Panasonic Evervolt House Battery Evaluate: A Modular and Highly effective Method

Putting in a photo voltaic battery along with your photo voltaic panels can assist you maintain issues operating when the facility goes out. However discovering the appropriate photo voltaic battery on your dwelling could be difficult. If you happen to’re in search of energy and suppleness, Panasonic’s new dwelling battery may be value wanting into.

The Evervolt House Battery was introduced again in June and is about to launch later this 12 months. The Evervolt system combines a modular battery design with a strong hybrid inverter. Vitality wants differ from home to deal with, making discovering the appropriate battery on your particular wants a problem. Top-of-the-line issues the Evervolt has going for it’s flexibility for quite a lot of power wants and makes use of. 

“All people’s wants are totally different. Among the homes are huge, some are small. Some need extra energy for air con or operating different heavier hundreds. So we have now flexibility for no matter they’ll get or need, and cargo administration capability,” Mukesh Sethi, director of photo voltaic and power storage at Panasonic, informed CNET.

We didn’t conduct any hands-on testing for this overview. Photo voltaic batteries are a part of a fancy dwelling power system that varies between houses. As an alternative, this overview relies on publicly accessible data on-line from Panasonic and an interview with Sethi to get essentially the most up-to-date data doable. 

This is what it’s best to know concerning the Panasonic Evervolt House Battery. 

What do you get with the Panasonic Evervolt House Battery?

The Evervolt House Battery affords a modular design, making capability choice and upgrades simpler. Smaller battery modules additionally are likely to make for a neater set up course of. You will additionally get a hybrid inverter with a stable 7.6 kilowatts of steady backup energy. However the actual fantastic thing about the hybrid inverter lies within the set up choices it offers you. 

With a hybrid inverter, your battery can both be AC-coupled or DC-coupled, which means it is suitable with a brand new photo voltaic panel system or a photo voltaic system that you have already got put in on your property. Don’t desire photo voltaic panels? That is tremendous. The Evervolt House Battery will also be put in as a standalone power storage system with out photo voltaic. 

Listed below are the Panasonic Evervolt House Battery’s specs at a look.

Evervolt House Battery specs

Class	Description
Usable capability	9 kWh, 13.5 kWh or 18 kWh
What number of items can I stack?	As much as 4 items, for a complete of 72 kWh
Spherical-trip effectivity	89% (AC-coupled) / 94% (DC-coupled)
Depth of discharge	90%
Steady energy output (off-grid with photo voltaic)	7.6 kW
Battery chemistry	Lithium ferrite phosphate
AC- or DC-coupled?	Choices for each
Guarantee	12 years (labor included)

System parts

There are 4 principal parts that make up the Evervolt ecosystem:

• Battery cupboard.
• Battery modules.
• Hybrid inverter.
• Evervolt SmartBox.

It could sound like rather a lot, however you may solely have two bins on the wall: the precise battery enclosure and the Evervolt SmartBox. The battery cupboard is a big enclosure that homes the battery modules, that are small lithium-ion batteries that may be added or faraway from the battery cupboard to extend or lower storage capability. As an alternative of 1 big battery, you’ve got just a few small batteries that join collectively to incrementally enhance storage capability. 

The Evervolt comes with a hybrid inverter, which means the system could be AC- or DC-coupled. A DC-coupled system gives you higher efficiency and effectivity. This setup works finest should you’re putting in photo voltaic and storage on the identical time. You additionally will not have to purchase a separate photo voltaic inverter, which usually prices round $2,000 or extra.

Any person who’s getting photo voltaic and storage on the identical time can utterly keep away from the PV inverter and save some huge cash. One inverter does every part, Sethi mentioned

If you have already got photo voltaic put in, you possibly can nonetheless set up the Evervolt. You will simply be going with an AC-coupled system as a substitute of DC. Your battery’s efficiency will not be pretty much as good as a DC-coupled setup, however the lack of effectivity will not be a complete dealbreaker. 

If in case you have a number of Evervolt batteries, you possibly can even have an AC-coupled system and a DC-coupled system on the identical time. 

There’s additionally the Evervolt SmartBox. That is primarily an power administration gadget that gives a centralized place for all of your wiring, connecting the battery, photo voltaic panel system and grid energy multi function field. You’ll management as much as six electrical hundreds. The SmartBox additionally comprises the switch change, which flips your system to backup energy when it detects a grid outage. 

Capability and modularity

The Evervolt House Battery is a modular system made up of some small 4.5 kWh battery modules which are positioned into the battery cupboard. Capability could be elevated by including battery modules. Modular battery designs make it simple to measurement your system to one thing that is “good” on your power wants. 

The Evervolt’s battery cupboard holds two, three or 4 battery modules. Every battery module has a usable capability of 4.5 kWh. This provides you three sizes to select from: 9 kWh, 13.5 kWh or 18 kWh. If 18 kWh is not sufficient power storage, you possibly can set up as much as 4 further items for a complete of 72 kWh of space for storing.

Capability breakdown

Variety of modules	Usable storage capability
2	9 kWh
3	13.5 kWh
4	18 kWh

Efficiency and effectivity 

The efficiency specs you get with the Evervolt are fairly stable. What stands out most concerning the Evervolt’s efficiency is its wonderful energy capabilities. The Evervolt can output 7.6 kW of steady backup energy at any capability measurement when put in with photo voltaic. If put in with out photo voltaic, you may get much less backup energy with the 9 kWh Evervolt mannequin (5.5 kW).

Battery capability could be a little bit difficult. You usually aren’t ready to make use of all of a battery’s capability with out shortening the lifespan of the battery. The quantity of your battery’s capability that you should utilize safely known as its depth of discharge, and lots of we have seen have figures of no less than 95%. The Evervolt’s depth of discharge is just a little bit decrease, at 90%, which means you will not have the ability to use as a lot of its complete capability. The figures we have used listed below are the battery’s usable capability, which means we aren’t factoring in that 10% of unusable capability.

We additionally want to speak about round-trip effectivity, which is a measure of how a lot power makes it into battery storage with out getting misplaced. How environment friendly this battery goes to be relies on the coupling setup you’ve got. DC-coupled programs are usually extra environment friendly, and the Evervolt is not any exception. When DC-coupled the Evervolt has a round-trip effectivity of 94% — fairly good. As an AC-coupled system, the Evervolt’s effectivity is far decrease (89%), which is according to the everyday round-trip effectivity of dwelling batteries (about 90%).

Efficiency and effectivity particulars

Class	Description
Spherical-trip effectivity	89% (AC-coupled) / 94% (DC-coupled)
Depth of discharge	90%
Steady energy output (off-grid with photo voltaic)	7.6 kW

Guarantee

Batteries are usually lined below a 10-year guarantee, with a cycle lifetime of 6,000 cycles and an end-of-warranty capability assure of 70%. The Evervolt’s guarantee is a bit higher than the common. It comes with a 12-year guarantee, however its cycle life and capability assure is the common described above, based on the spec sheet. That is not essentially a nasty factor although. Every Evervolt battery module has an approximate power throughput of 13 MWh, which is greater than different particular person battery modules we have seen. 

The Evervolt’s 12-year guarantee applies to the whole system too, so the SmartBox and inverter are lined too. Sethi mentioned labor is included within the guarantee as nicely, which is uncommon on the subject of battery warranties.

Guarantee particulars

Years lined	Cycles life / throughput	Capability assure
12	6,000 cycles / 13 MWh per battery module	70%

Years lined: The size of time your battery is roofed below guarantee. 

Cycle life and throughput: Most battery warranties cowl a certain amount of battery cycles. That is additionally generally known as a battery’s cycle life. A battery cycle is the act of draining and recharging your battery. Most often, as soon as your battery hits the cycle rely listed within the guarantee, your guarantee expires. Alternatively, you may additionally come throughout throughput. That is the anticipated quantity of power {that a} battery will ship throughout its lifetime, set by the producer. It is usually measured in megawatt hours.

Finish-of-warranty capability assure: Battery capability retention decreases the extra you utilize it. A capability assure is the producer’s assure that your battery will retain as much as a sure share of its unique capability by the point your guarantee ends. 

Buyer help

The Evervolt House Battery hasn’t been launched to the general public as of proper now. However buyer critiques relating to help for Panasonic’s family merchandise might be an indicator of what sort of service you would possibly expertise sooner or later. 

Prospects on Panasonic’s Higher Enterprise Bureau and Trustpilot pages had been unhappy with the standard of Panasonic’s merchandise and buyer help. Some prospects attempting to get help from Panasonic’s help quantity or stay chat could not appear to get a response, whereas different prospects submitted emails, however by no means acquired a response.

“Panasonic is dedicated to serving to extra householders make the change to dependable clear power and residential power storage,” Sethi mentioned in a press release. “As one in all America’s most trusted manufacturers, Panasonic addresses every photo voltaic buyer’s service inquiry individually and stands behind our dwelling batteries with a 12-year guarantee when put in by a certified installer.”

How a lot does the Panasonic Evervolt House Battery price?

The Evervolt House Battery has not hit the market but, so pricing particulars are nonetheless unclear. However Panasonic informed us that the price of the Evervolt House Battery System is aggressive with comparable merchandise. 

In relation to battery pricing, you possibly can usually count on to pay someplace between $1,000 to $2,000 per kilowatt-hour of storage. You will doubtless additionally pay between $2,000 to $3,000 for the set up of the battery. 

To get essentially the most correct value estimate on your dwelling, you may want to talk with a Panasonic-certified installer in your space after the battery’s official launch. Or communicate with a Panasonic consultant. You may additionally need to discover a number of battery choices from varied installers in your native space. 

Is the Panasonic Evervolt House Battery my best option?

Batteries aren’t a one-size-fits-all kind of product. The most effective battery on your house is one which meets your power wants and funds. If energy, modularity and an extended guarantee matter to you, then the Evervolt House Battery is a stable selection. The Evervolt additionally works with quite a lot of setups. It is suitable with new and current photo voltaic programs, or you would set up it with out photo voltaic panels. 

However keep in mind, you’ve got extra choices than simply the Evervolt. There are a ton of different battery choices available on the market that may be proper on your dwelling. And most installers are licensed to put in a number of battery manufacturers. Discover battery choices from a number of installers in your space earlier than finalizing your resolution. We additionally suggest gathering no less than three quotes from installers in your space to get the very best value doable.

Panasonic Evervolt House Battery vs. different batteries

Class	Panasonic Evervolt House Battery	Tesla Powerwall 2	LGES 16H Prime	SolarEdge House Battery	SunPower SunVault	Enphase IQ Battery 10/10T
Usable capability	9 kWh – 18 kWh	13.5 kWh	16 kWh	9.7 kWh	13.5 kWh – 19.5 kWh	10.08 kWh
What number of can I set up?	As much as 4 items	As much as 10 items	As much as 2 items	As much as 3 items	As much as 1 further unit	Varies
Spherical-trip effectivity	89% (AC) / 94% (DC)	90%	90%	94.50%	86%	89%
Depth of discharge	90%	100%	100%	100%	92%	98%
Steady energy output	7.6 kW	5 kW	7 kW	5 kW	6.8 kW	3.84 kW
AC- or DC-coupled?	Choices for each	AC	AC	DC	AC	AC
Value	N/A	$9,000 – $13,000	$7,000 – $11,000	$5,500 – $8,000	$16,000 – $20,000 (consists of set up)	$8,000 – $10,000

How we evaluated the very best photo voltaic batteries 

Every battery is totally different and is not going to be the appropriate match for each dwelling. With out an on-site inspection, it is troublesome to find out which photo voltaic battery is the “finest” battery. Due to the complexity of photo voltaic panel programs, we aren’t capable of do any form of hands-on testing of any of the photo voltaic batteries we overview. Nevertheless, there are goal methods to judge and evaluate these batteries. This is how we consider photo voltaic batteries.

First, we created classes to judge the battery’s effectivity, efficiency, capability and worth. We additionally gave every class its personal weight. Every class’s weight displays the significance we felt was related to the common shopper. Listed below are the classes and their weights:

• Battery modularity (stackability): 20%
• Guarantee: 20%
• Spherical-trip effectivity: 15%
• Depth of discharge: 10%
• Energy output: 10%
• Value: 10%
• Buyer critiques: 10%
• Battery capability: 5%

We checked out greater than 15 of the most typical batteries available on the market and picked up the information for every class to check the numbers. Every battery was given a tier-style score (from 1 to five) for every class to see which metrics of every battery had been above common (amongst these on our listing), common or under common.

Panasonic Evervolt House Battery FAQs