatible with existing solar systems.

Tesla

Like Mercedes, Tesla has great name recognition.  Most Americans have heard of Tesla’s Powerwall.  The battery type is also Lithium Ion and has a 10-year warranty, no guarantee of storage capacity was found.  The system is modular.  You may put up to 10 Powerwall’s together.  Each individual Powerwall has a 14 Kilowatt-hour rating.  The cost of one Powerwall is around $6200, including equipment, and a claim of $800 to $2000, for installation, roughly $8,200.  It has been reported that Tesla can be difficult for technicians to deal with.  The Powerwall may be compatible with existing systems.

Sonnen

Sonnen may not have worldwide name recognition.  It is, however, a world leader in the Solar Battery industry.  It is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, which has a distinct advantage of the number of Cycle Life, which is guaranteed to be 10,000.  The Lithium Iron Phosphate battery currently has one of the longest cycle life’s available.  The system is modular.  The usable capacity is rated from 4 Kilowatt-hour to 16 Kilowatt-hour.  The Sonnen Battery has a 10 year 80% storage 10000 cycle battery, and costs between $4000 and $10000.

LG Chem

Like Tesla, LG has good name recognition.  The battery type is a Lithium Ion.  The warranty states the battery retains at least 80% of Nominal Energy for 7 years after the date of invoice and at least 60% of Nominal Energy for 10 years after under proper conditions of the use during the Term of Performance Warranty.  The LG Chem is rated at 9.8 Kilowatt-hour.  The price is listed around $7000.

Other emerging competitors

Nissan with a system it calls XStorage, BMW also plans to enter the market with two huge batteries offering 22 and 33 Kilowatt-hours of stored energy, Sunverge, Powervault, Palo Alto, and Panasonic (which currently makes the battery for Tesla).