Energy14.01.2025

Best solar batteries in South Africa

Several reputable battery brands offer excellent performance and solid aftersales support for South Africans requiring fuss-free energy storage.

Battery technology has improved radically over the past few years, driven by the need to store more energy from inconsistent and unpredictable renewable power sources.

Solar and wind power have seen rapid uptake as many countries and businesses seek more sustainable energy sources.

However, due to the unpredictability of wind and sunshine, they can have inconsistent performance.

Their outputs can also be misaligned with typical demand profiles, making them ill-suited for base load on their own.

For example, solar power production is at its highest during the middle of the day but makes little to no contribution during the peak morning and evening hours.

Batteries are capable of storing self-generated solar or wind power for use when needed the most.

In the past, many backup power systems in South Africa used lead-acid or gel batteries. These packs were particularly prevalent in fit-for-purpose power trolleys and uninterrupted power supplies (UPSs).

However, these types of batteries typically have fewer than 300 cycles before their capacity becomes degraded, as well as depth-of-discharge ratings of no more than 50%.

These factors limited their benefit for backup power storage amid increasingly longer and more frequent load-shedding.

Batteries with lithium-ion chemistries offer thousands of life cycles and depths of discharge of 80% but were initially very expensive, restricting adoption.

However, due to greater economies of scale, the prices of lithium-ion batteries are now substantially cheaper, making them a near no-brainer for cost-effective backup storage.

A lot of research and design has also been done in improving batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), some of which can benefit backup batteries.

As a starting point, it is useful to consider the following performance features of batteries when shopping for your energy storage solution.

FeatureDescriptionRecommended
Chemistry/TypeThe combination of minerals in the battery that stores the chemical energy for conversion to electrical energy when needed. Lithium-ion phosphate (LiFePO4)
Life cyclesThe amount of times a battery can be fully charged and discharged before reaching 804,000 to 6,000 cycles or higher
Depth-of-discharge (DoD) rating The maximum extent to which a battery can be safely depleted without impacting its life cycles.80% or higher DoD
State-of-charge (SoC) ratingThe battery level at any given moment. Minimum rated SoC will be equal to 100 minus DoD rating. 20% or lower minimum rated SoC
C-ratingThe current at which a battery can be charged or discharged. Expressed as a factor of the capacity. 1C or higher
WarrantyFor how long and how many cycles a battery can be replaced or repaired without additional charges. 8–10 years with 4,000-6,000 cycles

Brand recommendation from major providers

MyBroadband asked reputable solar power product distributors and installers for their insights on the best brands in the South African market in January 2025.

AWPower managing director Christiaan Hattingh and Rubicon sustainability and e-mobility head Greg Blandford both recommended Fox ESS, Freedom Won, Solar MD, and Weco, sold as Synapse in South Africa.

Hattingh had high praise for local player Freedom One’s exceptional aftersales support and high-quality products.

Another local manufacturer — Solar MD — recently completed a large gigawatt battery factory in Cape Town, which will help ensure it can provide a good flow of well-priced stock.

“They produce excellent low-voltage and high-voltage batteries and their aftersales support for installers and end-users is excellent,” Hattingh said.

Hattingh also said that second-life low-voltage batteries from Revov were a solid affordable option.

“They take cells that have been decommissioned from EVs in China and they repurpose it into a stationary battery pack with a new battery management system and other components,” Hattingh said.

Hattingh also advised using Dyness, Pylontech, and Volta batteries, while Blandford further recommended Tesla, Sigenergy, and Hubble batteries.

Another major solar power installer — Solar Advice — also has Dyness as one of its top battery brands.

Solar Advice co-founder and director Neil Berrow said that Deye, HinaESS, and Shoto were also popular options.

Berrow said these three latter brands were particularly attractive due to their competitive pricing, which appealed to those wishing to upgrade their systems.

The table below summarises the recommended brands of batteries from the three companies that provided feedback to MyBroadband.

Manufacturers recommended by more than one company are shown in blue.

AWPowerRubiconSolar Advice
Fox ESS
Freedom Won

Dyness
Pylontech
Revov
Solar MD
Volta
Weco/Synapse
Fox ESS
Freedom Won

Hubble
Solar MD
Tesla
Weco/Synapse
Deye
Dyness
HinaESS
Shoto
Show comments

Latest news

More news

Trending news

Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter