5 kW Solar System with 15 kWh Battery
Same 4.95 kWp array as the 10 kWh kit, with a 16.08 kWh LFP bank for two-day autonomy — the choice for clinics, farms and anyone tired of rationing power in the rainy season.
- PV array
- 4.95 kWp
- 9 x 550 W
- Battery
- 16.08 kWh
- 14.47 kWh usable
- Inverter
- 5 kW
- 5 kW / 48 V hybrid inverter
- Daily output (South Africa)
- 20.4 kWh
- South Africa, 5.5 kWh/m2/day
Two customers ask for this configuration, and they have the same problem in different words. The first is a clinic that cannot let a vaccine fridge drift during a three-day overcast spell. The second is a farmhouse where the borehole, the dairy cooler and the house all sit on one supply and nobody wants to decide which one gets switched off.
The engineering answer is not more panels — 4.95 kWp already produces 15-20 kWh a day in these markets. It is a deeper bank. The SL5314 puts 16.08 kWh (314 Ah at 51.2 V) in one enclosure, giving 14.5 kWh usable at 90% depth of discharge, which is roughly two full nights without any solar input. That is the difference between a system that survives a cloudy week and one that survives a cloudy week without a generator.
What's in the kit
The bill of materials below is what ships, not a wish list. Anything marked configurable is fixed at order confirmation against your grid, your generator and your load list.
| Item | Specification | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| PV modules | 550 W monocrystalline half-cell, 182 mm, 25-year performance warranty. Smaller DLXN-M10 50-230 W modules are available for outbuildings or a separate off-grid circuit. module range · DLXN-M10-230W | 9 x 550 W |
| Hybrid inverter Configurable | 5 kW / 48 V hybrid inverter, 2 x MPPT, 140 A charger. Configurable: 5 kW/48 V hybrid (default) with generator input, or 6 kW/48 V hybrid if you want headroom for a second borehole pump. The 140 A charger matters here — it refills the 314 Ah bank in one good solar day rather than two. | 1 |
| Battery | DLXN-SL5314 — 16.08 kWh LiFePO4, 51.2 V / 314 Ah, 6,000-8,000 cycles, built-in BMS. Two DLXN-F5200 10.24 kWh packs (20.48 kWh total) are the alternative when you want the bank split across two locations or expect to add capacity one pack at a time. DLXN-F5200 | 1 |
| Mounting | Mounting: 9 x rail sets, identical to the 10 kWh kit, so an existing installation can be upgraded by changing only the battery and the inverter charge setting. | 1 |
| DC side / AC side | Balance of system: 2-string DC combiner with 32 A breakers and Type 2 SPD, 6 mm2 PV cable, 12-way AC board with RCD, CT meter for export limiting, WiFi/4G dongle, 1.5 m 70 mm2 battery leads with a 200 A DC breaker (sized for the 314 Ah bank, not the 100 Ah one). | 1 |
| Monitoring | WiFi + 4G dongle, Modbus TCP for third-party EMS, 5-year data retention on the DLXN-IOT platform. | 1 |
How it connects
One array, one inverter, one battery bank, and three possible AC sources. The drawing below is the flow an installer works from; the numbered steps are the order the work actually happens in on site.
Arrows show power flow. The inverter decides every few milliseconds whether the array feeds the loads, charges the battery, exports, or blends all three.
- 1
Mount and earth the array
Rails first, then modules, then a continuous earth bond across every frame. 9 modules at 550 W is 4,950 Wp of DC; the frames must be bonded to the same earth bar as the inverter or the surge protection has nothing to divert into.
- 2
Wire the strings to the combiner
9 x 550 W monocrystalline half-cell, 5S1P + 4S1P on separate MPPT inputs. Each string lands on its own fused or breaker-protected input in the DC combiner, with a Type 2 surge arrester on the DC bus. Check polarity with a meter before the first MC4 click — reversed strings are the most common cause of a dead MPPT on commissioning day.
- 3
Run DC to the inverter MPPT inputs
Same 5 + 4 split as the 10 kWh version: Voc about 250 V and 200 V, both clear of the start voltage at 40 degrees cell temperature. The array is intentionally unchanged — this kit buys autonomy, not more daytime power. Keep the DC run as short as the building allows; every extra 10 m of 6 mm2 cable costs roughly 0.3% of yield.
- 4
Set the battery on its own breaker
The DLXN-SL5314 (16.08 kWh, 51.2 V / 314 Ah) connects to the inverter DC bus through its own DC breaker and a pre-charge resistor. Neutral, earth and the battery negative are kept separate; the BMS CAN lead is landed on the inverter comms port and the protocol selected in the menu before the first charge.
- 5
Build the AC side
Inverter AC out feeds a distribution board with an RCD, one breaker per circuit, and a surge arrestor. Grid and generator each get their own input with a changeover, so the inverter can be told which source is present rather than guessing.
- 6
Configure, then load test
Set battery type to lithium, capacity to 16.08 kWh, charge current to the value in the commissioning sheet, and export limit to the site rule (zero-export for prepaid meters). Then apply a known load — a 2 kW kettle is the usual choice — and confirm the inverter holds frequency and voltage while the array is curtailed.
- 7
Hand over the labels and the diagram
Every breaker gets a label, the single-line diagram goes inside the DB door, and the monitoring account is transferred to the owner. This is what an inspector asks for, and it is what the next technician needs two years later.
How much it generates
Daily yield is calculated as 4.95 kWp x irradiance x 0.75 system efficiency. The efficiency factor is not a marketing number: it bundles inverter conversion, DC and AC cable losses, soiling, mismatch and temperature derating at roughly 35 degrees cell temperature.
| Market | Irradiance (kWh/m2/day) | Daily (kWh) | Monthly (kWh) | Yearly (kWh) | What that covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 5.5 | 20.4 | 612 | 7,446 | about 1.7 kWh/day of self-consumption, or roughly 31% of a 20 kWh/day household |
| Nigeria | 5 | 18.6 | 558 | 6,789 | about 1.6 kWh/day of self-consumption, or roughly 28% of a 20 kWh/day household |
| Philippines | 4.5 | 16.7 | 501 | 6,096 | about 1.4 kWh/day of self-consumption, or roughly 25% of a 20 kWh/day household |
Estimates, not guarantees. Real output moves with tilt, azimuth, shading, soiling and season; a site survey typically shifts these figures by 10-15% either way. Peak-sun-hours data is long-term average, so a good month can beat the table by 20% and a bad one can miss it by 25%.
Usable battery
14.47 kWh
at 90% depth of discharge
Night autonomy at 400 W
36.2 h
excluding air conditioning
Storage per kWp
3.2 kWh/kWp
about 2 kWh/kWp suits daily cycling
How to read the table
The three markets are the ones we ship to most, and the differences are real: Johannesburg gets about 5.5 peak sun hours a year-round, Lagos about 5.0 with a rainy-season dip in June, Manila about 4.5 with a pronounced wet season from June to October. A system sized on the annual average will under-perform in Manila in August and over-perform in March — that is normal, and it is why the battery is sized on the evening load rather than on the daily average.
What it solves
Three load profiles this kit actually gets ordered for. The numbers come from our own commissioning sheets, not from a catalogue.
Three overcast days at a rural clinic
Two medical fridges at 350 W average, 100 W of lighting and 60 W of office load is a 510 W baseline. Over 72 hours that is 36.7 kWh of demand; three overcast days at 30% of nameplate still deliver about 13 kWh, leaving 23.7 kWh to come from the bank — more than the 14.5 kWh available, so the kit is specified with the generator input as the last line of defence rather than pretending it is not needed.
A farmhouse with a dairy cooler
A 900 W milk cooler cycling at 60% plus 400 W of household load is 940 W through the evening and night. The bank carries 15 hours, which covers the longest winter night plus the early milking shift, and the array takes over the cooler by 09:00.
A home that wants one air conditioner at night
One 1.2 kW inverter split unit running six hours at an average 60% modulation draws 4.3 kWh — inside the 14.5 kWh usable, leaving 10 kWh for the fridge, lights and fans. This is the smallest kit in the range that can honestly promise night-time cooling; the 10 kWh version cannot.
Where this kit is installed
In South Africa this is the kit that gets ordered for farm hospitals and guest farms, where the CoC inspector will ask for the battery breaker rating and the earth-neutral bond — both are in the standard package. In Nigeria it is bought for cold-chain businesses that cannot afford a spoilage event; in the Philippines for barangay health centres in typhoon corridors.
Indicative EXW cost
Ex-works Shenzhen, USD, per kit. The inverter is quoted separately because it is the one line that changes with your grid and generator; everything else below is fixed hardware.
| Item | Specification | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| 4,950 Wp of PV modules | 9 x 550 W mono half-cell | USD 842 - 1,139 |
| Battery, 16.08 kWh | DLXN-SL5314, LiFePO4, 51.2 V / 314 Ah | USD 1,528 - 2,090 |
| Mounting, cabling, combiners, AC board | Rails, clamps, DC/AC cable, SPD, DB | USD 180 - 260 |
| Hybrid inverter | 5 kW / 48 V hybrid inverter, 2 x MPPT, 140 A charger | Quoted separately — specification depends on grid and generator |
| Kit total, EXW, excluding inverter | Panels + battery + balance of system | USD 2,550 - 3,489 |
Indicative EXW only — final installed price is quoted by your local installer after freight, duty, labour and commissioning. Module pricing is based on USD 0.17-0.23/Wp and battery on USD 95-130/kWh at the time of writing; both move with cell and wafer prices, so confirm before you budget.
Upgrade path
Upgrade path: a second SL5314 in parallel reaches 32.16 kWh, the largest bank the 5 kW inverter will charge at a sensible rate; two more modules take the array to 6.05 kWp. Beyond that, move to the 8 kW or 10 kW kit — the DC cabling and combiner are the parts that no longer scale.
Hardware in this kit
Every line above maps to a catalogue page with a datasheet:
Frequently asked questions
Why does a 5 kW kit with 15 kWh cost more than the 6 kW kit with 10 kWh?
Because storage, not panels, dominates the bill. At USD 95-130/kWh a 16.08 kWh bank is USD 1,528-2,090, against USD 973-1,331 for 10.24 kWh — while the extra 1.1 kWp of modules in the 6 kW kit is only about USD 190-280. Indicative EXW here is USD 2,549-3,489 excluding the inverter; the 6 kW + 10 kWh kit is USD 2,181-2,983.
How much does the 5 kW array generate each day?
About 20.4 kWh/day in South Africa, 18.6 in Nigeria, 16.7 in the Philippines (0.75 efficiency, 5.5 / 5.0 / 4.5 kWh/m2/day). The array is identical to the 10 kWh kit — you are buying autonomy, not extra generation, and the monthly figure stays at 612 / 558 / 501 kWh.
How long will the battery last on a full charge with no sun?
At a 500 W continuous load, 14.5 kWh usable gives about 29 hours. At 1 kW it is about 14 hours. At the clinic baseline of 510 W it is a little over 28 hours. Add a 1.2 kW air conditioner at night and the figure drops to roughly 8-9 hours, which is why we ask for the load list rather than quoting a single autonomy number.
Can I add this battery to a system I already own?
If your inverter is a 48 V hybrid with a CAN or RS485 BMS link and a charge current of at least 100 A, yes — the SL5314 will talk to it once the protocol is selected. If it is a 24 V machine, or a grid-tie inverter without a battery port, it cannot. Send us the inverter model and firmware version and we will confirm before you order.
Ask about this configuration
Send us your load list, the port you ship to and whether a generator stays on site. We reply with a configuration, a drawing and an EXW quotation — usually within one business day.
- ✉ dlxn@dlxnsolar.com
- Contact details and offices
- Factory: Shenzhen, China · Ports: Shenzhen / Ningbo / Shanghai
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