If you’re considering solar battery storage for your home, you’ve likely come across two major contenders: Tesla’s Powerwall 3 and the Sigenergy SigenStor.
Both systems combine battery storage and an inverter to help homeowners store and use solar energy more efficiently. But which one will work best for you?
By the end of this article, you’ll understand the differences between these two solar battery systems, even if you’re new to solar energy.
Powerwall and SigenStor are similar in a lot of ways. Let’s dive into the basics.
Both Powerwall 3 and SigenStor have a hybrid inverter and battery storage. This two-in-one approach saves on components and installation time, but there’s more to each of them.
If you’re new to solar, you might be asking what a hybrid inverter is.
Think of your inverter as a translator.
The inverter in each energy system transforms the electricity harvested from the solar panels. That power comes in the form of direct current (DC) electricity. But your home runs on alternating current (AC) electricity.
The inverter makes that transformation possible. It makes your solar power usable in the home.
Both systems feature battery storage with an enclosed inverter if it’s a Powerwall and stackable modules if it’s SigenStor. The battery design in this system stores excess electricity generated by your solar panels.
You can use this stored energy later, such as at nighttime, when energy rates cost more, or during a power outage.
Now that we have the basics out of the way let’s get into an overview of each system:
Powerwall 3 Overview
- Fixed storage capacity of 13.5kWh.
- Built-in hybrid inverter, meaning it can convert electricity for both battery charging and home use.
- Designed to work best in Tesla’s ecosystem but can also be integrated with non-Tesla solar systems.
- Best suited for single-phase homes, with limited support for three-phase setups.
SigenStor Overview
- Modular design with a battery capacity of 8kWh increments, expandable up to 48kWh. There’s no limit to how many 48kWh stacks you can combine.
- Think of the SigenStor like Lego building blocks. Each block of 8kWh stacks up under the hybrid inverter block.
- Available in both single-phase and three-phase configurations, making it more flexible.
- Offers full three-phase backup, making it ideal for homes with large appliances that require balanced power distribution.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about inverters, you might want to check out the next article titled, What is a Solar Power Inverter?