Here we go again - time to do a another calculation. (previous posts here, here, here, and here). I will go with both cheapest cells available (B-grade) and A-grade cells in Europe. At some point I'll do an Alibaba version again (and a US version if I find the time) but prices are very similar between Alibaba and the EU vendors.
Disclaimer, as usual: I mention vendors below and use them as an example and as reference. This should not be considered an endorsement of said vendors!
We again start again with leveling the playing field. I'll go with SOK again (because we don't have many other options), like last time. A 5kW SOK rack mount battery is currently retailing at 1499 Euro (200 Euro cheaper than last version). The shipping cost still seems to be a flat 50 Euro per battery but there is also a 50 Euro discount at the moment, so we'll use 1499 Euro as the final price. This means a cost of about 300 Euro per kWh.
Another option would be RUiXU, they have an offer currently for 1099 Euro for a 5kWh battery, but they apply a 350 Euro flat shipping fee - so the final price would be the same as the SOK battery.
For our DIY pack, we go with cells from NKON again, and yes, same as last time I will go B-grade Envision HC-L315A 3.2V 315Ah. Getting 16 of those for a 48V battery, we end up paying 54,90 Euro per cell, for a total of 878.4 Euro. Note: last time (November 2023) we used 280Ah cells and paid 69 Euro per cell. We also have to include shipping, which to Finland would be 116,57 Euro. All together including the VAT makes that 978,97 Euro.
If we don't want to go B-grade, we could opt for Eve MB31 Prismatic 314Ah cells, at 71,95 Euro per cell. For the 16 cells, including VAT and shipping, the total comes to 1268,50 Euro.
Note that these 16 cells for both versions make for a total battery capacity of 16kWh, three times the SOK battery.
As before, I'm sticking to the JK BMS, but I'll get it from NKON as well so they would arrive at the same time with my cells and I don't have to go shop on Aliexpress. Cost for the 200A version including VAT: 167,95 Euro.
Since class T fuses are still difficult to get, and I wanted to use something else than BS88 which I typically use, I went with an NH class fuse from TME. I went with an NH00 125A battery fuse (gBat) for 15.9 Euro together with a fuse holder for it for 25.21 Euro. VAT and shipping for those came to about 70 Euro.
I'll also add an MCCB DC1 breaker from Elmark; I don't have exact shipping cost, but these come in at around 200 Euro, so I'll make it 250 Euro for the calculation.
- The total for the B-grade cell version: 1466.92 Euro, or 91.7 Euro per kWh
- The total for the A-grade cell version: 1756.45 Euro, or 109.8 Euro per kWh
Let's add a case. I randomly found some EEL boxes here in the EU. I don't have experience with these, but the apparently ship for free. Cost of the box: 500 Euro, and this came with a BMS but I won't subtract anything for the cost analysis.
Including the box, the total costs becomes:
- 1966.92 Euro for the B-grade version, or 123 Euro per kWh
- 2256.45 Euro for the A-grade version, or 141 Euro per kWh
As usual, it's up to you to decide if it's worth it, and worth your time and effort to build it or buy off-the-shelf.
Disclaimer, as usual: I mention vendors below and use them as an example and as reference. This should not be considered an endorsement of said vendors!
We again start again with leveling the playing field. I'll go with SOK again (because we don't have many other options), like last time. A 5kW SOK rack mount battery is currently retailing at 1499 Euro (200 Euro cheaper than last version). The shipping cost still seems to be a flat 50 Euro per battery but there is also a 50 Euro discount at the moment, so we'll use 1499 Euro as the final price. This means a cost of about 300 Euro per kWh.
Another option would be RUiXU, they have an offer currently for 1099 Euro for a 5kWh battery, but they apply a 350 Euro flat shipping fee - so the final price would be the same as the SOK battery.
For our DIY pack, we go with cells from NKON again, and yes, same as last time I will go B-grade Envision HC-L315A 3.2V 315Ah. Getting 16 of those for a 48V battery, we end up paying 54,90 Euro per cell, for a total of 878.4 Euro. Note: last time (November 2023) we used 280Ah cells and paid 69 Euro per cell. We also have to include shipping, which to Finland would be 116,57 Euro. All together including the VAT makes that 978,97 Euro.
If we don't want to go B-grade, we could opt for Eve MB31 Prismatic 314Ah cells, at 71,95 Euro per cell. For the 16 cells, including VAT and shipping, the total comes to 1268,50 Euro.
Note that these 16 cells for both versions make for a total battery capacity of 16kWh, three times the SOK battery.
As before, I'm sticking to the JK BMS, but I'll get it from NKON as well so they would arrive at the same time with my cells and I don't have to go shop on Aliexpress. Cost for the 200A version including VAT: 167,95 Euro.
Since class T fuses are still difficult to get, and I wanted to use something else than BS88 which I typically use, I went with an NH class fuse from TME. I went with an NH00 125A battery fuse (gBat) for 15.9 Euro together with a fuse holder for it for 25.21 Euro. VAT and shipping for those came to about 70 Euro.
I'll also add an MCCB DC1 breaker from Elmark; I don't have exact shipping cost, but these come in at around 200 Euro, so I'll make it 250 Euro for the calculation.
- The total for the B-grade cell version: 1466.92 Euro, or 91.7 Euro per kWh
- The total for the A-grade cell version: 1756.45 Euro, or 109.8 Euro per kWh
Let's add a case. I randomly found some EEL boxes here in the EU. I don't have experience with these, but the apparently ship for free. Cost of the box: 500 Euro, and this came with a BMS but I won't subtract anything for the cost analysis.
Including the box, the total costs becomes:
- 1966.92 Euro for the B-grade version, or 123 Euro per kWh
- 2256.45 Euro for the A-grade version, or 141 Euro per kWh
As usual, it's up to you to decide if it's worth it, and worth your time and effort to build it or buy off-the-shelf.
