The Electriq PowerPod Home Battery complete review

Electriq Power is a San Leandro, California-based energy storage company that designs and engineers its storage systems in the United States. Electriq's original product, the PowerPod, includes a battery, hybrid battery/solar inverter, home energy management system, and an energy meter. In addition to offering backup power, the PowerPod System includes a smart home energy software, known as Electriq View, to manage your home's electricity use and optimize energy efficiency. Their newest product, the PowerPod 2, has a different chemistry and upgraded technical specifications that build on their already impressive storage system.

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The Electriq PowerPod and the PowerPod 2 pair well with solar panel systems, especially if your utility has reduced or removed net metering, introduced time-of-use rates, or instituted demand charges for residential electricity consumers. Installing a storage solution like the PowerPod or the PowerPod 2 with a solar energy system allows you to maintain a sustained power supply during both day and night, as long as you store enough power from your solar panels when the sun is shining.

As with many other home battery products, these batteries are sized for day-to-day use at your home and are primarily designed to be paired with a solar panel system. 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 use the stored energy in your battery instead of having to buy it from your utility company.

The PowerPod is available as a DC-coupled battery and can be installed with or without a solar panel system. The PowerPod can also be installed as an AC-coupled system with an added inverter.

Like many other battery companies, Electriq provides a companion app for their energy products, known as the Electriq Power app. With their PowerPod software and a solar plus storage system, you can view real-time energy usage and solar electricity generation. You can also use their app to manually change the mode your battery operates in – from self-supply to backup power to maximum cost savings.

The Electriq PowerPod 2 is an improved version of the PowerPod 1, in large part due to its different battery chemistry. The PowerPod 2 is a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery (as opposed to the traditional Lithium-Ion NMC technology the PowerPod 1 used), which offers longer life, improved reliability, and increased safety. Additionally, Electriq says that it spent equal time focusing on upgrading the software side of things – the PowerPod 2 comes with an always-connected LTE and Wi-Fi-enabled hub. Communications are powered directly by the battery, so it will not shut down when the grid is non-operational.

Similar to the PowerPod 1, the PowerPod 2 software and a solar plus storage system allows you to view real-time energy usage and solar electricity generation on the Electriq Power app and website. 

Among the most important specs to keep in mind for solar batteries are the size of the battery (power and capacity), the depth of discharge, and roundtrip efficiency. 

Size

The Electriq PowerPod comes in four different DC-coupled models (with the ability to make them AC-coupled): the PowerPod 13.4, 20.1, 26.8, and 33.5. All PowerPod models are modular, meaning they can be stacked together to create even larger, more powerful battery systems.

Power (measured in kilowatts, or kW) determines the maximum amount of electricity that can be output at a single time, while usable capacity (measured in kilowatt-hours, or kWh) is a measure of the maximum amount of electricity stored in your battery on a full charge. The largest PowerPod 33.5 boasts a maximum power rating of 5.5 kW to go along with 28.5 kWh of usable capacity. The smallest PowerPod model, the 13.4, offers 4.5 kW of power and 11.4 kWh of usable capacity.

The Electriq PowerPod 2 (PP2 for short) comes in three different DC-coupled models: the PP2 10, 15, and 20. As of March 2021, these models can all come as AC-coupled as well. All PowerPod 2 models are modular.

The largest PowerPod 2 20 boasts a maximum power rating of 7.6 kW to go along with 20 kWh of usable capacity. The smallest PowerPod 2 model, the 10, also offers 7.6 kW of power and 10 kWh of usable capacity.

Think of your battery like water running through a pipe. The usable energy capacity is the amount of water available to push through the pipe, while power is the size of the pipe itself. Larger pipes allow more water to flow through at once, which depletes the water faster. Similarly, a battery with a high power rating can deliver more electricity at one time, but it will burn through its stored energy faster too.

A battery's power determines the number of appliances you can run from the battery concurrently, while usable capacity determines how long those appliances can be run. Batteries with a higher power rating are capable of powering more, bigger appliances (i.e., your HVAC system) or many appliances at once, while batteries with a higher usable capacity can store more total energy and thus can run your appliances for longer periods of time without needing to recharge.

Basic functionality

One solar battery can vary widely from another one. Some batteries have excellent off-grid capabilities, while others offer software solutions specific to rate arbitrage. The suite of PowerPod products is designed to provide both of these services. The suite of PowerPod 2 products is also designed to provide both excellent off-grid capabilities and offer software solutions specific to rate arbitrage.

Performance metrics

Roundtrip efficiency is a measure of electrical losses involved with charging and discharging a battery. The higher the efficiency percentage, the more efficiently the battery is able to convert incoming electricity into stored electricity and then back into usable electricity. The Electriq PowerPod has a roundtrip efficiency of 92 percent; this means that for every 10 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity you put into the battery, you'll receive 9.2 kWh of output. The Electriq PowerPod 2 has a roundtrip efficiency of 96.6 percent; this means that for every 10 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity you put into the battery, you'll receive a little more than 9.6 kWh of output.

Depth of discharge (DoD) indicates the percentage of a battery's energy that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery. Because the useful life of a battery decreases each time you charge, discharge, and re-charge–or cycle–your battery, many battery manufacturers specify a maximum DoD level for optimal battery performance. In general, batteries with a higher depth of discharge are considered better quality products. Unfortunately, neither the Electriq PowerPod nor the PowerPod 2 lists a depth of discharge on its spec sheet.

The PowerPod battery line is backed by a 10-year product and performance warranties that cover the product in the case of faulty parts or defects, as well as the actual performance of the battery. Electriq's warranty coverage says that by the end of 10 years, your PowerPod will still be able to store at least 50 percent of its initial out-of-box capacity.

Importantly, Electriq's battery technology is similar to other rechargeable batteries, both large and small: as time goes on, the battery loses some of its ability to hold a charge. Think of how the battery life of a brand-new smartphone compares to one that is a few years old. As you continually charge and drain your phone's battery, it starts to lose some of its ability to hold a charge.

If you want to compare individual battery models side-by-side, our battery Buyer's Guide lets you select products and compare them based on efficiency, capacity, power, and more.

The PowerPod 2 battery line is also backed by a 10-year product and performance warranty that cover the product in the case of faulty parts or defects, as well as the actual performance of the battery. Electriq's warranty coverage says that by the end of 10 years, your PowerPod 2 will still be able to store at least 70 percent of its initial out-of-box capacity.

The cost of installing a battery isn't as straightforward as looking up the list price for an individual component–i.e., your battery. In fact, depending on your electrical setup, installation costs can vary widely. While there isn't exact pricing for the PowerPod available online, some online references say that the PowerPod starts at $9,799 before installation and goes up to $19,999 for the largest size. The exact pricing for the PowerPod 2 is also not available online, but we can somewhat safely assume that the PowerPod 2 will cost a similar amount. If you want to install the PowerPod or the PowerPod 2 as part of a solar-plus-storage system, battery costs are just one piece of the equation. A 5 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system costs anywhere from $9,000 to $15,000, depending on where you live and the type of equipment you choose.

That may sound like a lot of money, but installing a solar-plus-storage system can be a worthwhile investment. Whether or not the Electriq PowerPod or the PowerPod 2 makes sense for you is determined by the way that your electric utility structures its rates, as well as your reasons for installing a solar battery.

Depending on where you live, you may have access to financial incentives that can reduce your home energy storage installation costs. If you live in California, you could get a cash rebate that covers most of your home battery costs through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). Other states (such as Massachusetts) are in the early stages of evaluating battery storage performance incentives as well, and several states already provide cash rebates.

You can request a quote for an Electriq PowerPod or an Electriq PowerPod 2 directly through Electriq's website or from local solar installers and/or installation companies that carry the PowerPod or the PowerPod 2. Adding energy storage technology to your home is a complicated process that needs electrical expertise, certifications, and knowledge of the best practices required to install a solar-plus-storage system correctly.

A qualified EnergySage-approved company can give you the best recommendation about the PowerPod home battery system and other energy storage options available to homeowners today. If you're interested in receiving competing installation quotes for solar and energy storage options from local installers near you, simply join the EnergySage Marketplace today and indicate what products you're interested in your profile's preferences section.