BigBattery Brand Review – Are They Any Good?
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Whether you are building a large-scale residential solar power system or a simple mobile solar system for an RV or off-grid cabin, one of the most important components of your setup is the power storage system.
A reliable and efficient solar battery will help you store the electricity your solar panels generate, enabling you to access power when you need it rather than just when the solar panels are absorbing sunlight.
Whether you are storing electricity for emergencies and grid failures or powering your electronic devices and appliances regularly, choosing the right batteries is critical.
How Can We Help?
To help you make the right choice, we are taking a close look at BigBattery, one of the fastest-growing brands in the solar storage industry.
After looking at the brand’s origins and mission statement, we will examine the current standing of their reputation amongst solar consumers. Once we know more about the BigBattery brand, we will determine whether or not we think BigBattery solar storage products are worth your consideration.
Who Are BigBattery and What Do They Offer?
While they started as a fairly small-scale battery manufacturer, BigBattery has now grown into one of the largest suppliers of off-grid, renewable energy batteries in the United States.
The brand’s founder, Eric Lundgren, has committed his life to environmental and sustainability causes. While remaining an adamant supporter of the green energy revolution, Lundgren found that expensive and unreliable batteries were holding the renewable energy movement back. As a response, he founded BigBattery, which had the simple aim of reducing the cost of solar storage by offering reliable and inexpensive solar batteries that are simple, efficient, and practical.
The brand continues to work on its main goal of lowering the cost of solar storage for the average consumer, as it believes this will encourage more people to adopt solar technology.
What is BigBattery’s Specialization?
As the brand’s name suggests, BigBattery’s specialty is modular batteries that offer outstanding life-cycle longevity, the latest and most efficient technology, and cutting-edge safety features. Its batteries are backed by an outstanding 10-year warranty, so they are made to last the test of time.
While BigBattery offers deep cycle batteries specifically designed for golf carts, vans, RVs, and various industrial applications, its off-grid solar batteries are the company’s best-selling products and clear specialization.
BigBattery’s solar storage systems tend to be large battery modules rather than typical 12V deep cycle solar batteries that need to be wired together to create a battery bank.
These large-scale off-grid battery modules function similarly to the popular Tesla Powerwall but come at a much more affordable price. Some of the lithium batteries they use in their larger products use the same technology and materials as the batteries you would find in Tesla vehicles and other popular electric vehicles. BigBattery reduces waste and keeps costs low by buying surplus, unused lithium cells from larger brands, like Tesla.
By purchasing surplus lithium cells from brands like Tesla and then using these high-quality cells when manufacturing its own deep cycle batteries, BigBattery can keep manufacturing costs low while assembling its battery modules domestically in California.
While some of its competitors manufacture their solar storage products off-shore in countries like China, BigBattery assembles its batteries right here in the United States, partially explaining why its reputation for quality is rising.
What is the BigBattery Brand’s Current Reputation?
While they had quality-control issues in the past, the brand seems to have overcome them and now consistently delivers high-quality solar storage products.
Impressive Warranty:
One of the changes to the brand’s reputation was the introduction of a 10-year warranty on all of its batteries. This feature is really appealing, especially when you compare the length of BigBattery’s warranty to the industry standard.
Where other solar storage companies tend to offer a one-to-two-year warranty on their deep cycle batteries, BigBattery’s impressive 10-year warranty demonstrates how much faith the brand has in the quality of its products.
Domestic Manufacturing:
Another thing consumers really like about the BigBattery brand is that all of their batteries are designed and manufactured in California. The fact that BigBattery manufactures its products domestically but still offers its products at budget-friendly prices has proven to be a major hit with consumers.
Because all of its batteries are assembled in the United States, BigBattery customers do not have to deal with the same order fulfillment issues that are all too common with companies that have their products manufactured off-shore.
Solid Customer Service:
BigBattery also has a good reputation for its customer service, especially compared to its competitors. Where other brands, like Renogy, have a reputation for being difficult to deal with, BigBattery’s customer service team is both responsive and very helpful.
BigBattery’s Products
As mentioned, BigBattery offers deep cycle batteries that you can use for a variety of purposes. They have 12V, 24V, 36V, and 48V configurations available. Their battery modules are also available in capacities that range from just 2kWh up to an enormous 14kWh!
You can find the perfect battery module for your exact power storage requirements. For more convenience, its batteries are stackable, meaning you can wire more than one together to expand your storage capabilities. You can continue using your existing BigBattery module even if you need to increase the amount of power you can store in the future.
While products like their BigBattery 36V GATR Max LiFep04 5kWh Battery Kit are ideal for electric golf carts and forklifts, it is their off-grid battery modules that really catch our eye.
For example, take the BigBattery 6kWh 24 HSKY ELITE LiFep04 Solar Battery Module. At one low price, you get one of the most space and weight-efficient deep cycle batteries on the market today. It works exceptionally well for both grid-tied and off-grid residential solar power systems, and it can even be adapted to function as a power storage solution for RVs, food trucks, and other mobile solar power systems.
Convenient features, like a built-in LCD, an advanced battery management system, and the ability to operate safely within a wide temperature range, mean this battery is one of the best low-maintenance battery systems available in its price range.
The BigBattery 48V KONG 12kWh Powerwall and the BigBattery 48V APE 11.2kWh Powerwall are excellent choices if you plan on upgrading an outdated and underpowered solar battery bank in your home or RV. Like the HSKY ELITE, these feature built-in battery management systems, LCD screens, and incredibly efficient charging capabilities.
Upcoming Products:
While BigBattery’s existing product line is really impressive, we are also excited about some of the upcoming products they have announced.
The BigBattery 48V WHITE RHINO 14kWh Powerwall promises to be the world’s thinnest and strongest wall-mounted battery. At just 4.4 inches thick, this incredible 14kWh module is designed to beat Tesla’s popular Powerwall 2 in every single category.
While the proposed specifications are incredible, it is the fact that this powerful and compact battery system is going to be more affordable than anything else available in its class that really has us excited.
Given that it will also come backed with BigBattery’s signature 10-year warranty, the WHITE RHINO promises to be a revolutionary solar storage product that will raise the bar for the entire industry.
Why Should You Choose a Solar Battery Module from BigBattery?
So, why you should purchase one of the larger battery modules from BigBattery rather than use a series of smaller solar batteries? The answer is actually fairly straightforward – simplicity.
With solar power systems, simple components are almost always a better option than overly complicated equipment. By installing one large battery, rather than wiring several smaller batteries together, there will be fewer points of failure and fewer opportunities for the installer to make a mistake. This is particularly important if you are new to installing renewable energy systems and large-scale power storage equipment, as there can be a bit of a learning curve when you are first starting.
Fortunately, reducing complexity is fairly easy when you are dealing with solar storage. Rather than wiring multiple 12V deep cycle batteries together to form a battery bank, opt for one large battery that has the same storage capacity as multiple smaller batteries. Since a larger battery would require fewer electrical connections between terminals and battery circuit boards, you would be dealing with a much easier installation process.
Not only do the large battery modules offered by BigBattery reduce complexity and opportunities for failure, but these large-scale solar battery modules also offer the following advantages:
- Safety – Rather than running multiple battery management systems (BMS), you can have a single BMS that overlooks your entire power storage system. Not only does this keep things simple, it tends to be more effective, which means your power storage system will be safer and it will likely have a longer lifespan.
- Affordability – For many people, the most important advantage to buying a single battery is that it is almost always cheaper than buying two or more batteries that add up to the same capacity. This is especially if you are purchasing a battery from a company with a reputation for affordable prices and reliable products like BigBattery.
For example, compare this Renogy 12V 100AH Smart LiFeP04 Solar Battery to a BigBattery module. While the Renogy is a perfectly respectable solar battery, it would only be capable of storing the equivalent of 1,200Wh.
On the other hand, the BigBattery 24V MULE LiFeP04 3kWh Solar Battery has a storage capacity of 3,000Wh or nearly three times the storage capabilities of the Renogy battery. When you consider that the Renogy battery is listed at a discounted price of $899 and the BigBattery MULE comes in at just $1,249, it becomes obvious which product offers the better value.
Put simply, you would need three Renogy solar batteries to equal the same storage capacity as the BigBattery MULE, which would cost you an additional $1,448 and require a far more complicated installation process!
Aside from simplicity, safety, affordability, and reliability, another advantage of a larger battery module is they take up far less space than a standard battery bank with a much tidier appearance.
Our Overall Impression of BigBattery and Final Words
BigBattery delivers everything we could ever hope for from a solar battery supplier. With high-performance products that are both innovative and affordable, it really is a brand worth considering.
The fact that they make their products domestically and back them with a 10-year warranty really seals the deal for us. While they got off to a slow start, we believe the future is bright for BigBattery.
