Sungrow - Battery Reviews

About Sungrow

Sungrow is a giant Chinese company and the world's largest inverter manufacturer. They also make home batteries that are a popular choice here thanks to a combination of affordability and reliability.

Sungrow was founded in 1997 by RenXian Cao, a professor at Hefei University of Technology. He has degrees in electrical engineering and automation, so the boss clearly knows his stuff. Since then, the company has grown enormously but sustainably. Not only do they make products required for the world to switch to renewables, but they've also maintained financial sustainability. In 2022 BloombergNEF gave the company a 100% bankability rating. This means Sungrow is considered financially secure and likely to be around long term.

If a giant utility-scale battery is what you're after, Sungrow can get you one. But what Australian homes and small businesses will be most interested in is the Sungrow SBR HV home battery.

Sungrow SBR HV

Sungrow's current residential battery is the SBR HV. This has stackable battery modules with 3.2 kWh of usable storage each. There's a 3 module minimum and that amount gives 9.6 kWh of usable storage, which will be enough for many households. If you want more, up to 8 modules can be stacked on top of each other for 25.6 kWh. Few households will need that much, but if you want more, up to four stacks can be connected in parallel for over 100 kWh of usable storage.

If you've bought a Sungrow battery stack and want to add more modules, it's relatively easy -- provided you have less than eight. Of course, it's still a good idea to get the amount right at the start so you won't have to pay someone to add more.

Safety

Sungrow uses lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO) battery cells. This is the safest type of lithium battery. But to actually be safe they need to be part of a well-designed battery system. Fortunately, the Sungrow SBR HV does appear to be safe as many have been installed in Australia without issue.

In the past, Sungrow sold the now discontinued PowCube home battery. Despite its alarming name, I'm not aware of any ever going "Pow!" and exploding.

Provided the work was done by a reputable installer, I would have no problem with getting a Sungrow battery installed on my own home. I'd also be fine with one on my parents' home or my brother's. But I'm not sure my sister deserves one.

Cost

A major reason the Sungrow SBR HV is a popular choice is its competitive price. It's a lower-cost battery but reliable enough for us to recommend. You can check out how its cost compares by going to our Battery Comparison Table and scrolling down to "Cost Per Warranted KWh: One Cycle Per Day".

Sungrow Inverter Required

Under normal circumstances, Sungrow batteries will be installed with Sungrow hybrid inverters. Hybrid inverters cost more than standard ones, but Sungrow's are reasonably priced. They also come with a 10 year warranty, which is better than a number of other inverters on the market. Because I haven't heard much in the way of complaints, I assume they're reliable.

Both single-phase and three-phase hybrid inverters are available and Sungrow is one of the few companies supplying hybrid inverters that can provide full three-phase backup.

Because they require a hybrid inverter, a Sungrow battery is often a good choice for homes without existing solar. Alternatively, if there's enough room on the roof, a second solar system with a Sungrow battery can be installed. Another option is to replace an old solar system with one large new one with a battery.

If you have an existing solar system, replacing its inverter with a Sungrow hybrid is also an option. Here's a video of it being done. (Ignore how Finn pronounces "garage" like a New Zealander.) This can require wiring upgrades, so it won't necessarily be a simple task to do.

Fill Your Roof

When a solar system is installed without a battery, the solar panel capacity can normally be no more than one-third larger than the inverter capacity. But when a solar system is installed with a battery this limit can be exceeded.

When a new solar system is installed with a Sungrow battery the panel capacity can be around twice the capacity of Sungrow single-phase hybrid inverters and around 50% more for the three-phase ones. This can be useful for installing large solar systems and I recommend filling your roof with as much solar as you reasonably can.

Flexible Installation

Sungrow batteries are high voltage. This gives installers some flexibility with their location and this helps with meeting Australia's strict fire safety standards.

While they're suitable for outdoor installation, they should be positioned out of direct rain and sunshine.

Backup & Off-Grid Capable

Sungrow battery systems are able to provide backup power. The switchover is almost instantaneous, so there's no temporary power loss. The batteries are also able to charge from the solar panels during the day when the grid is down.

Sungrow batteries are also suitable for off-grid use.

For further specifications and estimated pricing, see Sungrow solar batteries listed on our comparison table.

Installer Recommended

In a vote of confidence for the SBR HV, Sungrow scored 2nd place in SolarQuotes' Installers' Choice Awards 2022 in the budget/best value home battery category. In the SQ 2023 awards for home batteries, Sungrow attained bronze in the best overall battery brand category, gold in the best value battery category, and silver in best after-sales support.

Sungrow is currently listed as an SQ recommended home battery brand.

Sungrow Battery Warranty

The Sungrow battery warranty is better than average. It lasts 10 years or until it has discharged 13,440 kWh per module. Whichever comes first. For most households, it's likely to last the full 10 years. But for households that use the battery at a high capacity factor it will end before then. With a high daily average discharge of 4.8kWh per module the warranty will end after 7 years and 8 months.

The warranty states the battery will maintain a minimum of 60% of its original capacity. This means a module with 3.2 kWh of usable storage when new could drop down to only storing 1.95 kWh and that would be okay according to the warranty. While allowing this much capacity loss isn't good, it is common for lithium battery warranties.

Sydney Office

Their headquarters are in the Chinese city of Hefei, but Sungrow has had a local office in Sydney since 2012. This means they should - hopefully - be able to deal with any warranty issues locally and rapidly. Overall, I'd say Sungrow has good -- but not perfect -- customer support.

If you're an Australian Sungrow battery system owner, please feel free to share your views on how your system performs by submitting a rating and review.