What are the best Tesla Powerwall alternatives?
- Alpha ESS – Smile 5
- Fortress Power eVault
- LGE ESS Home 10
- SONNEN Core
- SIMPLIPHI Access
- Enphase Encharge 10
- LAVO (hydrogen battery)
In 2020 solar energy became the cheapest source of electricity in many countries. Consequently, more people are installing solar panels, self-consumption is developing and consumers are turning into producers of energy.
In 2015, Tesla paved the way for energy self-consumption with their Powerwall, the first home energy storage system (ESS). A plug-and-play solution that stores the energy produced by solar panels into rechargeable lithium batteries to be used at any time in your home.
But Tesla is not the only company offering ESS. Therefore, we have selected the 7 best Tesla Powerwall alternatives for 2022 – taking into consideration both their price and the technology that they provide.
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Table of Contents
What Is A Tesla Powerwall?
Powerwall is the commercial name used by Tesla for their domestic energy storage solution – also called an AC battery. It is a wall-mounted box that incorporates:
The Powerwall is able to store AC electricity from a solar inverter and deliver AC electricity (110V/220V, 60Hz) back to your household electrical system or to the electricity grid.
Is It Worth Buying A Powerwall In 2022?
We do believe that the Powerwall is a smart addition to your home electric system. We see 3 distinct advantages to this energy storage solution:
- A reliable source of electricity by acting as backup power in case of a power outage (13.5kWh)
- Enables solar energy self-consumption for partial or full off-the-grid homes.
- Time-based control energy consumption (self-consumption during electricity peak hours).
When it comes to energy storage, the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) is the most accurate cost estimation of your system. It takes into account the total number of charge/discharge cycles over its lifespan. This value expressed in USD/kWh is used to compare the absolute cost of different energy storage solutions.
For the Tesla Powerwall 2 released in 2016, the upfront cost breaks down as follows:
- 6,500 USD (unit cost)
- 3,500 USD (installation cost)
Total of 10,000 USD upfront cost.
Given a 37.8 MWh guarantee total cycle, the LCOS of the Powerwall 2 is 0.26 USD/kWh.
This is still higher than the average US electricity cost of 0.13 USD/kWh, but already lower than the cost of electricity in Hawaii (0.33 USD/kWh).
There are now many alternative solutions to the Tesla Powerwall, let’s have a look at our selection of the 7 best home energy storage systems.
7 Best Alternatives To Tesla Powerwalls In 2022
We have selected 7 great alternatives to the Powerwall. They are all-in-one solutions, offering high storage capacity, powerful inverters, and competitive LCOS.
1. Alpha ESS – Smile 5
Key features:
- Solar Charger: Two built-in MPPT solar chargers (up to 5kW)
- LFP battery storage: 13.5 kWh of capacity (up to 34.2 kWh with modular batteries)
- DC/AC Inverter: 5 kW pure sine-wave inverter
- Connectivity: 24/7 monitoring via cloud connection
- Life duration: 10 years warranty on the battery performances
- Cost: 7700 USD including installation with an LCOS of 0.16 USD/kWh (10 years).
Alpha ESS is a Chinese company operating worldwide since 2012. They are covering both residential and commercial markets with energy storage solutions based on lithium battery technologies.
Their latest home storage solution, the SMILE 5, is a great alternative to the Tesla Powerwall.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
The Smile 5 is cheaper than the Powerwall and with an LCOS of 0.16USD/kWh, it is competitive with the current retail electricity price in the US.
Unlike the Powerwall which requires additional equipment, it is a real plug-and-play solution, thanks to the MPPT solar charger. The system is connected and you can monitor it from anywhere. Finally, you can easily add extra batteries with its modular design.
2. Fortress Power eVault 18.5 and Sol-Ark Inverter
Key features:
- Highly efficient: 93% efficiency from solar panels to AC power output
- Solar Charger: Can connect up to 16 kW of solar panels, with two MPPT
- LFP battery: 18.5 kWh, scalable to 222 kWh, with a 10 years warranty
- DC/AC Inverter: Up to 12 kW power output, can work as On-Grid, Off-grid, and hybrid
- Connectivity: Large colored touch screen on the inverter; cloud monitoring
- Cost: 15’299 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.23USD/kWh (10 years)
Fortress Power is a US company, manufacturing domestic energy storage solutions based on LFP batteries. They are committed to delivering the most advanced product combining high storage capacity and long-life duration.
Their ESS (Energy Storage Solution) combines the large eVault battery (18.5 kWh) and the Sol-Ark inverter (12kW) in a plug-and-play system.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
The Fortress ESS offers a larger storage capacity than the Tesla Powerwall, therefore providing more autonomy to your house. Rated at 12kW, the paired inverter is also more powerful than the Powerwall (5kW). You won’t be limited in your electricity use.
In addition, it comes with a solar inverter – you can directly connect a large solar panel array. Finally, its LCOS is slightly lower than the Powerwall – the upfront cost is higher but will pay back over the lifetime of the product.
3. LGE ESS HOME 10 WITH 10KW LI-ION BATTERY STORAGE (LG HB 10H)
Key features:
- LFP battery storage with the RESU 10H: 9.8kWh with 10 years warranty
- Solar charger (ESS Home 10): 3 MPPT, up to 13.5kW of solar power
- DC/AC Inverter: 10kW continuous output power
- Highly efficient: 97% efficiency PV to the grid
- Cost: 12’000 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.35 USD/kWh (10 years)
LG Chem is a battery manufacturer, specializing in LFP technology. Their ESS Home 10 solar inverter coupled with the RESU10H battery storage, offers a great alternative to the Powerwall.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
LG Chem offers a well-designed product that consists of an inverter/solar charger and a battery storage solution. Although the LCOS is slightly higher than the Powerwall, it offers an all-in-one solution that can connect directly to your solar panels. In addition, it has a larger capacity and a more powerful inverter.
4. SONNEN Core – 10kWh
Key features:
- An all-in-one smart solution: combines solar charger, DC/AC smart inverter, and battery storage
- Solar charger: Up to 6kW of solar power
- Inverter: 4.8kW continuous power output
- LFP battery storage: 10 kWh with 10 years warranty.
- Cost: 12’500 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.34 USD/kWh (10 years)
Sonnen is a German company with more than 10 years of experience in the domestic energy storage market. They won multiple awards for their products and already installed more than 60’000 units worldwide.
Let’s have a closer look at their all-in-one ESS: Sonnen Core 10kWh.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
Unlike the Tesla Powerwall which requires an extra DC/AC solar inverter, the Sonnen Core is an all-in-one solution to plug in your solar panel array (6kW). Thanks to the DC mode it offers better overall efficiency than the Powerwall. Even though both batteries come with a 10-year warranty, the Sonnen Core is more durable with a 58 MWh total energy output. On the other hand, the Powerwall only offers 37.8 MWh over its life span.
5. SIMPLIPHI ACCESS 15.2KWH SCHNEIDER – DC COUPLED
Key features:
- Solar charger: Up to 4.8kW of solar power
- Inverter: 6.8kW continuous power output
- LFP battery storage: 15.2 kWh with 10 years warranty.
- High efficiency: 98% round trip efficiency from solar to AC output
- Cost: 21’375 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.38 USD/kWh (10 years)
Simpliphi Power is a US-based company with 10 years of experience in electricity storage. Simpliphi is committed to fighting energy poverty by giving 1% of its annual revenue to improve energy access in poor communities.
They offer an all-in-one solution combining energy storage in lithium batteries and a solar inverter by Schneider (Conext XW Pro).
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
The Simpliphi Access 15.2 integrates all the equipment to connect directly to your solar panel array. It offers more power output than the Tesla Powerwall and a larger storage capacity, with an impressive 98% round trip efficiency.
6. Enphase Encharge 10
Key features:
- Inverter: 12 micro AC inverters with a total of 3.84kW continuous power output
- LFP battery storage: 10 kWh with 10 years warranty.
- Smart: Mobile app-based monitoring and control, fully programmable for time-of-use control
- Cost: 14’000 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.38 USD/kWh (10 years)
Enphase was created in the US in 2006. It is now a global energy technology company, offering inverters and battery storage solutions. Innovation is one of their key value with more than 300 patents on micro inverters.
The Encharge 10 offers an all-in-one AC coupled storage solution that competes well with the Tesla Powerwall.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
Similar to the Tesla Powerwall, the Encharge 10 is an all AC domestic energy storage solution. It benefits from the Enphase micro-inverter technology, making it efficient and safe. Unlike the Powerwall, it uses LFP battery technology which has been proven to be safer than the Lithium-cobalt battery from Tesla.
7. LAVO hydrogen battery
Key features:
- Electrolyser and water purifier: produces hydrogen from water
- Hydride hydrogen storage: safe and solid hydrogen storage tank, 40kWh with 20’000 cycles
- Hydrogen fuel cell: converts hydrogen into electricity, 5kW AC power output
- Solar Inverter/Charger: directly plug-in your solar panel array
- LFP buffer battery: 5kWh for immediate energy delivery
- Cost: 28’000 USD including installation, LCOS: 0.13 USD/kWh (15 years)
LAVO is an Australian company that hit the headlines early in 2021 for being the first company to offer an all-in-one energy storage solution based on hydrogen technology.
Why Is It A Great Alternative?
The LAVO hydrogen battery is the most advanced energy storage solution. It has a storage capacity 3 times higher than the Powerwall. It is highly durable with 20,000 cycles or a 15-year lifespan. Consequently, its LCOS is the lowest of all our ESS (0.13 USD/kWh). Finally, it is the cleanest storage solution as hydrogen is directly produced from water.
Final Thoughts
Tesla was the pioneer of domestic Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) with the Powerwall. Since then, dozens of companies offering competitive products have popped up.
Indeed, we are now living through a transitional phase when it comes to energy production – from fossil fuels to renewables.
Moreover, we are moving from a centralized to a decentralized way of producing energy.
Thanks to the combination of solar panels and ESS, anyone can become a producer of electricity that can be self-consumed or dispatched into the electrical grid.
ESS systems are becoming more affordable with the dropping price of LFP batteries. In addition, with the development of hydrogen technologies, their energy density and reliability will improve, making them an essential addition to every household in the coming years.
Really good informative article. We are a solar and wind company out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. We are often researching new products- this article was great, I sent it out to my crew and we will be discussing all these ESS alternatives to Tesla. Thanks again!
Hi Kevin, we are glad you enjoyed the article! 🙂
the equipment cost of a Powerwall is USD 7.5K plus an additional $1K of required equipment
If I already have AC panels via Enphase microinverters, I suppose I lose efficiency having to reconvert AC to DC for storage. Then convert again to AC for domestic use, right? A full extra round trip DC(panels)-AC(microinverters)-DC(MPPT)-AC(final inverter).
Hello Crevasse, yes that is correct. Naturally, you will lose efficiency when converting AC to DC, likewise from DC to AC again. The amount though depends on the equipment you are using.
Kyle,
Can any of these be set up to deal with a brownout condition? In other words provide that percentage of electricity that the local utility company is reducing to a home due to high demand? Thanks.
That is the purpose of energy storage systems such as the Tesla Powerwall and its alternatives.
People buy batteries for two main reasons:
1. They want to use solar energy later in the day when the sun is not available.
2. They want a source of backup electricity during emergencies such as brownouts/blackouts/”clouding” (when clouds block the sunlight)
That is why a lot of people consider hybrid solar systems.
Note: A Hybrid solar system combines the concept of both grid-tie and off-grid systems; it’s a grid-tied type setup with the added energy storage component for backup purposes.
In your case, it’s difficult to estimate how much electricity your utility will ration to your home each time a brownout occurs. Therefore, people typically get an energy storage system (ESS) that can support their essential appliances during a blackout (no power coming from the utility).
we have a Tesla Solar Roof… are all of these options compatible with it?
In principle, all solar panels should be compatible with any battery. However this should be done with caution. If you are going to handpick brands instead of availing bundles, you should be prepared to DIY.
Also, I have second thoughts about LAVO ESS since it is a hydrogen battery technology. You might need a special inverter for this.
Practically speaking, tesla is selling their solar panels as a bundle with powerwalls. You can choose to buy Tesla panels and pair it with other ESS but this will hurt your long-term relationship with your installer/service provider.
Most times it is better to avail the most cost-effective bundle in the solar plus storage market.