A 48V lithium battery is the standard home storage module behind most hybrid and backup inverters in South Africa. The common size is 5.12 kWh, and homes join two or three modules for 10 kWh or 15 kWh, either in a floor rack or as wall mounted units. The main questions are capacity, how the modules connect, whether they talk to your inverter and how easily you can add more later. This page covers each of these and what a 48V lithium battery price includes. Send one request and local suppliers will quote you free, with no obligation.
Module sizes: 5 kWh, 10 kWh and 15 kWh
Most 48 V modules are about 5 kWh, with some single units at 10 kWh or more. Rough runtime is usable kWh divided by the load in kW, less a margin for inverter losses. As a guide:
- a 5 kWh battery carries a modest essential load (lights, wifi, TV, fridge) through an evening outage
- 10 kWh suits a family that wants the essentials through a night or two outages a day
- 15 kWh or more suits bigger homes, home offices, or solar owners who want to store a full day's harvest
Build the size from a load list rather than a guess. Home battery backup explains which loads to include.
Rack mounted or wall mounted
Rack modules slide into a steel cabinet or stand on top of each other, joined by short cables or bus bars. They suit a garage or storeroom with floor space. Wall mounted batteries hang on a bracket, take no floor space and often look tidier in a passage or scullery, but each unit is heavy, so the wall must be solid brick or concrete. Either way the battery needs a cool, dry spot, clear of the geyser and out of direct sun.
Stacking, parallel and communication
Modules in one bank are joined in parallel so the voltage stays at 48 V and the capacity adds up. One module acts as the master and passes the whole bank's state of charge to the inverter over CAN or RS485. That link lets the inverter charge at the right rate and stop before the cells are harmed. Check the battery is on your inverter's approved list and that the right cable and settings are included. A mismatched pair can work for a while and then fault. See hybrid inverters for the other side of the link.
Expanding a 48V bank later
Many owners start with one module and add a second when budget allows. Ask before you buy whether the same model will still be sold, how many modules the bank allows, and whether a new module may join an older one. Makers set their own rules on mixing ages and firmware. Also check the inverter's charge current, since a bigger bank takes longer to fill from a small inverter.
What to include in your request
- Your inverter make, model and size
- Capacity wanted now and later
- Rack, floor or wall mounted
- Where the battery will stand in the house
- Supply only or installed with a CoC
48V Lithium Batteries for different clients
- Homeowners: a 5 or 10 kWh 48V bank behind a hybrid inverter for evenings and overnight
- Complexes, estates and body corporates: 48V storage for clubhouse lights, guard huts and the estate's pump room
- Offices and home offices: a rack of 48V modules carrying computers, servers and the network through outages
- Shops, restaurants and salons: 48V lithium banks keeping tills, lights and fridges running in a shop
- Farms and smallholdings: a 15 kWh 48V bank for the farmhouse, cold room and fence with solar
- Clinics, surgeries and care homes: 48V storage behind an inverter for a clinic's lights, fridges and computers
- Factories, warehouses, schools and churches: stacked 48V modules for offices, control panels and data cabinets on site
- Electricians, installers and security companies: installers buying 48V modules that communicate with the inverters they fit
Frequently asked questions
What is the 5kw lithium battery price in South Africa?
How long will a 10kWh lithium battery last in an outage?
Can I add a second 48V module to my existing battery?
Do you install 48V lithium batteries?
48V Lithium Batteries by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg