In the UK, the government is not currently giving any grant towards installing smart battery.

Grants are available under certain circumstances for the Republic of Ireland, get in touch and we can explain this to you

A smart battery is a rechargeable battery pack with battery management system used to store free or cheap electricity from any form of renewables generation or AC power supply.

Our battery is installed behind the meter and does not impact on your ROC’s payment

The manufacturer’s warranty is for 10 years or 10,000 cycles, the useful life of the battery is between 15 – 25 years.

A cycle is when the battery goes from empty to full and back to empty again. Typically a battery will cycle between once and three times per day.

The manufacturer’s warranty is with sonnen GmbH directly. sonnen GmbH is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell. sonnen offers a 10-year Full Warranty on all its components, this means that your investment is protected for 10 years or 10,000 cycles, whichever comes first. During the warranty period, all components of your sonnenBatterie are covered: the inverter and all power electronics, the energy manager and the battery modules. Even the sonnenProtect comes with a 10-year warranty.

No, any form of renewables generation will benefit from installing smart battery. 

The battery can draw energy from any renewable source, such as a wind turbine or hydro turbine.  If you do not have solar panels Project GIRONA will install a solar panel system. 

BLUE = The battery is working normally. You don’t need to do anything!

ORANGE = The sonnenBatterie does not have an internet connection. Please check your internet connection and if the issue persists please contact our technical support line.

RED = There is an issue with your sonnenBatterie. Please contact our technical support line.

GREEN = The sonnenBatterie is not grid connected. There is a power outage. Check that the circuit breaker in the supply line of the storage system is switched on. If so, the grid is out and you can only wait until the normal grid supply resumes again. Thereafter the storage system resumes normal operation.

With sonnenProtect

GREEN = The sonnenBatterie is not grid connected. There is either a power outage or a fault, please contact our technical support line.

ORANGE = The sonnenProtect has reached peak output.

Absolutely, one of our customers is charging his Toyota Prius and travelled 1000 miles but only used 147 units of carbon-free electricity from his solar PV and energy storage systems.

Project GIRONA is only using devices manufactured by sonnen GmbH, that have a proven safety design and a tried and tested record in the German, Australian and US markets. 

The battery chemistry of our devices is absolutely safe. The battery uses Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePO4 or LFP chemistry, this is one of the most stable forms of lithium battery available and does not catch fire even under mechanical damage. We have a video of one of our batteries being tested to destruction on our website, we recommend you watch it if you have concerns. 

Watch the battery nail test video HERE 

Our system requires no user intervention. It is truly plug and play. We will provide you with an app for your smartphone or access via the website direct. Users can use the app to understand their electricity usage and to see the performance of the system. Maintenance-free, the devices are all monitored remotely and if defects arise, more often than not, they are fixed remotely. 

When you go on holiday your battery will continue to monitor and provide electricity as needed. If your battery becomes fully charged while you are away, the surplus electricity being generated will go to the grid as it always has done

Your system will be monitored constantly, and potential problems identified before they affect you. Additionally, your battery has its own industry leading warranty.

Upon completion of your installation you will be given our technical support line which will put you in direct contact with ourselves at The Electric Storage Company. We will facilitate getting your system back online should any problem arise. This is a free service and only requires you to have a network connection.

Yes, you can. The system is modular meaning upgrading and expanding is easy to do, and more storage capacity can be purchased from The Electric Storage Company.

An extra battery can be added easily, and the system recalibrates itself to make use of the extra capacity up to a maximum on 45kWh on the series 9. The cabinet used to contain the series 9 battery modules come in three sizes and each size allows a different maximum kWh capacity (series 9 = 2.5kWh-5kWh, 2.5kWh-10kWh, 2.5kWh-15kWh), ideal for domestic homes and small commercial spaces.

You can get from 5.5kWh up to 247kWh on the sonnen 10, making it the ideal solution for domestic homes, community centres, churches and small to medium sized commercial organisations. We will discuss specific needs in more detail as part of the free assessment.

NIE Networks have supported this research so they can understand the impact of small scale electrical energy storage on their network. They do not approve any new devices or technology until they understand the implications for the network, their customers and the wider public. They are working with our project to develop that understanding. They also work with other projects.

An application will need to be made to NIE to test that your location on the grid is suitable for this initial test, this will be completed by us on your behalf once you have given us approval.

The sonnen 10 can be installed inside or outside.  If it is installed outside it will require a protective cabinet (rated IP65) which Project GIRONA will supply at no additional cost.  

Roof spaces are not recommended for installation due to the weight of the device and heat build-up in the summer months.  

An internet connection is required to enable the smart battery to operate correctly.  The battery cannot function without one. 

Project GIRONA will conclude on 28 February 2022.  The Project is a research and development project and the aim is to provide a more flexible approach for customers resulting in reduced electricity costs.  At the conclusion of the Project all equipment installed will be recovered and each property returned to its original state.  However, depending on the success of the project, GIRONA may offer the customer an opportunity to have the equipment remain in place.  The terms and conditions of customers retaining the equipment is as yet to be confirmed. 

The newer models of prepay keypad meters are compatible with both solar panel and battery systems.  As part of the survey that we will conduct to ensure your property is compatible with the Project technologies the make, model and serial number of your electricity meter will be recorded and sent to NIE Networks to ensure compatibility.

If we discover that your electricity meter is not compatible with the GIRONA system we will request that NIE Networks replace your meter to a model that is compatible.  The replacement will be the same type (tariff or prepay keypad) that you already have.  As the electricity meter is owned by NIE Networks this work will be conducted at no cost to you.