In Australia, PointGuard is available as Sigenergy. Since we have 230v, and many homes also have 3-phase power, the PointGuard/Sigenergy solution REALLY shines over Tesla. The controller/inverter have a 25 kW version. Likewise the bi-directional DC EV charger has a 25 kW version. Additionally, Tesla have NO SOLUTION for "Backup" in a 3-phase home, only single-phase, whereas PointGuard/Sigenergy's solution does provide 3-phase home backup. Also, at least in Australia, the 25kw inverter, 25kw EV charger, and 4 x 8 kw batteries cost about the same as 2 x PW3s...
It’s always interesting to me to see how the products differ from market to market. I thought Tesla was super popular in Australia. Does Sigenergy hold better marketshare out there?
@@ZachSolar Tesla most definitely has the overwhelming marketshare for home batteries in Australia. Sigenergy are new, and so their marketshare is effectively 0. But there has been a bit of buzz around their Bi-directional charger, since the Energy minister also announced updated regulations to allow Bi-Directional charging and V2X in Australia and Sigenergy is essentially the first one to be generally available.
Both products are awesome but one of the big reasons PG does well over Tesla for certain use cases is the standby gas generator integration is absolutely seamless. Tesla does not do a simple Failover with gas generators. Pointguard has native support for standby systems via a 2-wire start which is nice when you need that supplemental, tertiary, system to get you beyond your initial battery storage capacity. The 10 Circuit load shedding is also a level of sophistication that's built-in(free) that you would normally have to buy via another 3rd party product like SPAN/Lumin
So Tesla want you to keep buying more Tesla batteries rather than have an option to backup with a generator. I would want to have the ability to use a backup generator.
Another great video! I have a PW3 with the meter collar backup switch. Going with a DC expansion pack when they come to my area in January. It is like you say, it just works! Tesla for the win!
I'm in the UK. I've just had 2 PW3's installed with the gateway. Total cost 15,000 USD equivalent. This included existing solar AC connected. They also connected an additional 25 450w panels on DC.
Only installed 3 days ago, but it looks good so far. The solar panels weren't included in that price. We have several brands of battery that are competing for market share, which keeps the prices down.
Hey Zach, quick correction at 1:40 Tesla (currently) only allows expansion PW3's to be connected to the "leader" powerwall 3, and only allows 1 leader per gateway. So the maximum PW3's and expansions you can have per gateway is 7: "Expansion units can only be connected to the Leader Powerwall 3 (the unit connected to the Backup Gateway 2 / Backup Switch / Gateway 3 via 12V / CAN wiring; a system can only have (1) Leader). Expansion units connected to Follower Powerwall 3 units (any Powerwall 3 other than the Leader) will not function. The total maximum system size is (7) units - up to (4) Powerwall 3 units with up to (3) Expansion units."
@@ZachSolar Pointguard system is techncially up to 80KW via 2 stacks and 22,800kw Continous. The load hub has the 2 PG slots available as a default system architecture.
peak 80 kW output and 22.8 kW continuous? Edit: Nevermind, I’m tracking you here. Yeah the specs in this video are off one stack only. Didn’t know the LoadHub could support two full stacks tho. Thanks for the info!
Yup! And if you have a Solar system attached each stack can go over 17KW peak discharge, so for the same horizontal space as 2 powerwalls you can go vertical
@@mrgylex123 The other advantage for the PG system is that at least in California you are required to have 3 feet between batteries. So to do a 2 PW system you have two batteries with 3 feet between them. You cannot stack them together. This can make it awkward to install on a lot of homes. With the PG system you can put together 2 5 kWh and 2 8 kWh batteries in a single stack and the floor space is no different than a 13 kWh system.
Another great video! Can up a backup switch be installed on an existing Tesla solar system? The contractor I am working with said that it would need to be a gateway installed instead of the backup switch even through PGE does approve the backup switch in my area. Does this have anything to do with the fact I am using an existing Tesla Solar Inverter or is what is he saying false. Maybe the option for whole home backup is only for new installations. I would like to have the option to have whole home backup and the ability to monitor production. Ironically he also offered up Point Guard too as apparentyl there has been a backup supply of Powerwall 3. I would welcome any advice on the backup switch based on on my setup.
@@newt6639 thank you! The backup switch would be a potential option there assuming all other criteria are met. Tesla recently enabled the ability for the backup switch to be able to be used on AC-coupled designs (retrofit installs). This rolled out about two months back, so it’s relatively new.
Also, you don't mention where you are but in the PG&E area if the gas meter is within 39 inches of the Switch/electrical meter you cannot use the switch. Just another possibility.
@@bryanwhitton1784 That's interesting to know for when it comes up in the future. I'm in Southern AZ, so not too familiar with PG&E. Thanks for sharing.
@@leelastname6329 thanks! Here’s the link. The video is towards the bottom of this page: www.tesla.com/support/energy/powerwall/learn/tesla-backup-switch
This style battery is definitely becoming a lot more popular. EP Cube (Canadian Solar) is another one who offers a battery like this. Hard to say which is better as it’s all relative to total cost & goals. PointGuard’s metrics are hard to dispute!
The 25KW DC charger module, near 0 ms UPS and generator input are the reasons for pointguard (Sigenergy) for me. I'm limited to a 5KW inverter but with Sigenergy I can still have 10KW of panels and charge my car DC. No brainer. Im so confused why Tesla will don't provide this option. Also a neat hack with Sigenergy is that if you have an EV with vehicle to load you can plug your car AC output into the generator input and charge your house battery with your car before V2X is fully implemented.
These are certainly some nice perks of the PG system when compared to Tesla. Hopefully Tesla can bring bidirectional charging to their other EVs (non-Cybertruck) soon.
PointGuard requires a minimum of 21.5 kWh of battery storage to reach the 11.4 kW output without solar, 8 kWh more than a PowerWall 3. That configuration has got to make it much more expensive than a PowerWall 3. With a 13.44 kWh capacity it can only produce 7.2 kWh without solar, much less than the 11.5 kW than the PowerWall 3.
Great points. Thanks for catching that detail. To clarify, it'd only throttle below 11.4 kW when off grid without solar. 11.4 kW is available with any kWh stack when on-grid. Regardless, still worth noting.
That assumes you will running at peak for a long time. However I only need 15kW for 10 minutes so that only 2.5kWh which is not enough to drain the battery.
Which option is a better value for you? Share your thoughts below! I’d love to hear your experience if you own either of these products.
In Australia, PointGuard is available as Sigenergy.
Since we have 230v, and many homes also have 3-phase power, the PointGuard/Sigenergy solution REALLY shines over Tesla. The controller/inverter have a 25 kW version. Likewise the bi-directional DC EV charger has a 25 kW version.
Additionally, Tesla have NO SOLUTION for "Backup" in a 3-phase home, only single-phase, whereas PointGuard/Sigenergy's solution does provide 3-phase home backup.
Also, at least in Australia, the 25kw inverter, 25kw EV charger, and 4 x 8 kw batteries cost about the same as 2 x PW3s...
It’s always interesting to me to see how the products differ from market to market. I thought Tesla was super popular in Australia. Does Sigenergy hold better marketshare out there?
@@ZachSolar Tesla most definitely has the overwhelming marketshare for home batteries in Australia. Sigenergy are new, and so their marketshare is effectively 0. But there has been a bit of buzz around their Bi-directional charger, since the Energy minister also announced updated regulations to allow Bi-Directional charging and V2X in Australia and Sigenergy is essentially the first one to be generally available.
Thanks for this! Very useful!
Thanks for watching!
Both products are awesome but one of the big reasons PG does well over Tesla for certain use cases is the standby gas generator integration is absolutely seamless. Tesla does not do a simple Failover with gas generators. Pointguard has native support for standby systems via a 2-wire start which is nice when you need that supplemental, tertiary, system to get you beyond your initial battery storage capacity. The 10 Circuit load shedding is also a level of sophistication that's built-in(free) that you would normally have to buy via another 3rd party product like SPAN/Lumin
Generator integration and smart load control are definitely cool features.
So Tesla want you to keep buying more Tesla batteries rather than have an option to backup with a generator.
I would want to have the ability to use a backup generator.
Another great video! I have a PW3 with the meter collar backup switch. Going with a DC expansion pack when they come to my area in January. It is like you say, it just works! Tesla for the win!
Thanks! That’s awesome to hear! Glad you’re enjoying your system 🔋
I'm in the UK. I've just had 2 PW3's installed with the gateway. Total cost 15,000 USD equivalent. This included existing solar AC connected. They also connected an additional 25 450w panels on DC.
That’s a fantastic price. I’ve never seen something like that over here. How do you like your system?
Only installed 3 days ago, but it looks good so far. The solar panels weren't included in that price. We have several brands of battery that are competing for market share, which keeps the prices down.
Hey Zach, quick correction at 1:40
Tesla (currently) only allows expansion PW3's to be connected to the "leader" powerwall 3, and only allows 1 leader per gateway. So the maximum PW3's and expansions you can have per gateway is 7:
"Expansion units can only be connected to the Leader Powerwall 3 (the unit connected to the Backup Gateway 2 / Backup Switch / Gateway 3 via 12V / CAN wiring; a system can only have (1) Leader). Expansion units connected to Follower Powerwall 3 units (any Powerwall 3 other than the Leader) will not function. The total maximum system size is (7) units - up to (4) Powerwall 3 units with up to (3) Expansion units."
Thanks for the correction. Interesting. I had the max at 16 total units (4 PW3 + 12 Expansions). Appreciate the intel!
@@ZachSolar Pointguard system is techncially up to 80KW via 2 stacks and 22,800kw Continous. The load hub has the 2 PG slots available as a default system architecture.
peak 80 kW output and 22.8 kW continuous?
Edit: Nevermind, I’m tracking you here. Yeah the specs in this video are off one stack only. Didn’t know the LoadHub could support two full stacks tho. Thanks for the info!
Yup! And if you have a Solar system attached each stack can go over 17KW peak discharge, so for the same horizontal space as 2 powerwalls you can go vertical
@@mrgylex123 The other advantage for the PG system is that at least in California you are required to have 3 feet between batteries. So to do a 2 PW system you have two batteries with 3 feet between them. You cannot stack them together. This can make it awkward to install on a lot of homes.
With the PG system you can put together 2 5 kWh and 2 8 kWh batteries in a single stack and the floor space is no different than a 13 kWh system.
Another great video! Can up a backup switch be installed on an existing Tesla solar system? The contractor I am working with said that it would need to be a gateway installed instead of the backup switch even through PGE does approve the backup switch in my area. Does this have anything to do with the fact I am using an existing Tesla Solar Inverter or is what is he saying false. Maybe the option for whole home backup is only for new installations. I would like to have the option to have whole home backup and the ability to monitor production. Ironically he also offered up Point Guard too as apparentyl there has been a backup supply of Powerwall 3. I would welcome any advice on the backup switch based on on my setup.
@@newt6639 thank you! The backup switch would be a potential option there assuming all other criteria are met. Tesla recently enabled the ability for the backup switch to be able to be used on AC-coupled designs (retrofit installs). This rolled out about two months back, so it’s relatively new.
Also, you don't mention where you are but in the PG&E area if the gas meter is within 39 inches of the Switch/electrical meter you cannot use the switch. Just another possibility.
@@bryanwhitton1784 That's interesting to know for when it comes up in the future. I'm in Southern AZ, so not too familiar with PG&E. Thanks for sharing.
Great video could you send me the video that explains the gateway versus a transfer switch?
@@leelastname6329 thanks! Here’s the link. The video is towards the bottom of this page: www.tesla.com/support/energy/powerwall/learn/tesla-backup-switch
Zach what do you think is better the pointgard or the Bluetti EP900 ?? or any other recommendations with rack type with built in inverter
This style battery is definitely becoming a lot more popular. EP Cube (Canadian Solar) is another one who offers a battery like this. Hard to say which is better as it’s all relative to total cost & goals. PointGuard’s metrics are hard to dispute!
The 25KW DC charger module, near 0 ms UPS and generator input are the reasons for pointguard (Sigenergy) for me. I'm limited to a 5KW inverter but with Sigenergy I can still have 10KW of panels and charge my car DC. No brainer. Im so confused why Tesla will don't provide this option. Also a neat hack with Sigenergy is that if you have an EV with vehicle to load you can plug your car AC output into the generator input and charge your house battery with your car before V2X is fully implemented.
These are certainly some nice perks of the PG system when compared to Tesla. Hopefully Tesla can bring bidirectional charging to their other EVs (non-Cybertruck) soon.
Pointguard app is amazing. Easy to commission using the app
That’s great feedback on their software!
PointGuard requires a minimum of 21.5 kWh of battery storage to reach the 11.4 kW output without solar, 8 kWh more than a PowerWall 3. That configuration has got to make it much more expensive than a PowerWall 3. With a 13.44 kWh capacity it can only produce 7.2 kWh without solar, much less than the 11.5 kW than the PowerWall 3.
Great points. Thanks for catching that detail. To clarify, it'd only throttle below 11.4 kW when off grid without solar. 11.4 kW is available with any kWh stack when on-grid. Regardless, still worth noting.
@@ZachSolar But if you are trying to not use any grid power it's important (think time-of-use and demand charges).
Absolutely. How has your PW3 system been performing?
Don't forget, no matter how much backup power you can get out of any system is not a factor if you only have enough battery to run it for an hour.
That assumes you will running at peak for a long time. However I only need 15kW for 10 minutes so that only 2.5kWh which is not enough to drain the battery.
Tesla all day