My New Net Zero Home Battery Surprised Me

The number of whole home battery options out  there can make your head spin – it’s a real charge to the senses. Everywhere I looked at CES  this past January someone had a shocking, modular, whole-home battery solution. Well, I’ve made my  decision … or rather, I made my decision a while ago and just recently got out of permitting  hell to have it finally installed.

I ended up installing an Enphase battery system, but not  for the reasons you might think. So why did I go with Enphase? What took so long?

And most  importantly … is it going to be worth the cost? I’m Matt Ferrell … welcome to Undecided. This video is brought to you by  Factor, but more on that later.

This has been a video a long time in  the making. I originally thought I might be sharing this near the end of last  year, but that plan went out the window pretty fast because of an extremely  long delay, some crazy bureaucracy, and all manner of complications. I’ll get to  those later, but first I think we should hit on … What Did I Get?

What you see here in my garage is four of  the new Enphase IQ 5P batteries. Each one of these has 3. 84 kW of power output  (7.

68 kW peak) and 5 kWh of storage, as well as a 15-year warranty. What that  means for my total system is about 15 kW power output and 20 kWh of storage. For  the power output, that’s more than enough to cover my entire house with all the major  appliances running and even charging my car.

They’re tied into a 17. 2 kW Enphase  solar power setup, which is made up of 43 REC Alpha 400 panels. If you want  to hear about the details of that setup, I’ve got a full walkthrough video  of what I did there and why, I'll link to it in the description.

Bottom  line, though, is that I stayed within one ecosystem for batteries, solar controllers,  and inverters. That leads straight into … Why This Battery … or Any Battery? Right off the bat, I want to answer the question:  is Enphase the best battery on the market?

No, not necessarily … but it’s what’s inside that is.  That would be lithium iron phosphate (or LFP), which in my opinion is the best battery chemistry  you can get for your home today. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about Enphase, LG, Sonnen, or  any other brand — if they’re using LFP batteries, then I think you’re on the right track.

They  aren’t the most cutting-edge battery technology, but when it comes to longevity, safety, and  cost, they’re the ones to beat right now. For Enphase specifically, I’m kind of a fan  of micro-inverters for home energy generation. Instead of having one large inverter that handles  all the DC power your solar panels generate, you have a microinverter behind every single  solar panel on your roof.

That redundancy has pros and cons like anything else, there's  always trade-offs, but at the core it means that if one inverter or panel goes bad, your entire  string of panels doesn’t go down for the count. Well, these Enphase batteries are actually  using the same microinverters inside the battery chassis. There are six embedded IQD8-BAT  microinverters sitting above the LFP battery cell packs.

Just like the redundancy on my roof, the  same thing happens inside the battery. If one of these inverters goes bad, the battery will keep  working, albeit at a slightly diminished capacity. This all means my system will keep chugging along  while I wait for a replacement part or service.

Now, yes, there are still energy losses every  time you convert energy from DC to AC and back to DC again, then back to AC again. If you  have solar with a central string inverter, not microinverters, the DC energy from the panels  can go straight into the battery as DC energy, no conversion needed. In my case, there’s  conversions happening before the energy gets into the battery and back out again, so  I’m losing about 10% or so there.

However, I knew this going in and accounted for that kind  of loss when calculating how much solar I wanted installed on my roof. Another factor is how I’m  planning to use these, which I’ll get to later. Because the Enphase IQ 5P comes in smaller  component blocks, that means you can really dial in exactly how much storage you want  or need and keep the price in check.

You’re only jumping in 5 kWh blocks as you add  each 5P battery. Other battery systems, like Tesla’s Powerwall, jump in 13. 5 kWh blocks. 

That makes it hard to nail down the perfect cost to storage ratio you might need. But that  raises the big question: what did it cost? Before we look at that, there’s something else  we need to dig into first … and that’s a tasty treat to get yourself charged up from today’s  sponsor, Factor.

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com to get 50% off your first box  plus 20% off your next month of orders! Thanks to Factor and to all of you for supporting  the channel. So back to the big question … What Did it Cost?

There’s no sugar coating it. It was  expensive. All in this cost $33K, which is typical for the area where I live. 

It’s really hard to compare apples to apples here. Before you start furiously commenting  “it only cost X dollars where I live,” or, “I did my own battery installation for half that,”  remember that location is a huge driver of cost. I’ve talked about this issue before, because  it’s relevant to solar panel comparisons, too.

Your mileage is absolutely going to vary,  so it might cost you much less where you live. That said, it’s expensive going the route I  went. I could have saved a lot of money buying a similarly sized AC capable battery system and  tying it into my Enphase setup.

For instance, if I had bought a similarly sized  LFP battery from bigbattery. com, it would have cost between $10K - $15K before  shipping and installation. You’re talking about something that would have been two thirds  or three quarters of the price all in.

That’s a great option, and depending on what  your goals are, I might recommend that first. Like I said earlier, LFP is the way to  go … regardless of the brand. However, for me there was a perk with the brand angle. 

It’s one source for all maintenance or warranty claims … and it’s a great 15-year warranty. It  also ties into my Span smart electric panel for virtualized critical loads that I can modify on  the fly. It’s also a battery supported by the Connected Solutions program, which is a virtual  power plant program that operates in my area.

None of that would have been possible with the  more DIY, bigbattery. com example. For my goals and things I wanted, the all-inclusive  Enphase approach made the most sense.

Installing a battery system like I did  does qualify for all the solar incentives, which means a 30% tax rebate that I can apply  to the federal taxes I owe next year. That makes it more like a $23K battery system  after that point. I’m also going to enroll my battery in my utility’s virtual power  plant program that I mentioned earlier, which will also help recoup some of  the cost.

I had my Tesla Powerwall at my old house enrolled in the program and  I got between $700 - $800 a year for that. They pay you $275 per kW that you supplied to the  grid during each load shedding event during the summer (on average). So, if you were to average  a 3 kW power output to the utility when they call for it during those summer months, you’d get cut  a check for about $825.

My Powerwall had about 5 kW continuous power output capability,  so that would be the absolute max for the program. Keep in mind that your own home’s  power use during those events comes first, so you’ll never hit your max kW for the program.  And now my new battery system tops out at 15 kW, so I should get a much bigger check  each year.

Based on the average paid out by Connected Solutions, that could  be $1,500 a year … maybe slightly more. Extending those figures over five years,  which is the length of enrollment, that could add up to $7,500. I’ll need  to wait and see how that actually plays out though.

If it is $7,500, that means my  battery cost is more like $15K. Still a lot, but now we’re in the realm of a whole home  generator installation for emergency backups. For me, that’s another reason I wanted a  battery system.

I wanted to have emergency power that could carry us through any winter  storms in addition to all the other perks. What about the Pros & Cons? Since I’m all in on the Enphase system, I’m  using their Enlighten app to manage everything.

It’s actually a fantastic app with really great  insights into energy usage, generation, historical data, and more. Just like all the major platforms,  like Tesla, it has a storm guard mode that will automatically make sure your battery is fully  charged and ready for any big storms in your area. In my neck of the woods, there could be high  wind events in the summer or blizzards in the winter that might knock down tree limbs and  affect power.

Just a week or two ago, my system automatically went into a storm event from major  high winds and rain that came through the area. You can also configure the system to be either:  Self-Consumption, Savings, or Full Backup. I’m running my system in Self-Consumption mode, which  optimizes to use as much of my solar generated power for myself as possible.

I’ve also got it  set to never dip below 30% as an emergency backup buffer. Any excess solar production beyond that  will get sent out into the grid. If I had time of use (TOU) electricity rates, I’d most likely be  running in Savings mode.

That will store energy to make sure you’re only pulling from the grid  when energy is the cheapest (usually at night) and exporting, or using stored energy, when it’s the  most expensive. That can save a lot of money. Full Backup should be self explanatory, but it keeps  your battery at 100% for emergency backup only.

Enphase also has their own EV charger that ties  directly into their controller, which means you can charge your EV only when you have excess  solar production. I’m not using their EV charger, but have the same functionality I rolled on my own  with some smart controls and my Span smart panel. That actually leads to some of the cons I’ve  experienced.

While the Span smart panel ties in directly to Tesla’s system for very accurate  tracking of your Powerwall’s charging status, the way it integrates with Enphase is  … well … a little fuzzy. Span created something they call the remote meter kit,  which allows Span to tie into other systems, like Enphase. It’s not tied into the  main controller in the same way as Tesla, so it’s more of a battery charge estimation than  an actual number reported by Enphase.

It hasn’t been the most accurate reporting so far. There’s  a drift that keeps happening with the system. For instance, while my Enphase may show my  charge at 35% , my Span shows my battery charge at 27% charge.

Span does have a way to recalibrate,  which seems to be helping the accuracy over time, but it’s still only an estimation. This is  potentially a big deal considering the purpose of the Span is to automatically shed circuits  I’ve configured in the app to save power and extend the battery. It will shed some circuits  immediately and others once the battery is below 50% charge.

If the calibration is way off,  that could cause problems. Like I said though, it has been getting much more accurate with  each recalibration, so it’s in the ballpark almost all the time now. I just wish it was more  tightly integrated and on-the-money accurate.

The other con is something I’ve already  mentioned: cost. The one ray of sunshine on that count is a program I was able to  take advantage of here in Massachusetts. There’s a 0% interest Heat Loan available to  people upgrading their furnaces to something like a heat pump, but it also can work  with battery installations.

Navigating the application process for this loan was bonkers and  slightly maddening, but we got the loan approved. I’m not going to complain too much because it  is a 0% interest rate. Without that option, getting a battery installation like this is  out of reach for most people.

Batteries only really start to make some financial sense if  you have time of use rates or virtual power plant programs available. If you have both,  you can make a massive dent in the cost. What Would I Have Done Differently?

I probably wouldn’t have changed anything, but  the timing of us installing a home battery when we did ended up being a little awkward.  There are a bunch of different battery technologies hitting the market right  now that could be easier to install, like those modular systems I mentioned that  are flooding the market right now. For example, there’s the Anker Solix or  the Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra, which you could start very small and literally  just stack more units onto over time to expand your capability.

I might have opted for something  like that if the timing had worked out better. However, there’s a crazy permitting  requirement in my area for batteries installed inside a residential structure,  like my garage. If I installed over 20kWh of energy storage in my garage, I would  have had to install a sprinkler system.

That would have cost thousands of dollars. I  get that there’s concern over battery fires, but here’s the part that kills me … I have a  car with over 60kWh of NCM battery chemistry cells parked in my garage. Do I need a sprinkler  system for that?

Nope. LFP is extremely safe (much safer than NCM), but the local regulations  don’t make any kind of distinction for that. All of those new modular systems would  have run into this same issue in my area.

Another thing that I couldn’t have changed, but  could have been better prepared for was what I alluded to at the beginning: the delays.  The Enphase 5P batteries were launched last summer and based on when your order was placed  you fell into the queue. For me that meant a long delay.

Since my setup is grid-tied, there’s  a lot of permitting hoops you have to jump through with the utility, so I also ended up in a bit of  a permitting hell. I know my installer’s heart will sink a little bit when I say that, but it is  what it is. I’m not upset by any of those delays, but was just a little frustrated by  the whole situation.

I also find it hysterical that my utility calls the grid-tied  energy storage system’s application process an “expedited application. ” A two-month  wait for them is “expedited. ” All in, it took 6 months to get this installed. 

Still, it all worked out in the end, and my installation team did an awesome job.  Hat tip to those guys … they did a great job. We’ll have to wait and see how the numbers work  out with the VPP, but the costs of the system were worth it to my family for our goals.

If you have  similar goals as I do for home energy generation and storage, then I’d definitely recommend taking  a closer look at something like this Enphase system. But depending on your goals, you may  have better luck with the more modular systems, so you can start small and build over  time. Regardless, it gets me charged up to see so many options available on the market  today to make energy storage more accessible.

But what do you think? Would you  want something like this for your home? Jump into the comments and let  me know and be sure to listen to my follow up podcast Still TBD where we’ll  keep this conversation going.

Thanks as always to my patrons for your continued  support. I’ll see you in the next one.