Q Cells Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice

Background on Hanwha Q CELLS – Company History

Hanwha Q cells Co., Ltd., and “Hanwha Q Cells & Advanced Materials Corp.” were established in 1999 and they are commonly known as Q Cells. They are a manufacturer of photovoltaic solar panels headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Current operations extend from the manufacture of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels, through to the turnkey delivery of complete photovoltaic systems.

Whilst previously listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and later the NASDAQ, the company is now a subsidiary of Hanwha Group who was founded in 1952 and is now one of South Korea’s 10 largest corporations. They are listed as a global Fortune 500 Company and registered US$165.7 billion in assets in 2017.

Q cells currently have more than 8,500 employees and over 9 branch locations all over the world including Australia, Germany, USA, Japan and Malaysia.

In 2022, Q Cells launched the third generation Q. Home Core Energy Storage System in Australia and it was the first battery to provide a 15 year product warranty to the Australian market.

Q Cells Battery Options

Q. Home Core

The Q. Home Core series, launched in Australia since 2022 with 2 products: Q. Home Core A5 and Q. Home Core H5. Both variants incorporate Samsung SDI lithium-ion NCA battery cells for safe and reliable battery performance.

The Q. Home Core A5 is designed for existing solar systems, using an AC-coupled design. The Q. Home Core H5 is DC-coupled and is suitable for new solar and battery installations.

The Q. Home Core series is modular and scalable, with each module featuring 6.8 kWh of storage capacity. With the potential of combining up to 3 units, this means users can choose from 6.8kWh, 13.6kWh or 20.4kWh. These are larger modules sizes that some battery competitors so the size options are a little limited for the Q. Home Core series.

The Core series has a rated depth of discharge of 95%, which means of their 6.8kWh capacity rating, only 6.51kWh is usable. This depth of discharge rate is competitive with alternate options on the market, with only a few batteries offering 100%.

That battery is rated with an environmental protection of IP65 which means you can install this system outdoors. It would be important to keep the system out of direct sunlight and rainfall if possible to maximise the longevity and performance of the battery.

Q. Home ESS HYB-G2

The Q. Home ESS HYB-G2 is effectively a hybrid solar inverter and a battery storage system paired together in an all in one unit. Effectively, now customers can buy an entire solar and battery system that is Q Cells branded which they argue provides one point of contact for technical and warranty support.

Currently the system is only available with a common 5kW hybrid inverter which has a maximum input of 6.6kW’s of DC power (solar panel capacity). The battery however is scalable in 4kWh units with as many as three units being able to be combined into the same system reaching a maximum battery potential of 12kWh’s. This will meet the needs of most residential applications in Australia, but if you want to install more than 6.6kW of solar panels then you will have to look elsewhere.

The Q. Home solution utilises a Samsung lithium iron phosphate battery, which is commonly used by renewable energy manufacturers due to its comparatively safe characteristics. The solution comes with a 10 year warranty which provides piece of mind and is backed by a large South Korean company.

The accompanying web monitoring provides installers and customers with all the necessary information on the performance and efficiency of the solar system. The system will require a ethernet internet connection and provides a cloud-based monitoring tool through a web application and a mobile app.

The hardware is IP65 rated as “dust tight” which means it would survive being sprayed by a hose pipe and is therefore suitable for installation indoors or outdoors. If outdoors, it would be important to keep the inverter and batteries out of direct sunlight to improve performance and life expectancy.

Q Cells Batteries – Key features and points of difference

Beyond the sleek appearance of the product, there are a number of features of Q.Home ESS HYB-G2 worth mentioning:

15-year Product Warranty

The Q Cells Q. Home Core series batteries come with an industry leading 15-year product warranty. As batteries typically have a long payback period, this provides greater certainty to customer of a positive financial outcome.

The older Q. Home ESS HYB-G2 model only comes with a 10-year warranty which is the standard for solar batteries in Australia.

High Depth of Discharge (DoD)

Depth of Discharge indicates the percentage of a battery’s energy that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery. Because the useful life of a battery decreases each time you charge, discharge, and re-charge or cycle your battery, many battery manufacturers specify a maximum DoD level for optimal battery performance. In general, batteries with a higher depth of discharge provide greater utilisation to customers. The  Q.HOME Core battery provides a attractive depth of discharge of 95% which matches most of the better quality battery solutions in the market.

Built in Back up Power

The Q Cells batteries feature built in back up power capability which will keep the lights on during a power outage. Some other batteries (like the Tesla Powerwall 2) required the costly installation of additional hardware to enable this capability.

How much do Q Cells batteries cost?

See the below table which provides an indicative guide based on data from Solar Choice’s Battery Price Index on the cost of installing a Q. Home ESS HYB-G2 with different battery capacity:

Please note

• Prices are recommended wholesaler’s listed price – the final price a customer would pay depends on the installer’s markup and installation costs
• Price estimates does not include any state-based incentives

To give this cost context it is important to balance the cost of a battery against the return of a cheaper power bill. Solar Choice’s solar and battery calculator is a comprehensive tool to understand the financial viability – although be warned, we looked at 48 scenarios and couldn’t find anything that made financial sense.

Australian warranty terms for Q Cells batteries

The Q Cells home batteries come with a product warranty and a performance warranty

The product warranty covers and defects in materials and workmanship that have a significantly negative effect on the the product. Q Cells will decide to either repair, replace or compensate the customer for the defective battery.

The Q Cells Q. Home Core series batteries come with a 15-year product warranty while the Q. Home ESS HYB-G2 model only comes with a 10-year warranty.

The performance warranty covers the rate at which the battery will degrade over time. The Q Cells Q. Home Core series outlines that after 15 years there battery will still perform at 60% of its rated storage capacity. The Q. Home ESS HYB G2 states that is guarantees a minimum performance of 65% of its rated storage capacity after 10 years.

Q Cells have an office set up in North Sydney which provides technical and warranty support for their solar panels and the Q. Home ESS systems. You can contact them on 02 9016 3033 or 1-800-Q CELLS.

Read Q Cells Q.Home Core Series full warranty document here.
Read Q Cells Q.Home ESS HYB G2 full warranty document here.

Pros and Cons of Qcells Battery

Pros:

• Large solar company with strong financial backing
• 15 years product & performance warranty provided with new Core series
• Have Australian office in North Sydney

Cons:

• Limited flexibility on system sizing with relatively large module storage capacity
• Q Cells have recently stopped selling solar panels to the Australian market so it is unclear if they will continue the same support for their batteries

Q Cells Q.Home ESS HYB-G2 specifications

Battery Unit:

Hybrid  Inverter Unit:

Read about home battery government schemes across Australia

South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Australian Capital Territory all currently have a home battery scheme in place.

The South Australian Home Battery Scheme enables eligible South Australian residents to receive up to $4,000 per installed battery.

The New South Wales Home Battery Scheme offers an interest-free loan up to $9000 for eligible households looking to install a solar battery.

The Victorian Government under the Solar Homes Program provides to those eligible, a maximum discount of $4,174 off the battery sale price.

The Australian Capital Territory Government under the Next Generation Energy Storage program provides a rebate of $825 per kilowatt (kW). An average household with a 5kW system would be eligible for approximately $4,000.

Read more product reviews from Solar Choice

• About
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Jeff Sykes

CEO at Solar Choice

Jeff has consulted on over 20MW of commercial solar projects, ranging from SMEs to ASX top 100 companies. Jeff has also provided independent advice to 100s of residential solar, battery and EV charging customers across every state in Australia. He holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is an expert in business strategy and financial analysis.

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