Home battery maintenance: what's involved?

There's not much to maintaining a home battery: you keep the battery clean and the area around it clear, you update the software and you keep an eye on notifications in the app. The battery does most of the work itself.

In this blog you'll read which tasks you handle yourself, what to watch out for in heat and frost, and when a professional is needed.

Does a home battery need maintenance?

A home battery needs little maintenance, but it isn't completely maintenance-free either. Where a central heating boiler needs a periodic service, a modern home battery handles most of it itself. The battery management system (BMS) continuously monitors the voltage, current and temperature of the cells and steps in as soon as a value goes outside the safe limits.

The home batteries from brands like Zendure and Anker SOLIX use lithium iron phosphate cells (LiFePO4). You don't need to top anything up, like the electrolyte in old open lead-acid batteries. As the owner, your part is therefore limited to a few quick checks.

How do you maintain a home battery yourself?

You can maintain a home battery yourself with four quick routines, and you won't need any tools. That applies to a battery plugged into a socket, as well as a system that an electrician has connected to its own circuit: the day-to-day care is up to you as the user. Together, the tasks below take little time and prevent small irregularities from quietly growing bigger.

Keeping the home battery's housing dust-free

Keep your home battery's housing dust-free by wiping it down once every quarter with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Pay special attention to the ventilation openings, because a layer of dust restricts cooling and makes the battery run warmer. Don't use cleaning products with solvents, and never spray water on the battery or the connections.

Keeping the area around the home battery clear

Keep the area around your home battery clear so air can flow past the housing. Don't place boxes, laundry or other items against or on top of it, and keep flammable materials at a distance. The minimum clearance is listed in your model's manual. On top of that, hang a working smoke detector in the same room, as the fire brigade recommends.

Updating your home battery's firmware

You update your home battery's firmware through the manufacturer's app. Manufacturers like Zendure and Anker SOLIX use updates to improve energy management and stability, and sometimes add new features. Check once a month whether an update is available, or turn on automatic updates if the app offers that option. During the update, make sure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection and don't interrupt the process.

Checking notifications in your home battery's app

The easiest way to check notifications in your home battery's app is to turn on push messages, so an error message reaches you right away. On top of that, take a look at the charge and discharge pattern once a week; that way you learn how the battery normally behaves. Some systems help with this themselves: the Zendure SolarFlow 2400 Pro analyzes the cell data in the cloud and warns you early about anomalies.

What impact does temperature have on your home battery?

Temperature has a big impact on your home battery, because the cells only charge and discharge within a certain range. In heat or cold the battery protects itself by limiting the power or stopping temporarily. That's not a fault, but it does cost you storage and therefore savings. With the right attention for each season, you keep that loss small.

Home battery in high temperatures

A home battery in high temperatures benefits most from cool, fresh air in the room. On warm days, open a window or door in the cool morning so the heat doesn't build up. For the Zendure SolarFlow 800 Pro and 2400 AC there's a smart fan that switches on automatically via the battery's temperature sensors. You'll find this fan among the accessories for your home battery.

Home battery in freezing weather

A home battery in freezing weather only starts charging again once the cells rise above 0 °C. The Zendure expansion batteries AB2000X and AB3000X have a self-heating function for this that kicks in between -20 and 0 °C and warms up the cells first. After a period of frost, check in the app whether your battery is charging normally again.

What signs point to a problem with your home battery?

Signs pointing to a problem with your home battery usually show up first in the app, before you notice anything on your energy bill. Keep an eye out for these anomalies:

• No charging activity: the battery isn't charging, even though your solar panels have power to spare.
• Stuck charge status: the charge percentage stays the same for hours.
• Error message or offline: the app shows an error code or keeps losing the connection.
• Illogical values: the app shows negative or unlikely power values, for example due to a wrongly placed measuring clamp.
• Declining capacity: the battery drains noticeably faster than before.
• Unusual noise: you hear buzzing or ticking that wasn't there before.

Often the cause lies in the communication between the battery, smart meter and wifi, and not in the cells themselves. Restart the battery according to the manual and check the connection with the P1 meter or measuring clamp. If the problem persists, contact the seller or manufacturer.

Which home battery maintenance do you leave to a professional?

Maintenance on your home battery that goes beyond cleaning, updating and monitoring is best left to a professional. Never open the housing yourself and don't replace cells or internal parts, because they contain live components.

How much professional work is needed beyond that depends on the way your battery is connected. A plug-in home battery you plug into the wall socket yourself, so professional work there usually stays limited to a fault you can't solve yourself. Systems with more power, such as the Zendure SolarFlow 2400 AC or the Anker SOLIX Solarbank Max AC, are connected by an electrician to a dedicated circuit for full power. Always have changes to such a connection and to the meter cupboard carried out by a certified installer.

What are the maintenance costs of a home battery?

The maintenance costs of a home battery stay low as long as you carry out the routines yourself, because no parts need to be replaced periodically. Costs only arise with a defect outside the warranty, for example a battery module that needs to be replaced.

If an electrician has connected your system to a dedicated circuit, you can also opt for a periodic check of the connection. Installers and service companies offer maintenance contracts or individual inspections for this, at a rate that depends on the system and the distance to your home. So ask for a quote in advance, so you know what a check-up visit costs.

Where do you buy a home battery that requires little maintenance?

A home battery that requires little maintenance is something you buy at TechPunt. We sell systems from Zendure and Anker SOLIX, from a battery you plug into the wall socket yourself to expandable systems on a dedicated circuit, with a built-in battery management system and an app where you track the status. Everything is shipped from our own warehouse in Barneveld, with a 2-year warranty on every product.

Not sure which model fits your situation, or do you have a question about maintaining your battery? Our customer service is happy to help you by phone, email or WhatsApp.