Home batteries store the excess energy produced by your solar panels to use at night, on cloudy days or during outages, blackouts and PG&E Planned Power Shutoffs. When you pair a home battery with your solar energy system, you can use more of the solar energy your home generates, lower your overall energy costs and enjoy seamless backup power during your next neighborhood outage. 

SunPower is known for its high-quality, efficient solar panels. With more than 35 years of dedicated solar experience, they’re the only U.S.- based solar company that’s been around longer than their 25-year comprehensive warranty. 

SunPower’s SunVault is a battery and software solution that pairs with your SunPower Equinox solar panel system to keep your lights on when you need them most. For example, if you lose power because of a storm or accident, your battery will provide backup power so your appliances will stay on without interruption. But how does the SunVault home battery warranty compare to other battery brands?

SunVault Warranty Details

SunPower offers a 10-year Complete Confidence warranty for their SunVault solar battery while their 25-year warranty covers all other components in the Equinox solar panels. The SunVault warranty ensures the home battery will be free of material and workmanship defects. It also guarantees the battery will operate at 70% of its original usable capacity until one of the following:

• The battery reaches 10 years of age;
• The battery releases 38,000 kWh of electricity, or
• The system has gone through 4,000 cycles (whichever comes first)
• Warranty conditions vary slightly if more than one SunVault battery is installed.

How Does the SunVault Compare to Other Battery Brands?

You’ll likely reach 38,000 kWh of electricity before you hit the 10 year mark or power through 4,000 cycles. To make it to 10 years, you’d only use about 80% of the energy stored in your battery per day, which is possible. If you think you might use more than 10.41 kWh per day from your battery, you may reach the warranty period more quickly.

Overall, SunPower’s battery technology is similar to other large and small rechargeable batteries. Over time, all batteries slowly lose some of their ability to hold a charge. This is similar to the battery life of a new iPhone compared to one that’s a few years older. As you charge and drain the battery of your phone every day, it also loses some of its ability to hold a charge.

Conclusion

There are three things that are important when comparing different batteries: warranty, capacity, and power. Warranty is the length of time that a battery can be repaired or replaced if something goes wrong with it. Capacity refers to how long the battery can hold its charge before needing to be recharged again—and it’s measured in watt-hours (Wh). Power is measured in kilowatts (kW), and refers to how quickly a device can use electricity from its source.

In order to determine if a SunVault home battery is right for your home energy needs, you can speak to one of our certified Solar Technologies representatives. If you’re ready to change the way you power your home and start saving more with solar, contact us today for a free customized quote.