Using Tesla Powerwall with Enphase Microinverters

Tesla is known around the world for their automobiles. However, their research and manufacturing extend far beyond the car world. In recent years, Tesla has turned its focus to the home. Their Powerwall system is designed to make your house energy independent.

If you have solar panels, you probably have microinverters. You may be wondering how to use Tesla Powerwall with Enphase microinverters. These microinverters convert power collected from solar panels into AC power, which the Powerwall stores to power your home.

If you are concerned that it is difficult to pair the Tesla Powerwall to a solar panel system with Enphase microinverters, don’t be. This is not only an easy thing to do, but something you should do to reap the benefits you’ll learn about below.

Tesla Powerwall Powers Your Home

The Powerwall is a home battery system that powers your home, using clean energy and giving you energy independence. It has a rechargeable battery that stores the energy collected from your solar panels.

The Powerwall offers several features that maximize the solar energy you have:

Weather Monitoring: The Powerwall monitors weather reports and if inclement weather is coming, it will maximize charging in case you lose power.
Time and Use Control: If you are not completely off the power grid and are still paying for electricity, you know that some periods of the day are more expensive than others. The Powerwall gives you the ability to use electricity you have stored from your panels during peak price times to save money.
Monitoring: You can keep an eye on your energy collection and use it to adjust your consumption habits.
Charging During Blackouts: Most battery storage systems don’t allow charging during blackouts. The Powerwall 2 is an exception, thanks to a technique called frequency shifting, which turns the solar off briefly to use up some of the energy stored in the battery before turning the solar back on. This prevents overcharging the battery.

How Does Powerwall Work?

Tesla Powerwall works several ways, and you do not have to have solar power to take advantage of its features.

With Solar Power: When your solar panels are collecting energy, the Powerwall battery charges until you need to use that power. Since the sun is shining during the day, when most homes are not using much electricity, the Powerwall can store a lot of extra energy to use at night.
Without Solar Power: If you have not made the move to solar panels, the Powerwall can charge during the day when the electricity rates are lower and provide power in the evening when they are higher, saving you money and reducing your electricity use.

No matter where you are on your path to energy independence, the Powerwall can assist you in lowering your dependence on the electrical grid.

Living Sustainably With Solar Power

Installing solar panels allows you to run your home on renewable energy, cutting down on pollution from power plants and reducing your carbon footprint. It takes more than just installing panels to run your home, though. You need a tool to store the energy until you are ready to use it.

Installing solar power in your home can be a large expense, but you will be repaid by lowered energy costs. Additionally, you may be eligible to receive rebates from your state, and you can even sell some of the energy to your local electricity company, powering your neighbors’ homes.

If you do decide to install solar panels, you will want to get the most out of them. The best way to do this is to connect them to a home battery storage system, like the Tesla Powerwall.

How do Solar Panels Collect Energy with Microinverters?

When you decide to install solar panels to the roof of your home, you are collecting direct current energy (DC) from the sun. The inverter converts DC power into alternating current electricity (AC). This type of electricity is used to power appliances and other home goods that use electricity. There are two types of inverters used to convert power:

String Inverters: String inverters are the traditional method of collecting energy from solar panels. The whole system is connected to one inverter, like a string of Christmas lights. A downside of string inverters is that the system is only as strong as the weakest panel. If a panel is in the shade, it’s like the whole system is not getting much energy.
Microinverters: With microinverters, each solar panel has its own inverter. They then collect energy individually. This is a better system than string inverters because if one panel is not collecting as much solar energy, it doesn’t affect the overall system.

Solar panels might not collect enough energy to make you completely independent of the electrical grid, but you will be able to reduce your use. Microinverters make this even easier by collecting as much energy as possible.

Enphase Microinverters are Superior to String Inverters

String inverters were the original solar panel energy collection system, and it was adequate in the beginning. Technology is always improving, though, and microinverters are superior for many reasons, such as the fact that they are individual systems. Other benefits of Enphase microinverters are:

Monitoring: Microinverters are designed to be monitored for efficiency. Homeowners or solar panel installers will be notified if there is a problem that needs to be fixed.
Safety: Microinverters convert DC power into AC power, eliminating any chance of exposure to dangerous DC electricity. The level of DC power never goes above 80 volts.
Warranties: Microinverters typically come with a 25-year warranty, rather than the 5-year one for string inverters.
Faster Installation: Installing microinverters can be almost 90 minutes faster than string inverters.

Enphase is the Market Leader in Microinverter Technology

There are several companies that manufacture microinverters for solar panels. Enphase is the market leader in this technology. Their IQ series is widely used for residential solar panels. They make not only microinverters but also energy storage and monitoring systems.

Pairing Tesla Powerwall and Enphase Microinverters is Easy

Enphase manufactures a power storage system, and Tesla has its own line of solar panels, but that does not mean that you cannot use Enphase microinverters with a Tesla Powerwall. If you have already installed one system and would like to add the other, that is possible.

Powerwall is an AC storage system, so it works with all inverter types. The only requirement, to provide backup in the case of power outages, is that you will need a Powerwall for each 7.6 kw AC of power produced by the solar panels.

Since your Enphase microinverters come with monitoring, you can check to see how much energy your solar panels produce and determine how many Powerwalls you might need. If you have your whole roof covered, you will probably need more than one.

How To Connect the Powerwall to the Solar Panels

It’s easy to connect a Powerwall to your existing solar panel system with Enphase microinverters. You use a technique called “AC Coupling,” which connects the batteries to the 240V AC in the switchboard using an AC Battery Inverter.

Once you have connected the Powerwall to the Solar Panels, you’ll be able to take advantage of all the features, such as monitoring and choosing when to use the solar power you’ve got stored.