Dear Forum members

the company that installed my solar system (Rubicon) appears to have given up the ghost (or at least, all interest in the retail solar home installations business), so I'm left to fend for myself when trying to expand my current system.

I have a 5kwH Synapse Ultra Hybrid inverter with a Synapse Powerlite 5.12kWh/51.2 V battery. I would like to add a second battery, but I’m having trouble to source another Powerlite. There seems to be just one company that sells this exact model, at an inflated price.

But Synapse have a very similar looking battery, the "Synapse Lithium battery, 5kW 100Ah 6000 Cycles @ 1C 10 Year BMS Warranty". This battery looks to all intents and purposes identical in the specs, it's certainly the same chemistry, same company, and I presume same software, the only difference being that it is 5kWh, whereas the Powerlite is 5.12kWh. Is it safe to mix and match these two batteries?

Thank you for any advice!

Robert

21 hours ago, robkowa said:

Is it safe to mix and match these two batteries?

It is save to mix battery packs with the same chemistry and the same number of cells. The size (Ah or kWh) may be different, no problem. The compatibility of the BMS is another story. However it looks like most BMS support RS485 protocol for pure monitoring.

Hi Beat, thank you for your answer.
I got the original vendor of the battery to reply to me, in the meantime, and he said, quote: "Unfortunately, you won’t be able to connect a Synapse (5k0-LV) to your Powerlite as they are not the same battery. The 5k0 is manufactured by WECO."

I think this must have to do with the compatibility of the BMS...?
He recommends, instead, a UZ Energy Power Lite, because the "Synapse Powerlite is a white labelled UZ Battery [...] It’s identical to the “Synapse” branded Powerlite and can be connected together."
Why do manufacturers and vendors have to make it so complicated... I've spend a whole day on the internet already trying to figure out which battery to get.

R

Hello @robkowa I have searched to see if I can find a compatible unit and at the prices for the units that are available you would likely be able to Buy a 15.3KWH Kynee battery for close to or less than the price they want for a compatible battery. There are also a host of other brands available at far more reasonable prices.

I hope this helps.

4 hours ago, robkowa said:

Why do manufacturers and vendors have to make it so complicated...

Because they don't want you to buy from competitors.

On 2026/06/04 at 5:48 PM, Powerforum Store said:

Hello @robkowa I have searched to see if I can find a compatible unit and at the prices for the units that are available you would likely be able to Buy a 15.3KWH Kynee battery for close to or less than the price they want for a compatible battery. There are also a host of other brands available at far more reasonable prices.

I hope this helps.

Wow, that's certainly an incredible amount of kwH for you buck (R1900 per kWh). That's A LOT better than the R4042 per kWh for the UZ Energy Power Lite (best price I've found is R20700). Battery prices are sure going down....
But as they say, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. What's the downside here? Is the Kynee of lower quality?

2 hours ago, robkowa said:

Wow, that's certainly an incredible amount of kwH for you buck (R1900 per kWh). That's A LOT better than the R4042 per kWh for the UZ Energy Power Lite (best price I've found is R20700). Battery prices are sure going down....
But as they say, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. What's the downside here? Is the Kynee of lower quality?

We have sold a few of these units and I must say they are very good the installers love the ease of installation and how well they communicate with the inverters.

I do not believe quality is compromised here Legit supplier decent after sales support and a decent warranty.