Alpha ESS Smile-G3-BAT 8.2-49.2kWh Lithium Battery System: Elevating Energy Storage Excellence
Established in 2012, Alpha ESS is a trailblazer in state-of-the-art battery storage solutions and intelligent energy management for both residential and commercial applications. The Smile-G3-BAT 8.2kWh battery, meticulously designed for compatibility with Alpha Smile-G3-3.6S 3.68kW Hybrid Inverter and Alpha Smile-S6-HV 6kW Hybrid Inverter, emerges as a steadfast and efficient energy storage solution. Connect up to six batteries seamlessly in parallel, unlocking an impressive total capacity of 49.2kWh.
Key Features:
-
Long Life Span with 10-Year Performance Guarantee:
- Guarantees 80% of initial capacity after 10 years of daily charging and discharging at room temperature (25°C).
- Utilises Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries renowned for excellent thermal stability and storage characteristics.
- Long service life of 10,000 cycles backed by a 10-year performance warranty.
- Module includes a self-monitoring function for early detection of energy storage abnormalities.
- Compact Design with Sophisticated Battery Management System:
- Incorporates a sophisticated Battery Management System into each unit.
- Modular and easily expandable design.
- Tailored for residential energy storage, off-grid applications, UPS scenarios, and small to medium enterprises.
- High Scalability:
- Scalable to 6 batteries (49.2kWh) in parallel per single inverter.
- Compatible with the Alpha Smile-G3-B5 5kW AC Coupled, Alpha Smile-G3-3.6S/S5 3.68kW or 5kW, and Alpha Smile-S6-HV 6kW Hybrid Inverters.
- Works with Smart Tariffs including Octopus Energy:
- Seamless integration with smart energy tariffs, including Octopus Energy, when combined with the Smile G3 Inverter.
- 5-Year Product Warranty, 10-Year Performance Warranty:
- Backed by a 5-year product warranty ensuring quality and reliability.
- Additionally, a 10-year performance warranty attests to the batteries' thermal stability, storage capabilities, and self-monitoring functionality.
- Prompt Delivery:
- Experience the advanced features of the Alpha ESS Smile-G3-BAT 8.2kWh Lithium Battery with prompt 2-3 working days delivery within the UK (longer to the Highlands, islands, and Northern Ireland).
Elevate your energy storage capabilities with the intelligent design and advanced features of Alpha ESS Smile-G3-BAT-8.2kWh battereis.
Detailed specifications:
| Battery Type: Lithium-Ion |
| Model: SMILIE-G3-BAT-8.2PH |
| Nominal Voltage: 256.0V |
| Operating Voltage Range: 240 ~ 288V |
| Total Energy: 8.2kWh |
| Usable Energy: 7.8Wh |
| Depth of Discharge (DoD): 95% |
| Cycle Life: 10,000 |
| Max. Charge Current: 32A |
| Max. Discharge Current: 32A |
| Expected life time / Warranty: >10 years if used as per warranty terms |
| Operating Temperature Range: -10°C ~ +50°C |
| Humidity: 15% ~ 85% |
| Ingress Protection: IP21 |
|
Net Weight: 71kg |
| Size: 580 x 230 x 730 mm |
- 1 X Alpha ESS Smile-G3-BAT 8.2kWh Battery ,
- 1 X Alpha ESS Smile-G3-BAT 8.2kWh Battery User's Manual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to store your own generated energy?
When your solar panels generate energy, your home only uses the electricity required at that moment and the surplus of solar energy is injected into the electricity network. However, when you need more electricity than you produce, you have to take so-called 'grey power' from the grid again.
By using a home battery, you can store your surplus of generated renewable energy and use it during periods when the sun is not providing enough energy. This allows for optimized energy consumption, reduces dependence on external factors such as electricity price hikes, and transforms your home into an environmentally friendly living space.
How long can an AlphaESS home battery keep your devices running?
A practical example:
A 1,000 Watt microwave oven running at maximum power for one hour will consume 1 kWh of energy. Similarly, a 10 Watt LED bulb, when lit for 100 hours, also consumes 1 kWh. Therefore, a fully charged AlphaESS SMILE 5 energy storage system of 11.4 kWh will be able to run the above mentioned microwave oven for 11.4 hours and keep the LED bulb illuminated for 1140 hours.
In the event of a power failure, can I still supply my property?
During a power outage, the AlphaESS energy storage system will serve as an emergency power supply thanks to its built-in UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply). When a power outage occurs, the home battery can take over in less than 20 milliseconds and you might not even notice the light flickering.
You can choose to connect a number of critical devices in your home to the backup output of the home battery, such as fridges, freezers, computers, etc. This ensures that these appliances remain operational and prevents potential issues. In some cases, it is even possible to power your entire house with the surplus solar energy previously stored in the battery.
Where do the batteries come from?
AlphaESS was founded in China in 2012. Combining strong, patented German technologies with its own smart energy management system, AlphaESS aims to make green energy accessible to everyone. As a result of its efforts, AlphaESS is now a truly global leader in energy storage systems, with operations in more than 90+ countries across South Africa, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
When will a home battery pay back?
The payback time of a home battery varies depending on your specific situation. Several factors can significantly influence this duration, including:
- Do you already have solar panels?
- What VAT rate can you have installed? 6% or 21%?
- What do you currently pay for your electricity?
- Are you eligible for subsidies and do you plan to utilize them?
- The difficulty of installing a home battery at your place
- The quality of your home battery
We have not only conducted numerous simulations with specialized software, but also regularly observed the results that are actually achieved in practice with the AlphaESS home batteries. We generally see payback periods of 7 to 9 years.
However, a home battery offers many additional personal benifits beyond the payback time:
- With a home battery, you will be much less exposed to future increases in electricity prices. This is significant considering that electricity costs have been rising at an average rate of 6% per year over the past decade.
- You are doing your bit to reduce CO2 emissions and combat global warming. You become part of the solution.
- Experience has taught us that the AlphaCloud monitoring platform gives people a good insight into their energy consumption, allowing them to take many small measures to reduce and optimize their energy use. The cheapest kWh is the one you don't use.
- With an AlphaESS home battery, you are prepared for a future where our energy will be green, produced decentrally, and shared.Q:
Do I need any other components besides my home battery?
A battery system from AlphaESS is a complete package. You don't have to buy any additional components. This not only reduces the complexity of installation and use, but it also means you only have one point of contact in case of any issues.
How quickly does my AlphaESS home battery age?
We'd like to explain this in terms of battery cycles. One cycle refers to the complete charging and discharging of a battery. In the AlphaCloud monitoring platform, you can see graphically how much your battery has been charged or discharged on a given day. You'll notice that achieving a full cycle per day is rare.
Studies have shown that, considering our climate and a battery system that is properly adapted to your situation, approximately 280 cycles per year are required. Therefore, over a span of 20 years, you would need about 5,600 cycles. AlphaESS assures that the storage capacity of the home batteries will only drop by a maximum of 20% after 10,000 cycles.
If in the future you decide to use your home battery for other applications besides optimizing your own consumption (e.g. virtual power plants), the number of cycles you consume per year will increase slightly.
Can I see how much energy I am storing and using?
When you purchase an AlphaESS home battery, you will get free lifetime access to the AlphaCloud, AlphaESS' online and real-time monitoring platform. You can access the platform via a web browser or the app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices.
The app will allow you to extensively monitor the energy flows in your home. You can track the energy production of your solar panels, monitor your energy consumption, view the amount of energy stored in your battery, and more.
Does my AlphaESS home battery need maintenance?
AlphaESS home batteries are maintenance-free. The internet connection allows the system's software to receive regular updates.
Can the AlphaESS energy storage system work without the Internet?
No. The AlphaESS product needs an Internet connection (over wired Ethernet or your home Wi-Fi) to receive software updates and to communicate with the AlphaCloud for energy monitoring. A reliable connection is required to provide new product features over time. While the AlphaESS system can continue to operate with its most recent settings if the Internet connection is temporarily lost, it is not recommended to install it in a location without Internet access.
Which PV inverters are compatible with AlphaESS home batteries?
For all AlphaESS hybrid energy storage system, you can connect solar panels directly to it (= DC coupling).
All AlphaESS home batteries can be connected to an existing PV system. We call this an AC coupling. An AlphaESS system is completely independent of your existing solar panel system and can therefore be installed at any time.:
Can I connect AlphaESS single-phase battery systems to a three-phase grid?
Yes, you can. When connecting, 3-phase meters are used to ensure that the required power of the battery is compensated on the the 3 phases.
Here's an example:
Two consumers each need 500 Watt at a certain moment and are connected to phase 1 and phase 2, respectively. The battery system is connected to phase 3, which currently has no energy demand. The AlphaESS system then measures how much electricity is needed in total over the 3 phases at that moment (in this case 1000 Watt). This electricity is made available on phase 3 because the home battery is connected to that phase.
As there is no consumption on phase 3 at that moment, the 1,000 Watt on phase 3 is injected into the electricity grid. At the same time, the 500 Watts needed by the users on phase 1 and phase 2 are drawn from the grid. The same amount of electricity that the users need is therefore injected on phase 3 (1,000 Watts) and drawn on phase 1 (500 Watts) and phase 2 (500 Watts). In this case, the electricity meter is stopped, so there is no additional electricity cost.:
Can I connect a single-phase battery system to a three-phase PV inverter?
Yes, you can easily connect them in a house where there is a three-phase PV inverter.
What is the difference between kilowatt (kW) and kilowatt hour (kWh)?
The power of the inverter is expressed in kW while the storage capacity of the battery is expressed in kWh.
Why is the useful storage capacity not 100%?
A battery must always have some capacity reserved for recharging. This is essential to initiate the chemical reaction during charging. The depth to which a battery can be discharged depends on the chemistry in the battery, and to ensure a good battery life, it is generally recommended not to go to the limit. For example, a SMILE B3 battery module can be discharged up to 96% deep, which is considered a very deep discharge level.
What are LiFePO4 / LFP batteries?
LFP stands for Lithium Iron Phosphate, which refers to the chemical composition of the cathode in a battery cell. Charging or discharging a battery is essentially an electrochemical process. AlphaESS only uses LFP cells which are known for their thermal stability, technical excellence and outstanding safety. Additionally, these cells are cobalt-free, further enhancing their environmental sustainability and safety profile.
Is a home battery safe?
The safety of a home battery depends on its chemical composition and design. Different batteries are designed for specific applications, and the chemistry used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, for example, may differ from that of home batteries.
Different functions are expected from these cells. The EV batteries have to charge, discharge and be light. The battery of a mobile phone has to have a high specific energy (light) and usually does not have to last long. A home battery must be safe and have a long life.
Safety is of paramount importance for AlphaESS. That's why they have chosen the highly safe Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) chemistry for their home batteries. This chemical composition ensures the cells safe and non-flammable even in extreme conditions. This means that you can pierce the battery or cause a short circuit without risking a fire. The AlphaESS home battery is therefore extremely safe.
What is the difference between a lead-acid battery and a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery?
Lead batteries are cheaper but have some significant disadvantages compared to lithium batteries. They can only be discharged halfway, requiring a larger battery capacity. In addition, lead batteries are three to four times heavier and take up much more space. In recent years, lithium-ion technology has undergone a gigantic evolution in terms of capacity and price, making the LCC (Life Cycle Cost) much more favourable than for lead-acid batteries.
AlphaESS only uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells, which are safer than the lithium batteries used in cars. The chemical composition of LFP cells virtually eliminates the risk of overheating and thermal runaway, making them safe and non-flammable even in extreme conditions. LFP cells also have a long lifespan. Although they are slightly heavier and less compact, this is usually not a problem in a domestic situation. An additional advantage is that the LFP cells do not contain any cobalt.
Are AlphaESS home batteries recyclable?
The disposal and recycling of batteries have significant environmental implications. While some lead-acid batteries are safely recycled to recover materials like lead, many of them end up in landfills, particularly in developing countries.
AlphaESS uses only Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) for its battery cells. As the electrodes in LFP batteries are made from non-toxic materials, they pose a much smaller threat to the environment than lead-acid batteries. LFP batteries can also be recycled to reuse the materials of the electrodes, wiring, and casings, some of which can be used in new lithium batteries. There are already LiFePO4 batteries available that contain recycled materials.
Due to the long lifespan of LFP batteries, the recycling processes are still in the early stages. As more lithium batteries reach the end of their useful life, recycling will become more efficient and cost-effective as engineers are continually improving the processes to recover the materials.
Don't know an answer to your question? Call us on 020 8064 0335 or email info@energian.co.uk.