Alpha ESS SMILE-G3 batteries in Melbourne

The SMILE-G3 range: single and three phase

Every SMILE-G3 on Alpha ESS Australia’s current datasheets is an Alpha ESS inverter plus a stack of the same 9.3 kWh battery modules, designed and warranted together. The S5, T5, T10, T15 and T20 are hybrids: one inverter runs new panels and the battery. The B5 is AC coupled: it has no panel input and charges from the solar you already have.

Searching for an Alpha ESS inverter? In Alpha ESS’s home range the inverter is sold as part of a SMILE system with Alpha ESS’s own battery modules, so this page covers both. Our solar inverters guide compares it with Sungrow and Fronius.

Not sure which supply your home has? Single or three phase: how to tell.

SMILE-M, the older SMILE5 and older SMILE-G3 modules

Alpha ESS also sells the single phase SMILE-M series in Australia: the SMILE-M5-S (5 kW hybrid, 5 to 30 kWh (5 kWh modules) or 13.99 to 27.98 kWh (13.99 kWh modules)); the SMILE-M5-B (5 kW battery-only inverter, 13.99 to 27.98 kWh (13.99 kWh modules)); the SMILE-M10 (10 kW hybrid, 13.99 to 27.98 kWh). Its modules are on the approved list too (SMILE-M-BAT-5P BAT-616, SMILE-M-BAT-13.9P BAT-637). This page’s figures are for the SMILE-G3.

An older SMILE-G3 may have a different module: the approved list also has the SMILE-G3-BAT-10.1P (9.6 kWh usable per module, BAT-642) and the SMILE-G3-BAT-4.0S (3.8 kWh usable per module, BAT-512). The model name is on the label, and the sizes and rebate figures below are for the 9.3 kWh SMILE-G3-BAT-9.3S module.

Already have a SMILE5? Alpha ESS offers a 13.3 kWh expansion module, and says homes that installed a SMILE5 before 1 July 2025 may still get rebate support when they add it (capacity added later can only claim if the first battery never claimed the rebate). The SMILE-BAT-13.3P module is on the approved list until 24 February 2027, and your installer confirms the fit. See Alpha ESS’s SMILE5 expansion page.

How much storage: usable capacity and adding modules

Each SMILE-G3-BAT-9.3S module stores 9.3 kWh, and all of it is usable: Alpha ESS rates it at 100% depth of discharge. So a SMILE-G3 grows in 9.3 kWh steps, and the number of modules is set by the model:

• S5 and B5: 1 to 4 modules, 9.3 kWh to 37.2 kWh.
• T5 and T10: 1 to 6 modules, 9.3 kWh to 55.8 kWh.
• T15 and T20: 2 to 6 modules, 18.6 kWh to 55.8 kWh.

Each module weighs 81 kg and measures 634 x 610 x 210 mm (height x width x depth); the single phase inverter is 212 x 610 x 366 mm and 19.5 kg. The installer allows for both when choosing the spot. The module is rated IP65 for outdoor installation, and the Australian battery standard decides where it can go: where a battery can be installed.

How many modules do you need?

Size it to the power you use after dark and the spare solar you have to charge it, not to the most modules that fit. Our battery size calculator suggests a size from your evening use; one module covers 9.3 kWh of it.

Adding modules later

You can start smaller and add modules up to the model’s limit; Alpha ESS says you can “mix old and new batteries” when you expand. The federal rebate is stricter. Capacity added later can only claim STCs if the first battery never claimed them, and the addition must be at least 5 kWh. One 9.3 kWh module meets that minimum, but if your first SMILE-G3 got the rebate, the extra module pays full price.

What does an Alpha ESS battery cost?

Part of the price is the same at every installer: the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. It pays on the usable capacity recorded on the approved list and the date the battery is installed, whatever the brand. For the SMILE-G3 module, by number of modules:

The rebate per kWh drops on 1 January 2027, when the factor falls from 6.8 to 5.7. Dollar figures use $38 per STC, the top of the range the CER says agents usually pay, for every period. The number of STCs is set by the program; their dollar value in later years depends on the STC price then.

Market data, not our price and not specific to Alpha ESS: across Australia, installed home batteries averaged $748 to $778 per usable kWh after the federal rebate in August 2026 where a battery-ready inverter was already in place, and $770 to $828 per kWh with an extra inverter to connect to existing solar, per the Solar Choice Battery Price Index, August 2026. A SMILE-G3 brings its own inverter.

Sungrow vs Alpha ESS on price

How the battery rebate works

Approved-list status and warranty

The SMILE-G3-BAT-9.3S module is on the Clean Energy Council approved batteries list as BAT-724, approved 17 November 2025 and listed until 31 December 2027, for outdoor use. The Clean Energy Regulator says a battery must be “included on the Clean Energy Council (CEC) approved battery list” to get the rebate, and every listing has an end date, so check the module is still listed when yours goes in.

• Product warranty: 10 years against defects. Alpha ESS’s Australian datasheets list a 10-year product warranty and a 10-year battery performance warranty for every SMILE-G3 model.
• Capacity guarantee: at least 70% of usable capacity after 10 years, while the battery has delivered under 3.12 MWh per kWh of usable capacity. That is about 3,120 full cycles, or 8.5 years of one full cycle a day (our arithmetic), so a battery emptied every day can reach the limit before year 10.
• Conditions: This October 2024 document covers the SMILE-G3-S5 and SMILE-G3-B5 systems but is older than the 9.3 kWh module and doesn’t name it, so ask for the current terms with your quote. Installed by an SAA accredited installer with an Alpha Installer ID; needs an internet connection.

Read the full terms: Alpha ESS Australia, Warranty Conditions for the Residential Product Series, 11 October 2024. That document lists the single phase SMILE-G3 S5 and B5 systems but none of the three phase T5, T10, T15 and T20 models, so for three phase ask for the terms that cover your model. A manufacturer warranty is separate from the installer’s workmanship warranty, which your quote should state.

Battery warranties compared

Makers’ Australian support contacts

Does an Alpha ESS battery work in a blackout?

Yes, for the circuits wired to its backup port. Every SMILE-G3 has a backup (UPS) port: when the grid goes down, the battery keeps those circuits running. How much it can run at once is the port’s rating: 5 kVA on the S5, B5 and T5, 10 kVA on the T10, 15 kVA on the T15 and 20 kVA on the T20. A single phase SMILE-G3 tops out at 5 kVA, so you choose essentials such as the fridge, lights and internet rather than the whole house; the three phase models go up to 20 kVA. The installer wires the circuits you choose to that port.

Keep charge in reserve, and Storm Guard

• Backup reserve: in the AlphaESS app, the Backup slider sets the minimum charge the battery keeps for a blackout, in every work mode. Below 20% the app shows a “Low Backup” notice.
• Storm Guard: with your home address set in the app, Storm Guard charges the battery to 100% when a warning-level severe weather alert is issued for your area, and holds it for the home (no exporting) until the alert ends.

How home battery backup works

AlphaCloud monitoring and reconnecting Wi-Fi

Alpha ESS monitors every system on AlphaCloud, which it says is free for life. You see it in the AlphaESS app (on the App Store; on Android, search “AlphaESS” on Google Play) or on the web at the AlphaESS Portal, with one login for both. Your installer usually creates the account when the system is registered. The system reaches the internet by a network cable (LAN) or Wi-Fi, and the warranty conditions above need it online.

Reconnect an Alpha ESS battery to Wi-Fi

If the app shows “Offline”, or you have a new router or Wi-Fi password, reconnect it from the app. While the system is offline the app’s data stops updating, and Alpha ESS says VPP and other third-party scheduling is affected too. These are Alpha ESS’s steps for AlphaESS app version 7 (Alpha ESS network guide, updated 25 August 2026):

1. Get ready. The Wi-Fi module’s power light is on; your phone has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, a working internet connection and (on Android) location permission for the app; and you are within 5 metres of the system. Use your router’s 2.4 GHz network: most Alpha ESS modules can’t join 5 GHz.
2. Open the wizard. Tap Reconnect on the offline banner on the app’s home page, or after a router change go to Settings → Device → Network → Wi-Fi Settings.
3. Connect to the system. Check the model and serial number match the label, then tap Connect. The app finds the system by Bluetooth or its hotspot by itself; you don’t enter a hotspot password.
4. Choose your home Wi-Fi. Pick your network, enter its password and confirm. Applying the settings takes up to about 60 seconds.
5. Check it. Tap Done. Back on the home page, the status should read “Normal”.

If the app says “Unable to connect”, Alpha ESS’s fix is to unplug the plug-in Wi-Fi module, wait 5 seconds, plug it back in firmly and tap Retry. Don’t open the inverter or touch any wiring: if that doesn’t work, call us or your installer. If the network page shows LAN and the system is online, it is on a network cable and needs no Wi-Fi setup.

Solar monitoring and other inverter apps

Alpha ESS vs Sungrow: specs side by side

Sungrow’s SBR is the other battery our previous website listed. Both use LFP cells. The differences are the module size, whether the inverter comes with the battery, the phase options and how backup works. This is a specs comparison only; prices are on your quote.

Smaller Sungrow modules let you buy closer to the size you need; the larger Alpha ESS modules reach a big battery with fewer units, and the SMILE-G3 brings its own inverter in single or three phase. The cost guide puts the two side by side on price factors, and the Sungrow battery page covers the SBR in full.

Sungrow vs Alpha ESS: features and price

Do we install Alpha ESS batteries?

Which inverter brands we fit is being confirmed too; the SMILE-G3 always comes with Alpha ESS’s own inverter.

Solar batteries in Melbourne

Alpha ESS batteries: your questions