Myenergi Libbi Battery

[SteveJol]

Just seen this video, looks like another entrant into the battery market in the UK vs Tesla and Givenergy.

Prices start at "£4595+vat (excluding installation)" according to the website, that's probably for the base inverter + 5kwh battery.

libbi | Revolutionary Battery Storage System | myenergi UK

libbi is a modular battery storage for solar panels and grid energy. libbi includes a solar inverter, battery controller and battery modules from 5–20kWh

myenergi.com

Hopefully more competition will increase supply and drive some of the prices down.

 

[PITA]

Apparently this battery is a remodeling of the KStar battery brand. With the Myenergi controller and software.

Either way, the Myenergi version looks expensive and it doesn't do full home blackout backup...

 

[Cardo]

Apparently this battery is a remodeling of the KStar battery brand. With the Myenergi controller and software.

Either way, the Myenergi version looks expensive and it doesn't do full home blackout backup...

I believe you’re spot on. It’s nice that the controller integrates with the other MyEnergi kit, but I think they may have dropped the ball by not also providing a backup power gateway.

 

[Astrape]

Are you saying some inverters can provide power back to the normal supply circuits in case of power cut?
Or that secondary circuits are required?

 

[Andywil]

Are you saying some inverters can provide power back to the normal supply circuits in case of power cut?
Or that secondary circuits are required?

Tesla powerwall with a gateway provide seamless power in a power cut, and allow solar PV to continue to provide power.

 

[Cardo]

Are you saying some inverters can provide power back to the normal supply circuits in case of power cut?
Or that secondary circuits are required?

I can power my house during a power cut but I have to manually switch the house feed from the grid to the inverter’s EPS supply. The Tesla gateway does this automatically.

 

[Astrape]

Tesla powerwall with a gateway provide seamless power in a power cut, and allow solar PV to continue to provide power.

So the powerwall has control of a grid feed contactor? How does it work out that the grid is gone, does it use a current transformer and deduce the loss of connection from the sudden export of current? It then disconnects the grid and continues with its usual inverter output?

 

[Astrape]

I can power my house during a power cut but I have to manually switch the house feed from the grid to the inverter’s EPS supply. The Tesla gateway does this automatically.

That is super cool, I want this! I live in a forest there are a dozen power cuts a year, sometimes for hours or a full day. Being able to keep lights and a kettle alive makes a lot of difference. (No boiler, but the wood burners are fine for heat).

 

[scdoubleu]

So the powerwall has control of a grid feed contactor? How does it work out that the grid is gone, does it use a current transformer and deduce the loss of connection from the sudden export of current? It then disconnects the grid and continues with its usual inverter output?

It has an automatic grid isolator for line/neutral/earth. I don't know the details of how it senses loss of grid power. I do know that switchover time can be anywhere from almost instantaneous to a few seconds, depending on what the Powerwall is doing at the time (standby/charging/discharging).

On loss of grid, it may also raise the AC frequency for a short time to force solar inverters to shutdown, particularly if the Powerwall's battery is close to full. If there's nowhere to put the excess solar power (grid/battery) then no point generating.

The Tesla Gateway also has a non-backup side for circuits which don't necessarily need to be powered during a grid outage, such as EV chargers.

All in all it's a neat box of tricks, somewhat let down by the "Tesla knows best" ethos when it comes to controlling charging behaviour. Despite that, it's saving us a shedload of cash - enough that the whole install of solar/Powerwall will pay for itself in under ten years at current electricity prices.

 

[Mr Miserable]

I can't see how myenergi can justify their high price for such a small battery. It's not exactly a revolutionary product either, more of an evolution.

 

[Foucault]

Well at least it is using lithium iron phosphate so more stable than traditional lithium ion batteries and doesn’t use cobalt either, so better from an environment and child labour perspective. As others have said, it is on the pricey side and the lack of EPS is a bit of an odd one. My guess is as it’s actually a Kstar battery, it wasn’t an option to add it. Having said that, EPS is an increasingly common feature on hybrid inverters so could be used as part of a new install if that feature would be useful, though rather expensive if you just want to add batteries (which would make the power wall and gateway look better value).

 

[Cardo]

Well at least it is using lithium iron phosphate so more stable than traditional lithium ion batteries and doesn’t use cobalt either, so better from an environment and child labour perspective. As others have said, it is on the pricey side and the lack of EPS is a bit of an odd one. My guess is as it’s actually a Kstar battery, it wasn’t an option to add it. Having said that, EPS is an increasingly common feature on hybrid inverters so could be used as part of a new install if that feature would be useful, though rather expensive if you just want to add batteries (which would make the power wall and gateway look better value).

The inverter they’re using (rebadged Kstar) does have an EPS output, however it seems to be along the same lines as most hybrid inverters. What they could do to stand out is provide an add-on Tesla gateway type deceive to manage the auto-switchover.

 

[Zakalwe]

IMHO, MyEnergi are asking their integration to do a lot of heavy lifting here. Yes, It's really nice to have a single platform controlling the EV charging, hot water diverter battery and inverter. However, the prices look incredibly high and not having an gateway seems like a big miss.

If GivEnergy ever get their game together and release their EV charger, then there is far less reason for opting for the Libbi. Likewise, they have announced a whole house battery/inverter/gateway that looks very similar in specs to the Tesla Powerwall. i have also seen that they are going to release a standalone gateway too.

However, GivEnergy have some problems with getting their Generation 2 hybrid inverter out there (no stock till sometime next year). They are also making a right mess of supporting many users that are experiencing their batteries losing charge. They've messed up the release of their smart plugs, with functionality severely limited. And the EV charger still seems to be as rare as chicken's teeth.

The market is still in it's infancy. It really is crying out for multi-product integration, MyEnergi's effort is welcome. However at that price point it looks like poor value.