LG ESS Home 8 or Enphase Encharge 10: Which One Should You Choose?

For residential solar and wind energy users, having a home energy storage system (ESS) can reduce dependency on utility companies and provide backup during emergencies. An ESS can make your switch to solar energy efficient and help you save on bills.

Both LG and Enphase offer home energy storage systems as a part of their catalog of solar solutions.

But who wins the LG ESS vs. Encharge battle? Let’s find out:

LG ESS Home 8: A Brief Overview

LG launched its all-in-one Home 8 energy storage solution in September this year.

The model combines a single 7.5kW inverter with a lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery that can store 15.8kWh of energy. But here’s the impressive part: you can use your LG chem battery storage to store power from your PV module and your utility grid.

With a round trip efficiency of 90%, the ESS gives you 14.4kWh of usable energy. It not only provides 24/7 protection against outages, but the Home 8’s off-grid tech also offers on-demand energy whenever you need it.

It charges itself at peak daytime hours when electricity usage is at its lowest. Even if your PV module is not working, you’ll still have enough LG battery backup to power you

It charges itself at peak daytime hours when electricity usage is at its lowest. Even if your PV module is not working, you’ll still have enough LG battery backup to power your home.

You can remain energy-independent, even during a natural calamity.

It also seamlessly integrates with the brand’s other smart home appliances. You can even connect it to your HVAC system and other electronics.

The Home 8 model is highly durable and resistant to earthquakes (seismic zone 4 vibrations, per IEEE 693).

LG does not disappoint when it promises to give you total control over your home energy consumption.

Choose LG ESS Home 8 if: you are looking for an integrated solar solution that merges seamlessly with your smart home.

Enphase Encharge 10: A Brief Overview

Enphase Encharge batteries have been around since 2020. Like the LG ESS Home 8, it is also an all-in-one energy storage system for residential use.

Together with the Enphase IQ series microinverters, it can form a microgrid of its own. So, Enphase solar batteries can work even when the grid fails, powering your home for days. Even better, the setup has multiple microinverters, so a partial failure of any component hardly affects its overall efficiency.

Come rain, storm, or sunshine - Enphase Encharge can power your home uninterrupted for days.

You can use the Encharge 10 model with new and retrofitted solar solutions. It allows you to upgrade your PV module without changing the battery backup.

Choose Enphase Encharge 10 if: you want a tried and tested reliable home energy storage solution that delivers on its promise.

Home 8 vs. Encharge 10: A Technical Comparison

Clash of the Titans: Which One is Better?

From a technical point of view, choosing a winner in this home battery comparison is difficult. Both LG and Enphase offer state-of-the-art energy storage systems to complement your solar system installation.

However, the devil lies in the details, including:

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Performance

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Both the LG ESS Home 8 and Enphase Encharge 10 run on lithium iron phosphate batteries. These batteries have long life cycles and are ideal for prolonged use.

The Enphase batteries are compatible with any grid-tied solar system, old or new. On the other hand, you can use the Home 8 with your solar PV module or connect it to four different AC units. So it's highly versatile.

But, Encharge’s AC-coupled home energy monitoring system has an exemplary round trip efficiency of 96%. It beats LG by a 6% margin. You lose less energy in the Encharge 10 model than you do in LG. So, even though LG has a higher usable energy capacity at 14.4 kWh, you get better output from Enphase 10.

The Encharge battery is capable of full-home power storage, just like LG.

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Monitoring

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You can use the Enlighten platform to monitor the performance of your Encharge battery. Its Enpower Smart Switch automatically detects power outages to seamlessly switch between on-grid, off-grid, solar, or backup modes.

LG comes with a ThinQ app which lets you monitor your ESS’s performance. You can schedule its usage on the app to maximize your home energy system’s operational efficiency.

A sleek digital LED display shows you the State of Charge (SOC) so you know how much energy is available in your solar panel installation setup at any time.

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Scalability

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Wondering how to control home energy costs? Ensure your home energy storage system is scalable. The more energy you store, the less you consume from your utility provider, and the more you save.

Thankfully, both the Home 8 and Encharge 10 are scalable. You can stack 4 units of each model together to increase your ESS’s overall energy storage capacity.

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Ease of Installation

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At 341 lbs, Encharge 10 is lighter than the 364-pound Home 8, but the LG model appears more sleek. Both models are wall mountable and require two people for installation. The units are quite heavy, so exercise precautions to avoid injury.

Thanks to modular assembly, both models are fairly easy to install.

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Cost

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Affordability does play a key role in determining how good or bad solar installations are.

However, Enphase Encharge 10 and the Home 8 are priced similarly.

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Warranty

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These solar storage batteries have a limited warranty of 10 years or up to 4,000 cycles. Manufacturers guarantee a working capacity of at least 70% by the end of the warranty period, which is an industry-standard.

However, note that in the case of the LG Home 8, the warranty only holds if you use the ESS with the ThinQ app.

The Verdict

In the home battery storage comparison, LG ESS Home 8 emerges as the winner for larger homes that need to store a lot of energy. You get a fully integrated smart home setup that right-sizes your overall energy consumption, reducing utility bills.

The Enphase Encharge 10 is well-suited for smaller households with limited consumption that face frequent power outages.