Enphase Direction

[svetz]

I was perusing an investor's report and the image to the right in it shows where they plan on taking Ensemble. This thread is to discuss where Enphase is going. The first two things that looked interesting were the fuel cell and the EV. The fuel cell refers to Upstart's NxG SOFC fuel cell stack that runs on natural gas. Personally, I'd rather a reversible hydrogen stack (e.g., put in two gallons of deionized water from safeway and it's ready to go, no hydrogen infrastructure needed), but it's nice to see they have a plan for when gasoline generators are banned. The EV is undoubtedly the ClipperCreek acquisition. What I really like about is that the image shows bidirectional charging, it's the only thing other than the fuel cell that's not already available. Unfortunately, that's also a fairly hard one as most EVs aren't set up to be bidirectional and there are no standards currently (although in June a notice of rulemaking was issued for it that included bidirectional charging). Hopefully, that will get through soon and clever folks will offer retrofit kits available for older EVs. Also saw on the Enphase forums an idea to allow the EV charger to dynamically adjust rather than be on/off as it would be via the IQ Load Controller, thus minimizing solar losses.

 

[svetz]

The next thing that caught my eye was DSOs. This looks a whole lot like VPPs, does that mean we'll be able to join a DSO and by letting Enphase control our energy to grid we'll be be able to get more $$ than via net metering? Tesla already has a VPP beta, and Maryland's has been very profitable for members (although that's a bit artificial as more people join the $ will go down). With the (hopefully) upcoming 30% tax credit (I know, some states are already offering huge incentives) for batteries over 5 kWh, this could really help grow our grid and make it more reliable for sudden power shifts. The IQ Battery 5P is supposed to have an even lower price, so 2023 might be the year to expand.

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[svetz]

Portable Energy System This one seemed like a waste of energy (pun intended ; -) as there are so many already on the market. I don't see how Enphase can produce them better or for less. Possibly they're just rebranding and selling someone else's. I foresee Will having a field day with it.

 

[svetz]

Something caught my eye as I'm an avid reader of @GXMnow's blog: StormGuard will work with wildfire alerts. As the report is half a year old, it might already even be deployed.

 

[WildLeg]

View attachment 106253

Portable Energy System This one seemed like a waste of energy (pun intended ; -) as there are so many already on the market. I don't see how Enphase can produce them better or for less. Possibly they're just rebranding and selling someone else's. I foresee Will having a field day with it.

I agree on the portable battery front. I would be very impressed if enphase sent a product to Will for review and constructive criticism.

 

[solar8484]

I find Enphase less and less attractive as they continue to pursue a walled garden approach with premium pricing aimed at customer lock-in.

If I want something closed and proprietary then YouSolar (https://www.yousolar.com/) has a more appealing technical approach. But I would rather support companies that are focused on making open home solar systems with lower pricing to drive broad market adoption especially for lower and middle income households. The long talked about industry goal of $1/W installed remains elusive. I would rather see 3KW home solar systems become a common green energy appliance (without subsidy gimmicks) in 50% of homes instead of 10-Powerwall/Encharge novelty projects in 5% of homes.

BTW, V2H retrofit kits for EV have been available for a while now (https://www.plugoutpower.com/home).

 

[WildLeg]

as they continue to pursue a walled garden approach with premium pricing aimed at customer lock-in.

Make no mistake, $ENPH is a for profit publicly traded company whose sole purpose is to increase shareholder value. By keeping people inside your ecosystem you maximize profit. I am willing to pay more for a product that seamlessly works with all the other parts of my system with a warranty from one company, tech support from one company, over the air product updates from one company. But that’s not all. Enphase microinverters literally work with a lot of other products as proven by other members of this board.

The long talked about industry goal of $1/W installed remains elusive.

Soft costs are the reason for high costs. See Australia solar pricing for a glimpse into the promise land $.66-1.2/watt depending on where you live. Not sure if this is with incentives(i would guess it is). Last few quarters in the US enphase has provided the cheapest grid tied solar according to energy sage. Solar edge may have squeezed out a win last quarter.

I would rather see 3KW home solar systems become a common green energy appliance (without subsidy gimmicks) in 50% of homes instead of 10-Powerwall/Encharge novelty projects in 5% of homes.

I agree. Less subsidies are good. But lets make it an even playing field. For years gas supply hookups have been subsidized across the nation(no source here), oil and gas are subsidized across the nation(no source)…
But if no subsidies at least reform the market structure to fairly compensate individual power producers for the services they provide to the grid. Reform market structures to compensate people who shut off loads in a supply crunch during a heatwave.

Yes, I am a fanboy. And yes, i am looking for ways to tie cheaper(non-Enphase) batteries into my enphase system.