Sigenergy, the new darling of Australia’s federal rebate-boosted home battery boom after topping the charts for market share, has issued a product recall following reports of overheating inverter components and melted plugs.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Thursday that the electrical safety recall was issued by Sigenergy for the SigenStor single phase 8/10/12 kW energy controllers with quick connect AC plug.
The ACCC says the AC plugs “may overheat and become damaged, posing a risk of fire.”
“If an overheating AC plug should lead to a fire, it could result in property damage, serious injury or death. Incidents have occurred. No property damage, injuries or deaths have been reported,” the notice says.
The ACCC says Sigenergy has had reports of issues with a “small proportion” of recalled products, with around 100 inverters affected, so far.
This is a fairly small number in light of Sigenergy’s market share, which had rocketed to 17.4 per cent of “blended capacity” – that is home battery systems proposed, sold and installed in Australia – by March this year, well before the launch of federal Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries rebate.
By May, when the rebate was first announced, Sigenergy’s market share had jumped to 31.4 per cent, according to solar industry analyst SunWiz – more than double the market share of the No.2 brand.
But signs of trouble with some SigenStor batteries have been emerging over the past couple of months, including discussion in online chat groups about whether the issues were being cause by a product defect, or by faulty installation.
On October 09, Sigenergy was prompted to issue a notice to installer partners detailing proper installation methods and warning that installations not matching manual instructions would not be covered by product warranties.
“We have recently completed a detailed review of several AC plug issues on large single-phase Energy Controllers,” a notice shared with Renew Economy says.
“From site inspections and product testing, we found that on occasion installation methods differ from our official installation manual.
“Since safety and reliability are our top priorities, we’re taking proactive steps to ensure our installers are fully informed of the correct installation process.”
More than a month later, however, the company has opted to issue a product recall in concert with the ACCC.
“Sigenergy is committed to rectifying this issue and is working with the ACCC, state and territory electrical safety regulators and installers to ensure the ongoing safety of the affected product,” the notice says.
The ACCC notice says consumers will get a notification via the mySigen app if their product is affected by the recall, and should ensure their systems are internet connected, to allow for firmware updates and proactive monitoring.
Sigenergy battery owners will get a free replacement product with an updated AC plug and will be contacted by their retailer or Sigenergy Australia service partner to arrange replacements, the recall notice says.
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) says it has reviewed and approved a component update to Sigenergy’s product approved for use under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
The Clean Energy Regulator, which oversees the SRES, says the recall shows that established systems have worked effectively to keep consumers safe and safety issues are identified and managed quickly.
“We apply strict standards for product and installer accreditation, and any system eligible for support must be installed in accordance with state and territory electrical safety regulation,” the CER says here.
“We have been conducting inspections on solar batteries installed since 1 July.”
From zero to hero
Sigenergy was launched in 2022 in China by founder and CEO and Tony Xu and launched its first small-scale battery energy storage offering – the SigenStor – internationally in March 2023 and in Australia at All Energy in October 2023.
By March 2024, Sigenergy had signed up around 40 pilot sites across Australia and four local solar and battery distributors had visited Shanghai to meet the team and visit the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities.
The new battery has also participated in industry-leading vehicle-to-grid trials with major Australian network company Essential Energy, CSIRO and Ford, as well as with consumer energy focused retailer Amber Electric.
The SigenStor integrates a battery pack, battery power conversion system, inverter, EV charger and energy management system into a unit that is said to take 15 minutes to install and 5 minutes to commission.
In Australia, the 3-phase SigenStor battery range was listed with the Clean Energy Council in June 2024, while the single phase range was listed this March.
With lithium iron phosphate chemistry, the SigenStore comes in 5kWh and 8kWh battery packs, stackable to six units high, and up to 48kWh (plus further parallel capacity).
As Renew Economy reported here, a company filing made in September, in the lead up to Sigenergy’s IPO, said it had topped the Australian market for five consecutive months, peaking at 31.4 per cent in May.
For more information, consumers should contact Sigenergy Australia Pty Ltd via email at sigenservice.au@sigenergy or visit Sigenergy Australia’s website. See a list of details to help identify the product.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
