Sharp sets September launch for 11.5 kWh home battery

A 95 kg home battery is about to arrive in Sharp’s Japanese residential lineup. The JH-WB2621, announced under the company’s updated Eee Storage branding, offers 11.5 kWh of nominal storage and is scheduled for release in Japan on September 8, 2026.

The lithium iron phosphate unit is smaller than Sharp’s comparable previous models: its footprint is reduced by 35%, while volume per kilowatt-hour falls by 55%. It measures 458 mm x 360 mm x 777 mm and can be installed indoors or outdoors. Its initial usable capacity is 10.5 kWh, measured under Japan’s JIS C 4413 standard. Charging and discharging may be significantly restricted at low temperatures, even though installation is possible as low as -20 C.

The battery’s software is as central as its cells. Sharp’s cloud-based Cocoro Energy system uses AI to learn household living patterns and solar-generation conditions, then manages battery levels and consumption. Sharp says the approach can raise the solar power self-consumption rate to almost 75%, potentially reducing reliance on grid electricity, though the figure comes from the manufacturer rather than an independent trial.

During a grid outage, the system can supply electricity through the household distribution board instead of requiring appliances to be moved to dedicated emergency sockets. Owners can choose whole-home backup or selected circuits, a configuration that can extend backup duration and may reduce installation costs. Depending on household wiring, the system can also supply 200 V loads such as induction cooktops. Its outage discharge output rises to 4.2 kVA, from 3.0 kVA for Sharp’s previous model, allowing multiple heavy-load appliances to run simultaneously.

For households, the practical change is flexibility: the battery can store more energy in a smaller footprint, decide when to use that energy from observed solar and consumption patterns, and keep chosen circuits running during an outage. Sharp plans initial domestic production of 1,000 units per month. The battery alone has a recommended retail price of JPY 3,751,000 with tax, and its battery-integrated power conditioner, converter and multi-energy monitor are required separately.