As one of the biggest names in the solar inverter world, it should come as no surprise that, starting in 2019, Enphase made its debut in the battery market with the Enphase Encharge Batteries. Since then they have released their new storage concepts. These come as a part of their full suite of products to help homeowners like you!
The Enphase Ensemble
Enphase has not only made an effort to offer competitive solutions but offer products with unique value propositions! Namely, the Enphase Encharge batteries work within their suite of products, the Enphase Ensemble. As such, homeowners can alleviate their reliance on the grid with off-the-grid solutions.
The Enphase Ensemble is a family of technology that is designed for either whole-home or partial-home energy storage in the case of a grid failure.
The system includes the Encharge 10 or Encharge 3 storage systems (or a combination of both), the Empower smart switch, the Enlighten cloud monitoring platform, and the Envoy combiner. The system is designed to be used with any of the Enphase IQ series of microinverters.
All of these components work together to provide you with instant seamless backup electricity from your grid-tied solar energy system when the grid experiences a grid failure. As we mentioned above, this system is unlike other traditional grid-tied solar energy battery backup systems in that it will still produce energy to power your home even when the grid is down. If there is excess energy being produced beyond what your system is using, the excess will go to the storage system for later use.
Our team of solar experts will release its full review of the Enphase Ensemble; however, today we will focus on the Enphase Encharge batteries.
How do the Enphase Encharge Batteries work?
The Enphase Encharge pairs well with most any solar panel system, especially if your utility has reduced or removed net metering, time-of-use rates, or demand charges. Installing a storage solution like the Enphase Encharge with a solar system allows you to maintain a sustained power supply during the day or night, as long as you store enough power from your panels during the day.
As with most other battery products, the Enphase Encharge batteries are sized for residential day-to-day use and often paired with a home solar panels array. When your solar panels produce more electricity than you can use in your home, you can store the excess electricity in the battery system instead of sending it back into the grid. Later, when your panels aren’t producing enough electricity to meet your home’s needs, you can pull from the electricity stored in your battery instead of having to buy it from your utility company.
If you want to learn more about how backup battery systems work, then don’t forget to check out our Ultimate Guide to Home Backup Batteries.
What Makes the Enphase Encharge Batteries Different?
Enphase describes its batteries as “all-in-one AC-coupled storage systems.” They offer various grid-tied functions, including: increasing household solar self-consumption and managing time-of-use (TOU) electricity rates for maximum savings on your electricity bill.
One of the biggest wins that the Enphase Encharge Batteries claim is their size and scalability.
Size
The batteries come in two different sizes, the Enphase Encharge 3 and the Enphase Encharge 10.
The Encharge 10 is actually just three Encharge 3 units built together in a larger, water-tight cover. It obviously provides three times the amount of capacity as the Encharge 3.
Both come with a 10-year limited warranty. They utilize passive cooling techniques, which means there are no fans or moving parts to break. Encharge units are simple to install since they are essentially plug-and-play. They can also interconnect seamlessly with standard household AC wiring. You can combine multiple Encharge units to maximize your energy storage and provide backup for your entire home.
| MODEL | POWER | USABLE CAPACITY |
| Encharge 3 | 1.28 kW | 3.36 kWh |
| Encharge 10 | 3.84 kW | 10.08 kWh |
The Enphase Encharge 10
Arguably the most exciting addition to the Ensemble suite is the Encharge 10. By providing both the 10 and 3 options, Enphase gives homeowners an additional level of flexibility to their systems. And, while the Encharge 10 compares very well to other major batteries, its inter-connectability makes it really stand out. If you are looking for a dynamic, versatile backup battery system that gives you the flexibility to expand to meet your future energy needs, then you cannot go wrong with the Enphase Encharge Batteries. If you want to learn about the inverters located inside the Encharge battery then click here to learn more about the Enphase IQ8.
And, if you want to offset your home energy usage as much as possible, then contact us to learn more about the Encharge 10!
Authored by Ryan Douglas
NRG Clean Power's resident writer and solar enthusiast, Ryan Douglas covers all things related to the clean energy industry.
