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A home battery completes your solar investment. Without storage, you export surplus power at low feed-in rates and buy it back at full retail β often paying 3-5x more. Compare 8 home batteries by chemistry, capacity, cycle life, and price.
Largest Capacity
Pylontech
Force-H2 17.76 kWh (5-Module Stack)
16.87 kWh usable Β· LFP
Most Cycles
Sonnen
sonnenBatterie 10 performance
10,000 cycles Β· 10-yr warranty
Best Efficiency
Tesla
Powerwall 3
97.5% round-trip efficiency
| Battery | Chemistry | Usable Capacityβ | Cont. Powerβ | Efficiencyβ | Cycle Lifeβ | Warrantyβ | Priceβ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pylontech Force-H2 17.76 kWh (5-Module Stack) | LFP | 16.87 kWh | 9 kW | 95% | 5,000 | 10 yrs | β |
LG Energy Solution RESU Prime 16H | NMC | 14.4 kWh | 7 kW | 95% | 5,000 | 10 yrs | β |
Tesla Powerwall 3 | LFP | 13.5 kWh | 11.5 kW | 97.5% | 6,000 | 10 yrs | β |
E3/DC S10 E PRO | LFP | 11.7 kWh | 6 kW | 94% | 7,000 | 10 yrs | β |
BYD Battery-Box Premium HVS 10.2 | LFP | 10.24 kWh | 10.2 kW | 96% | 6,000 | 10 yrs | β |
Sonnen sonnenBatterie 10 performance | LFP | 10 kWh | 7 kW | 96.8% | 10,000 | 10 yrs | β |
Huawei LUNA2000 10 kWh | LFP | 10 kWh | 5 kW | 95% | 6,000 | 10 yrs | β |
Senec Home V3 hybrid 10 | LFP | 9 kWh | 5 kW | 93% | 8,000 | 10 yrs | β |
Best for: most residential use cases
Best for: space-limited homes, mobile applications
A typical Stage 4 load-shedding window is 2β4 hours at a time, two to three times per day. Essential-load backup (lights, Wi-Fi, TV, fridge) needs roughly 2β5 kWh of usable capacity. Whole-home backup including geyser or air-conditioning typically needs 10β15 kWh. Most single LFP units (BYD, Freedom-Won, Hubble, Pylontech) sit in the 5β14 kWh range and can be stacked.
LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) handles sustained high ambient temperatures much better than NMC and carries no thermal-runaway risk. In warm climates where inverter and battery cabinets regularly sit above 30 Β°C, LFP's thermal stability means less derating, longer cycle life, and lower insurance and safety risk. Most batteries certified for the South African market (by SANS) are LFP.
Yes β pay-as-you-go solar financing is widespread across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda via providers like M-KOPA, d.light, Sun King, and Bboxx. Larger residential systems can often be financed via SACCO loans or bank-backed green-finance products. Always confirm the unit price before interest and any remote-disablement clauses.
Total capacity is the battery's full storage. Usable capacity is how much you can actually use β most batteries keep 5β10% in reserve to protect battery chemistry. Always compare usable capacity, not total, when sizing for backup duration.