Private label home battery: what can be customised, and what cannot
Most private label conversations start with “we want it to look like ours” and end with a surprise three months later when the answer is “that part is not changeable”. This is the list, split by what is actually feasible.
The list, honestly split
| What you want to change | Feasible? | Typical condition | Effect on certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badge, silkscreen, nameplate | Yes | No minimum worth mentioning | None, if ratings stay the same |
| Retail carton and inserts | Yes | Print run sets the floor | None |
| Manual and warranty text language | Yes | You supply the translation | None |
| App name, icon, login screen | Yes, on platforms that support it | Fixed app skeleton, your branding | None |
| Default charge/discharge settings, grid code preset | Yes | Set at commissioning or factory | Grid code must still match the country |
| Terminal, cable, mounting bracket variants | Yes | Usually a stocked option | None |
| Cabinet colour or texture | Yes, at volume | Paint or powder run minimum | None |
| Add a meter, CT clamp, dry contact | Usually | Depends on BMS inputs available | May require a test update |
| Enclosure geometry redesign | Rarely | New tooling, four-figure units | New mechanical test, new certs |
| BMS firmware logic change | No, not for a small order | Vendor roadmap, not a purchase order | Re-test likely |
| Cell chemistry or supplier change | No | Not a branding decision | Full re-certification |
| Inverter topology or power class | No | New platform | New certs, new EMC |
Why the “no” answers are not laziness
A home battery is certified as a combination: cells, BMS, protection, enclosure and firmware, tested together. Change the cell supplier and the thermal propagation assumption behind the test no longer holds; change the BMS logic and the over-current behaviour you certified is no longer the behaviour you ship. That is why a supplier who says “sure, we can change anything” is usually telling you they have not thought about the certificate.
What is worth spending money on
In our experience the changes that pay back fastest are not cosmetic: a manual in the installer's language, a commissioning sheet that matches local grid requirements, and spare BMS boards held locally. Those three reduce the number of phone calls in year two far more than a custom colour ever will. A custom colour sells the first container; a spare board keeps the account.
Sequencing a private label project
- Decide the target market and grid code first — it constrains the platform, not the label.
- Pick the platform and the power class, then confirm which certificate it already carries.
- Only then design the label, packaging and manual around the approved ratings.
- Agree the documentation set and the spare parts list in the same contract as the price.
Doing it in this order avoids the most expensive mistake in private label: printing a nameplate with a rating the certificate does not cover.
- Change matrix compiled from our own programme experience and supplier discussions, 2026-10-26.
- Certification scope statement: UN38.3 transport testing and IEC 62619 cell/system testing apply to a defined construction, not to a brand name.
- Grid code and commissioning requirements vary by country and are confirmed per project.
Page updated 2026-10-26. If you are reading a cached copy, check the date before quoting a figure.
Answers in short
Can I have my own app?
A fully custom app is a software project with a maintenance obligation, not a label change. Branding inside an existing app platform is realistic; a new app built for one brand usually costs more than the first order.
Does a colour change require re-certification?
Usually not, because paint does not change electrical or thermal behaviour. Confirm with the certificate holder in writing, since the enclosure is part of the tested construction.
What if I want a different cell brand?
Treat it as a new product. The certificate refers to a tested construction, so a different cell supplier normally means new test work, new timelines and new cost.
Next
If you are sourcing for a private label programme, the fastest way to a real number is a bill of materials and a target market. Send both and you get a written quote instead of a brochure.