Introduction:
When looking into a home solar battery, it is essential to explore companies with experience in the battery space. LG Chem might not be a name that is as well known, but it has long been one of the largest lithium-ion battery manufacturers in South Korea, China, and the United States. Over the past decade, LG Chem has been a leader in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones, and energy storage. The LG Chem RESU 10H the companies home energy storage solution for the US market is one of the most common solar batteries installed throughout the country.
As one of the leading players in the energy storage space, the LG Chem RESU product is one that customers should familiarize themselves with when exploring residential home storage.
LG Chem RESU Product Details:
Battery Type: DC Battery with a coupled system (48V and 400V options)
Cell Chemistry: Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC pouch cells)
Battery size: 9.8 h in the US (6.5kWh,13kWh, and 16kWh available in other markets)
Usable Capacity: 9.3 kWh of usable capacity
Power output - 5kW continuous
Warranty Length: 10 years
Warranty Rated Capacity Year 10: 60 percent retained capacity
Price: $9,500 -13,000 depending on variables
About LG Chem:
LG Chem, Ltd. is a Korean company that was established in 1947. It is a part of the LG group, a well known global business leader in various industries. LG Chem is focused on chemical development and is currently the largest in Korea, with over 29,000 employees globally.
As batteries have become a more critical part of everyday life, LG Chem has used its chemical expertise to take a leadership position in the lithium-ion battery space. As a chemical and battery space leader, LG Chem has yearly sales that exceed $22 billion. As we will discuss later, this is important when discussing the warranty that LG chem provides for its RESU home battery products.
LG RESU 10H Battery Product Details:
Resu stands for "Residential Energy Storage Unit," and unlike some of the other players in the home battery space, LG Chem produces batteries in a variety of different sizes. In the US market, the RESU10 is the available battery product.
The LG Chem RESU batteries, unlike some of the other home battery leaders, is a DC-coupled battery. This means that the battery will charge directly from the home's solar panel system. Because the electricity flowing in and out of the battery does not have to be inverted as often as with an AC battery, it will have higher efficiency. The Resu10 has an industry-leading 94.5% round-trip efficiency outputs.
Because it is a DC battery, the RESU 10 needs to be paired with specific inverters to operate as the battery's brains. LG Chem works with many of the industry's best inverter manufactures, like SolarEdge, SMA Sunny Boy Storage, or Fronius, to ensure that the battery performs at peak capacity for its entire life.
When comparing batteries, it is essential to look at the battery's size and the usable capacity. Many battery companies will advertise the battery size but fail to mention that not all battery capacity is available for the homeowner. With its extensive experience in the chemistry and battery development space, the RESU 10H can accomplish a 95% depth of discharge.
For homeowners, the ability to draw power instantly and continuously power home appliances are two factors that play a big part in how functional the battery will be for the homeowner. In the case of a power outage, it is vital to have the ability to provide a jolt of power to help turn appliances on. This ability to provide the jolt of electricity is measured by "peak power." The LG Chem can deploy 7kW of peak, putting it towards the top of the home energy storage products for this category.
The other important factor for homes with home battery systems is how much power the battery can provide continuously. The LG Chem RESU 10H, like the other leaders in the home energy storage space, offers 5kW of continuous power.
The voltage range of the RESU 10H is slightly different depending on the inverter it is paired with, but it is in the range of 350~450 V.
The RESU 10H is smaller than its most famous rival, the Tesla Powerwall 2, but its size can be expanded by combining two LG Chems in parallel, doubling the energy storage a home has.
RESU 10H Operating Modes:
LG Chem has designed the RESU 10 as a battery. When paired with different inverters, the RESU 10 can perform different ways to address a homeowner's specific needs. By utilizing the inverters' functionality and connectivity, the RESU can be set up to provide backup power, utility optimization, or a combination of both.
Backup-Only— Most customers looking into battery storage are doing so to protect themselves during power outages. The RESU 10H is explicitly designed for this function. When designed with the right sized solar panel system, the RESU can provide partial home battery backup. In Backup-Only, the RESU 10 can reserve 0-100% of available power for backup functionality.
Utility Optimization— Utilizing the inverter's connectivity, RESU10 can store power from the solar system and deploy it into the home or grid to maximize the solar's economic investment. This function can provide massive financial advantages in utilities with a time-of-use rate structure like California utilities San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE) under NEM 2.0.
Backup and Utility Optimization— Many homeowners who add energy storage are looking to accomplish both Backup functionality and Utility Optimization. By utilizing the internet connectivity that the inverters provide, the RESU 10 can provide both backup power and utility optimization to protect against utility rate structure changes.
RESU 10H Inverter Options:
To optimize the battery performance, RESU 10H needs to be paired with an inverter with internet connectivity. The connectivity provides the ability to update the battery's functionality, protect the battery's life, and maximize savings based on utility rate structures.
1) SolarEdge StorEdge
2) SMA Sunny Boy Storage
3) Delta
4) Fronius
Chemistry:
LG Chem has been a leader in battery production for over two decades. During that time that have worked to improve battery technology and focused on the lithium-ion battery chemistry. It provides the most significant energy density and safety at its price point as the most cost-effective.
If diving a little deeper into the battery chemistry of the RESU 10H, the product uses a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery.
Unlike other battery producers who have focused on developing cylindrical battery cells, LG Chem has developed a Polymer "pouch" flat laminated battery design. According to LG, this is a feature that allows for the battery's greater energy density, safety, and lifespan. The traditional cylindrical model leads to bending and rolling of the cells that increases the likelihood of failure.
If you would like to learn more about the different residential battery types, check our guide to residential battery types.
Installation:
One of the areas of focus for LG Chem has been making the installation of the RESU 10H as easy as possible. By focusing on reducing the product's size and footprint, they believe installers will get the RESU 10H installed faster and with fewer challenges.
The RESU 10H weighs 214 (98 kilograms) or 220 pounds (100 kilograms), depending on the inverter it uses. It has a height of 35.7 in x width of 29.7 in x depth of 8.1 in (907 mm x 755 mm x 155 mm), allowing flexibility on the installation location.
The product will usually be wall-mounted to help find a location that is optimal for the battery. If you have a specific location in mind for the RESU 10H, it is important to let your Alchemy Consultant know right away to identify a viable battery location during the site survey.
An essential part of the site survey process is collecting data to distinguish the best location for the battery, to increase its efficacy, keep the cost down and protect the lifespan of the RESU 10H, but we always do our best to accommodate customer's requests.
In terms of optimal battery efficiency, it is usually recommended that the battery is installed close to the solar installation and electrical panel to limit the need for long conduit runs.
External temperatures impact all batteries. The RESU 10H has an optimal temperature range between 59°F to 86°F (15°C and 30°C). The LG Chem can still function between 14F to 113°F (-10°C to 45°C), but in extreme temperature, the efficiency and lifespan of the RESU 10H can be impacted. Because of the importance of maintaining the optimal temperature range, installing the product in a garage may make sense if you live in a location with more extreme temperature swings.
At Alchemy Solar, we only use installation partners approved and vetted to install the LG Chem battery. Working with approved partners is very important because permitting and battery installations can be complicated. When connecting to a home's electrical service panel to provide battery backup, only working with the best partners is extra important!
LG chem RESU 10H warranty coverage:
Warranty period: 10 years or 22.4 MWh energy throughput
Guaranteed end of warranty capacity: 60%
The RESU 10H is designed to go through one cycle of charging and discharging its capacity a day. LG Chem provides a 10-year warranty on its product or 22.4 mWh of energy throughput (expected output of a daily cycle over ten years) and guarantees that it will maintain at least 60 percent of its ability to hold a charge at the end of ten years.
Like the batteries used to power your smartphone or laptop, the LG Chem will lose the ability to maintain a charge over time. This decrease is gradual and is modeled into the battery's projected performance over the ten-year warranty timeline.
Like with any other warranty, the warranty's quality is only as good as the company's financial backing providing the warranty. 2020 was a massive year of growth in the Electric Vehicle space.
As a result of LG Chems leadership position in this space, LG Chem had a great year and projected to do well over the coming years. This financial strength position helps ensure that LG Chem will be around to take care of warranty situations for the RESU 10H.
RESU 10H Price, Rebate, Incentives:
The LG RESU 10H, like other products, has had some availability issues in the past. At Alchemy Solar, we work with companies like Sunrun with their BrightBox product to obtain the product consistently. This helps our customers get the RESU 10H installed and running as fast as possible!
The cost of installing the LG Chem varies based on a variety of factors. The RESU 10H costs around $5,500, and the upgraded inverters needed to keep the RESU 10H connected usually add around $500 to the solar costs. Additional hardware, permitting, and installation costs usually cost around $4,500-6,000.
Alchemy Solar is focused on expanding access to home energy storage as much as possible. An essential factor in providing various finance options, and has partnered with Sunrun to offer the RESU 10H part of a Power Purchase Agreement for $0 down and no upfront cost to homeowners in specific markets.
In markets like Hawaii, affordable solar batteries are an essential part of going solar. On Oahu the LG Chem can be used as part Hawaiian Electric's (HECO) Kukui Hele Pō grid service program. As a result of our relationship with Sunrun, our customers on Oahu can enter a program that allows HECO to pull power from a homeowners LG Chem in exchange for for compensation. This helps to stabilize the grid and improve the economics for customers of adding solar and energy storage.
When charged with solar, RESU 10H also qualifies for various rebates and, when charged with solar panels, the Federal Solar Tax Credit. For example, in California, some homeowners can qualify for the Self-Generation Incentive Program, reducing the cost of installing the battery significantly.
Alchemy Solar LG Chem RESU 10H advantage:
Energy storage is becoming a more important part of residential solar installations. As a battery space leader, LG Chem is precisely the type of company that Alchemy Solar looks to work with to guarantee our customers receive the best products possible.
Sadly many solar companies provide shady marketing and sales techniques that deceive customers about how energy storage will work for them.
An essential part of Alchemy Solar is that we only partner with installation partners who have the best reputations and are experienced and certified to install the product. Being a certified LG chem installer is important because battery backup and setting up the rate-setting for utility rate offset are complicated and need to be designed to maximize the battery's performance. Alchemy Solar is committed to helping our homeowners get the best value from the RESU 10H, something other solar companies, unfortunelty, do not always do.
At Alchemy Solar, we know that the LG Chem or other energy storage options can be an expensive addition to a home solar panel installation. As a result of our experience and reputation in the solar industry, Alchemy Solar has been able to provide access to leading finance options like Sunrun with its $0 down BrightBox PPA, LoanPal, Mosaic, and many other finance partners to make sure that we can accomplish your solar and energy storage goals.
If you are interested in learning more about the LG Chem RESU 10H or if energy storage and solar is a good fit for you, please schedule a free consultation with Alchemy Solar today.
Comments