Tesla Powerwalls store energy as DC electricity and supply the home with AC electricity. Thus, all Powerwalls must be equipped with an inverter. If I connect my solar panels directly to the Powerwall then the DC from the solar can directly charge the Powerwall without need for an inverter. Thus, I’m confused as to the purpose of Powerwall+. Can someone explain?
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Why would I need Powerwall+?
- Thread starter apacheguy
- Start date
Powerwalls are AC in AC out.
Powerwall+ is DC in from solar, and AC in/out from other sources. I.e. it is effectively an inverter stacked on a Powerwall.
Powerwall+ is DC in from solar, and AC in/out from other sources. I.e. it is effectively an inverter stacked on a Powerwall.
Like @BGbreeder said, powerwalls are an AC coupled device, so you are not "connecting DC from the panels to the powerwall". Thats not a thing.
jgleigh
Member
Powerwall+ is just a convenient way to bundle a Powerwall 2 with a Tesla solar inverter.
jgleigh
Member
There was briefly a DC Powerwall, but I'm guessing it's easier for Tesla to just standardize on the AC Powerwall since it will work in all installations.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I agree with you. It would be much more efficient if Tesla created a DC bus for all the DC items. Heck I would like to have a circuit in my house that is DC to drive LEDs and other DC (chargers?) based items too.
Kind of bigger than just Tesla and just shows how the world is no longer in the invention stage like it was in the late 1800's to early 1900's.
Interesting that they used to make a DC Powerwall. Do other battery storage solutions for solar offer DC input? I’m new to this area and am not familiar with the range of solar battery storage products available.
Yes. They are very popular with off grid applications; homes, boats, rvs, and cars...
For home backup DC gets you into the issue of defining "bus voltage"; is it 48V, 150V, or 600V, or...? Inverters need a defined voltage input range, and generally speaking the wider it gets, the less efficient the inverter is.
Using batteries with built-in inverters is a one size fits (almost) everyone approach and allows the manufacturer to scale production easily.
Sure, many vendors. LG has offered DC coupled storage for a long time. The problem with DC coupled solution is that it's simply not practical for a big chunk (microinverters) of the US home solar market.
Transformer
Do the math. Save the world. — Mark Leon
@Transformer @cali8484 what are the LG and SolarEdge whole home BESS that are the equivalent of a Tesla Powerwall? Im particularly interested in the spec sheets. A cursory inspection of their websites wasn’t very helpful.
I found this LG unit but it’s not clear if it’s DC coupled. Hard to tell what the PCS is doing. Is it feeding the battery with DC from solar?
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
Do we know for sure if the PW3 stays DC when solar is the input and the destination is the PW?
Please look at this link showing Operating DC Input voltage :
The is a label off the Powerwall 3:
The is a label off the Powerwall 3:
Transformer
Do the math. Save the world. — Mark Leon
See LG Home Battery Info on the LG RESU Prime batteries.
See SolarEdge Home Hub Inverter and SolarEdge HD-Wave Inverters on SolarEdge home inverters.
The Energy Show podcast has episodes Which Batteries Are The Best For Your Home? (Feb 7, 2023) and Lessons Learned Installing Battery Storage (Sep 26, 2023). I haven't yet listed to the second one which includes Barry Cinnamon's favorites out of 100 battery company and system vendors:
LG is a large global conglomerate so they have various products for different regions. The one you found looks like it's for EU. The LG home battery that's common for the US is the RESU/Prime (Product Info｜LG Home Battery). You need to pair it with a compatible hybrid string inverter (e.g. SolarEdge, SMA, Growatt, etc.) that would replace with your existing grid-only string inverter.
LG vs. Powerwall comparison.
lightning-energy.com.au
In the article it talks about the LG input is DC and the Powerwall is AC.
Note: The Powerwall 3 resolves that difference.
LG Chem VS Tesla Powerwall: This Will Surprise You...
LG chem vs tesla powerwall, this one is a common question when it comes to solar batteries. It's quite surprising to see that which one is going to best best for you
lightning-energy.com.au
In the article it talks about the LG input is DC and the Powerwall is AC.
Note: The Powerwall 3 resolves that difference.
