JinkoSolar SunTank Battery Launched In Australia

JinkoSolar announced on the weekend its modular SunTank home battery system has been launched in Australia – but the company was a little light on detail.

Commenting on the launch, Country Manager of JinkoSolar APAC Thomas Bywater said:

“As one of the most mature photovoltaic markets in the world, we believe that energy storage will become an indispensable part of the Australian market. JinkoSolar will also make every effort to lead the Australia photovoltaic market into a new PV+ era.”

JinkoSolar SunTank Battery Specifications

What could be gleaned from the announcement in terms of specifications:

• Offers both AC & DC-coupling methods.
• 5kW power output.
• Capacity of 2.56kWh to 25.6kWh.
• Incorporates a single-phase hybrid inverter.
• IP65 rated.
• 10 years product warranty.
• Operating temperature range from -10°C~+50°C.
• Backup supply to an emergency circuit.

Eager for more information, I headed out to the Australian JinkoSolar website and ran a search, which produced this result:

Frustrating, but not surprising. It’s not uncommon for solar manufacturers to announce the launch or availability of new products without having relevant and detailed information immediately available and easily accessible from their web sites.

JinkoSolar’s global site wasn’t much better; but the datasheets archive proved useful. It indicated the system is made up of two components – a SunTank JKS-3~6HLVS-ABI inverter and JKS-B5150-BI battery modules. Some further information on the SunTank battery modules:

• Battery chemistry: Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)
• Usable capacity per module: 2.30kWh – so the “25.6kWh” mentioned above is actually a whisker over 23kWh usable capacity.
• Module dimensions: 650 x 260 x 185 mm
• Module weight: 28kg
• For the 5kW power output, at least 4 modules are required (10.24kWh) + the JKS-5HLVS-ABI inverter
• While the battery discharge operating temperature range is -10°C ~ 50°C, battery charge range is 0°C ~ 50°C.

JinkoSolar SunTank Battery Backup Power

With regard to the inverter and backup power, the JKS-5HLVS-ABI can provide 4kW and switchover time is <10ms.  In its announcement, Jinko mentions (bolding mine):

“The EPS Output can provide a backup supply to an emergency circuit during short-term grid outages. If the grid is lost, the system would switch to backup mode and AC output is supplied via the EPS LOAD port using energy from PV and battery.”

“EPS” = Emergency Power Supply

How Big/Heavy Is A SunTank Battery System?

In a 12.8kWh configuration (11.52kWh usable capacity), a JinkoSolar SunTank system would require 5 battery modules. The stack along with the hybrid inverter would be around 1.37 metres high (added: not including gap between inverter and battery) and weigh in at approximately 167kg. For the full 25.6kWh (23kWh), the stack would be approximately 2.27m high and weigh approximately 307kg. That’s a mighty tall battery – but it’s assumed the inverter can be placed alongside the SunTank battery module stack rather than installed above it.

JinkoSolar make pretty good solar panels at a comparatively low pricing point, which has made them very popular in Australia among homeowners and installers¹. It will be interesting to see how the SunTank battery system fares in Australian conditions, feedback from owners, and what pricing it comes in at.

Related: Compare solar battery prices and specifications

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/jinkosolar-suntank-battery-mb2566/