{"id":141,"date":"2019-05-07T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2022-07-26T17:32:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T21:32:41","slug":"solar-battery-tesla-powerwall-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/episodes\/solar-battery-tesla-powerwall-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Battery Tesla Powerwall and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out my Energy Sage portal for free solar quotes and research<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

If you\u2019re thinking about going solar, or even if you have already, you may be considering installing a solar battery too. How do they work? Why would you want one? How much do they cost? While there\u2019s some good options available, there\u2019s a lot to chew with this one. Let\u2019s see if we can break it down.<\/p>

The biggest Achilles heel of solar power is that you\u2019re only generating power during the day and that\u2019s not even counting seasonality and weather. There\u2019s an immense amount of power we can generate from the sun, but capturing and then storing overproduction for later use is the challenge.<\/p>

I\u2019ll be diving into grid scale energy storage solutions in a video later, but for this one I\u2019m going to focus on the most common batteries you can use in your home. These can help to store solar for use at night or to just store energy as a backup system. <\/p>

Live in an area where the grid can be unreliable? A battery paired with a solar panel system can help you weather grid outages. In fact, depending on the size of the battery and solar panels, you could run indefinitely and not even now there was grid outage in the first place.1<\/sup><\/p>

When looking at solar batteries, there are some points of comparison to consider: capacity and power, depth of discharge, and warranty. <\/p>

Capacity is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), which is how much energy can be stored in the battery. The power is the flow of energy the battery can output, which limits the number of things you can run at the same time off the battery. This is measured in kilowatts (kW). <\/p>

Depth of discharge is how low you can run the battery before you need to stop and recharge it. <\/p>

And warranty is exactly what you think. It\u2019s the manufacturer\u2019s guarantee for how long the battery will last or how many cycles the battery is capable of in its lifetime. <\/p>

What are the types of batteries for solar?<\/h2>

From my research there are a couple common battery systems you\u2019re looking at when it comes to home use: lead acid and lithium ion. There are some others like saltwater and flow batteries, but they\u2019re still relatively new to the home market.2<\/sup><\/p>

Lead acid batteries have been around for well over 100 years, and if you saw my battery recycling video, you know that they can be fully recycled. They come in two flavors: flooded (also known as vented) and sealed. Biggest pro for lead acid in general: they\u2019re super cheap, which makes them a great option for off-grid installations. A big con: they have a very short lifespan and low depth of discharge. The deeper you discharge a lead acid battery, the shorter the lifespan and fewer cycles you\u2019ll get. You\u2019re typically looking at 200 – 1,000 cycles. Each manufacturer will provide details for the recommend depth of discharge. An even bigger con for flooded lead acid batteries: They off-gas hydrogen and require special ventilation … or … things can blow up.3<\/sup> They also require maintenance to monitor water levels and equalize the batteries on a schedule. Sealed lead acid batteries don\u2019t have those downsides, but cost more than flooded batteries.4<\/sup><\/p>

Lithium ion is the technology most big name battery systems are using, like Tesla Powerwall. They\u2019re much lighter and more compact than lead acid batteries, and also have a much longer lifespan with deeper discharge cycles. We\u2019re talking about thousands of cycles with the Tesla Powerwall being around 5,000. And no off-gassing or special maintenance to worry about. The big con is the price, which is much more expensive than lead acid, and as of right now they can be more challenging to recycle.<\/p>

Salt water is still relatively new for solar batteries, but they have no heavy metals which means they are easily recycled. They have a good depth of discharge with cost and lifespan somewhere in between lead acid and lithium ion batteries. And they\u2019re incredibly safe when you consider that they\u2019re non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable … you get the idea. They\u2019re very safe.5<\/sup><\/p>

Flow batteries are still getting started in the home market and are limited where you\u2019re able to buy them. One example is Redflow\u2019s Zcell in Australia, but from my research flow batteries are still primarily large scale energy storage. One big benefit of flow batteries is the 100% depth of discharge, they\u2019re also fully recyclable like salt water batteries.6<\/sup><\/p>

So how much?<\/h2>

So how much do they cost? Well, get ready for some sticker shock. Typical solar batteries can cost between $5,000 – $7,000, or about $400 – $750 per kWh of the system. You\u2019ll also need to add installation costs on top of that, so it gets pricey fast. Now, if you know what you\u2019re doing, you can build out your own system for a lot less. I\u2019m not going to get into the DIY angle in this video, but there\u2019s some great resources online. <\/p>

I’m not going to get into the DIY angle or full off-grid systems in this video. Those deserve their own dedicated deep dives, but there are some great resources online for those.<\/p>

So with prices like that how can someone justify tacking that onto the expense of a solar panel system? It\u2019s going to really depend on where you live, your energy prices, and what you\u2019re hoping to get out of it. There are three things you\u2019ll have to factor right off the bat: time of use rates, demand charges, and net metering.<\/p>

If your utility has time of use rates (TOU), you\u2019ll have peak and off peak electricity rates, which means you could be paying very high prices during the day. Then at night you\u2019re paying discounted rates. In California some peak electricity pricing can hit as high as $0.46\/kWh in the summer.7<\/sup><\/p>

A solar battery takes the excess electricity you generate during the day and stores it for use later. No shock there. And you probably already know that means you\u2019re taking advantage of all of the solar power you\u2019re generating, even at night. But some of these systems can take it a step further by letting you pull electricity for use from the grid while prices are low. Then during peak rate times your system will pull the solar electricity you stored from the battery helping to save money and reduce load on the grid at the same time.<\/p>

That\u2019s one of the major selling points of Tesla\u2019s Powerwall. It can be set up to take your electricity rates into account to determine the most economical use of your solar and grid electricity. <\/p>

Does your utility have demand charges? Those types of fees are usually determined by the total amount of electricity you buy during peak hours or the total amount of electricity in a month. If you have a solar battery, it minimizes the amount of electricity you have to pull from the grid, which in turn drops your demand charge. <\/p>

Where you live may also have feed-in tariffs, which is a rate you\u2019re paid for the amount of electricity you export too the grid. With a solar battery, you\u2019ll most likely see a decrease in those payments because you\u2019re putting less into the grid. But you\u2019ll be using more of your solar generation for yourself, so you\u2019ll need to weigh the difference in savings between those two.8<\/sup><\/p>

And finally, net metering. Here in Massachusetts I\u2019m lucky and have full net metering, which means any excess solar that I put into the grid gets erased off of my grid usage. It\u2019s a 1:1 exchange. That actually means a solar battery system is less financially beneficial for me since the grid is acting like a battery for me already. However, there are a lot of areas that have a reduced net metering system, or even no net metering at all. Sometimes electric companies will offer you credits at the wholesale rate for your solar production, but then you\u2019re essentially buying it back later at full consumer rates. That means your solar electricity is more valuable to you if use it at your home. That\u2019s where a solar battery may make sense for net metering situations.<\/p>

What\u2019s available?<\/h2>

There are quite a few options out there, so I can\u2019t go through all of them … and I don\u2019t think you\u2019d want me to. But there are a few big ones I thought it would be good to take a quick look at.<\/p>

The big name that pretty much everyone knows is the Tesla Powerwall. It was originally introduced in 2015 and is currently on it\u2019s second version, which can store 13.5 kWh and sustain a 5kW output. It\u2019s enough to power essential appliances for 24 hours. With a single battery starting at $6,700, supporting hardware at around $1,100, and installation being somewhere between $1,000 – $3,000, it\u2019s pricey. It has a 10 year warranty and is guaranteed to have 70% of it\u2019s capacity still available.<\/p>

The Powerwall can be configured to hold back a certain percentage of energy for backup purposes, and as I mentioned earlier, will manage all of the energy prioritization automatically for you. The system is designed to be tied to the grid to maximize your solar and take your electricity prices into account. If you\u2019re looking to go off-grid, you\u2019ll need to look elsewhere. <\/p>

But even being tied to the grid, you still can weather grid outages and refill your battery from your solar production during the day.<\/p>

Sonnen eco is a 4kWh battery that comes from the German company, sonnenBatterie, and has a continuous power output of 3kW. The battery is a lithium ferrous phosphate battery. Prices start at $9,950 and go up from there. Much like the Tesla Powerwall, it\u2019s software learns and minimizes your grid usage by managing your solar consumption and time of use grid electricity rates. And just like Tesla, the warranty for the system is 10 years and 70% of capacity.<\/p>

The LG Chem RESU, which is from the South Korean electronics giant, comes in capacities from 2.9 – 12.4kWh and has a 3.5kW continuous power output.9<\/sup> This is actually one of the most popular batteries for solar panel systems in Australia and Europe. It\u2019s still fairly new to the U.S., so much so I couldn\u2019t find official prices yet, but it\u2019s looking like it will be between $6,000 – $7,000, but you\u2019ll need to tack on an additional $2,000 – $3,000 for equipment costs and $1,500 – $3,000 for installation. <\/p>

Final thoughts<\/h2>

So is it worth it to add a solar battery onto your solar panel system? As you heard from some of those prices, it\u2019s really going to vary depending on where you live and what your electric utility situation is. If I were to add a battery onto my system, I wouldn\u2019t see any kind of return of investment right now because of where I live. In Massachusetts I\u2019ve got full net metering and I don\u2019t have time of use rates, which means I\u2019d see no benefit of any kind. However, that may be changing.<\/p>

Just this last February the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a new three-year energy efficiency plan. It\u2019s going to make Massachusetts the first state in the country to make battery storage eligible for energy efficiency incentives. At the end of each year, the utility will reward you by how much you reduced your load on the grid because of the battery. The state wants to increase the amount of behind-the-meter battery storage in the state to 30-34MW.10<\/sup><\/p>

There are similar programs around the world that are building out virtual power plants by utilizing home batteries to stabilize the grid. In Germany, Sonnen has received pre-qualification for such a system, which uses all of these batteries to put large amounts of power into the grid during peak usage. A home battery in this case not only benefits the owner, but also everyone else on the grid.11<\/sup><\/p>

So there may be different programs available where you are that can offset the addition of a battery to your home. There was a program in Australia that offered interest free loans of up to $10,000 to buy batteries or solar battery systems. The program was such a hit that it was \u201call but exhausted\u201d two weeks after it was launched.12<\/sup><\/p>

But the math is a lot tougher when it comes to batteries than it is for a solar panel system in general. You\u2019ll need to do a little number crunching to see if the math works for you, but you don\u2019t have to do that alone. In my previous video on my solar panel system I strongly suggested using Energysage if you\u2019re in the United States to research solar panels and installers. You can use Energysage to check out information on solar batteries too. They have some great write ups and reviews, which I\u2019ll include in the description.<\/p>

And be sure to check out my EnergySage portal<\/a> for researching solar, calculating the costs, payback periods, and any other questions you have. They\u2019re a tremendous resource and completely free. You can plug in your information and request quotes from solar installers, which all get funneled into your EnergySage account, so you don\u2019t have to worry about getting flooded with phone calls. It makes it easy to compare installers, cost estimates and energy production quotes in one place. And installers also have customer rankings and feedback, so you can find a reputable and good quality installer.<\/p>

To be completely transparent, this is an affiliate program for my channel, so if you research and find an installer using EnergySage, it helps to support the channel. It\u2019s a completely free service, which I\u2019ve used myself and can vouch for how much it helped me through my solar installation process. Whether or not you use my EnergySage portal doesn\u2019t matter, I strongly recommend EnergySage for your research and questions. <\/p>

Energysage – How much does solar storage cost?<\/a> <\/p>

Energysage – Tesla Powerwall: the complete battery review<\/a><\/p>

Energysage – How do solar batteries compare?<\/a><\/p>

Energysage – How to choose the best battery for a solar energy system<\/a><\/p>

Solar Reviews – Review of the best solar battery solutions in 2019<\/a><\/p>

http:\/\/youtu.be\/wdIjAhsywiI<\/div><\/figure>

1<\/sup>: Tesla Powerwall protects homeowner heatwave blackout<\/a><\/p>

2<\/sup>: Another flow battery maker tries residential in Germany<\/a><\/p>

3<\/sup>: Battery Basic: A Layman\u2019s Guide to Batteries <\/a><\/p>

4<\/sup>: Lead acid battery comparison<\/a><\/p>

Are li ion or lead acid batteries better for home energy storage<\/a><\/p>

5<\/sup>: Salt water battery AIB technology<\/a><\/p>

Aquion Energy – Deep cycle battery<\/a><\/p>

6<\/sup>: Redflow Zcell<\/a><\/p>

7<\/sup>: What do solar batteries cost<\/a><\/p>

8<\/sup>: Australian government – Solar PV and batteries<\/a><\/p>

9<\/sup>: LG Chem RESU 9.8kwh lithium ion solar battery backup<\/a><\/p>

10<\/sup>: Massachusetts becomes first in the nation to make battery storage eligible for energy efficiency incentives<\/a><\/p>

11<\/sup>: Sonnen residential batteries ready to compete with fossil fuels and nuclear<\/a><\/p>

12<\/sup>: Home battery storage in Australia<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thinking of getting solar panels or already have them? You might be looking at a solar battery like a Tesla Powerwall, Sonnen Eco, or LG Chem RESU. How do they work? Why would you want one? How much do they cost? While there\u2019s some good options available, there\u2019s a lot to chew with this one. Let\u2019s see if we can break it down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[17,24,29,11],"ppma_author":[303],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Featured-189.jpg","authors":[{"term_id":303,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"matt","display_name":"Matt Ferrell","avatar_url":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/portrait-small.png","last_name":"Ferrell","user_url":"https:\/\/wordpressmu-787287-2686879.cloudwaysapps.com","first_name":"Matt","description":"Matt Ferrell lives in the Boston area and is a UI\/UX designer by trade, but has always been obsessed by technology and how it works. In 2018 he started his YouTube channel, Undecided with Matt Ferrell, where he explores sustainable and smart technologies like EVs, solar panels, and smart homes."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undecidedmf.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}