Schneider XW pro 6k vs. Eg4 18k - need help deciding

[hwy17]

I bought my XW+ used from a higher end turnkey solar installer and they pointed to a stack of Tesla powerwalls in their warehouse and said that's all we use now, they're just too easy. I would guess that this accurately reflects where Schneider sees their competition in the domestic market; on the high end, not the low end.

Installers want a backfed system for retrofitting, not a pass through system like DIYers prefer. The BCS is the only new product in years from them right? And it exists precisely to enable backfed configs.

Along those lines, a battery/inverter combo unit would make perfect sense, to even more precisely compete with the powerwall.

In my little experience thus far with my system I am already feeling the divergence of trying to work with Schneider as a DIYer and although I'm happy to have this monster piece of legendary off grid history I can already tell that when it comes to any large system upgrades I'm going to look more seriously at Midnite for a more satisfying culture and spirit of design. I'm kind of sad they're going in the HF direction, but I don't want to be left out in the cold with every problem hoping the manufacturer will even take pity to respond to me.

 

[Quattrohead]

is it this one?

Schneider Electric releases residential solution with battery, inverter, EV charger

Schneider Electric's new Schneider Home platform includes a smartphone app to monitor and allocate energy resources.

www.pv-magazine.com

Yeah that's the one and contains the same information as what was available at the show, one picture and sweet FA else.

 

[hwy17]

Schneider Boost Battery Storage | Shop Schneider Home

Boost battery keeps your home powered when you need it. Store energy from solar or the grid and automatically power your home during an outage and when electricity rates are high.

shop.se.com

10kwh Lifepo4 they say.

 

[realpinochet]

I don't mind that the extra components are stand alone, I mind how much they charge for the simplest of components, because they know they've got you.

Exactly that's what I was saying, I know they have the full size and mini pdp but just add the mini by default and not charge a ridiculous amount for a sheet metal box and some breakers.

 

[realpinochet]

Yep!
I had to move things around, every time I added, as I did not plan far enough ahead.
Kept painting myself into a corner, with respect to wall space.
Hope I'm done now, just need to add more PV (Winter project # 48847663)
View attachment 164584

Did you document the install, wiring and what products you used like breaker / distribution panels etc. This is a very very nice setup.

 

[400bird]

Exactly that's what I was saying, I know they have the full size and mini pdp but just add the mini by default and not charge a ridiculous amount for a sheet metal box and some breakers.

Then people who need the full size PDP would be paying extra for the mini. Also, many do the installation with no power distribution panel.

The price seems crazy for the mini, but Midnight makes a similar box of breakers for the XW, when I was shopping (2 years ago) it actually cost more than the Schneider box.

 

[realpinochet]

Then people who need the full size PDP would be paying extra for the mini. Also, many do the installation with no power distribution panel.

The price seems crazy for the mini, but Midnight makes a similar box of breakers for the XW, when I was shopping (2 years ago) it actually cost more than the Schneider box.

The main takeaway for me is the price ...it's absurd. But, if they offered them with a mini prewired a average Joe could install it easier like slapping a solark on the wall. I do see your point! As for each having their own pdp like the solark doesn't seem like a issue for me regarding needing a full size. From the solar installs I've seen they just ran into a distribution panel. Why would you need a large pdp if each one has it's own?

Thanks for your input.

 

[pvdude]

Did you document the install, wiring and what products you used like breaker / distribution panels etc

The Schneider documentation is what I implemented.
All "Plug & Play"
Lots of reading!

Simple, straightforward, no modifications or improvisation.
Used all the breakers that Schneider provided, both AC and DC.

All the switchgear is Square D, all downstream breakers are QO.
I have had good results in the past w/ Square D quality and reliability.
Also, costs were reasonable, as most of the switchgear was bought used
from ebay, at about 1/3 the cost of new.

I did make an attempt to document the entire system.
(house and workshop are about 200' apart.)

 

[G00SE]

The sunpower sun vault has a schneider xw pro inside and anywhere from 12kwh to 52kwh of Lifepo4 cases

 

[1201]

A Schneider setup able to handle 12kw , with
2 xw pros
2 mppt 100 600s
Gateway
Pdp etc is $11500.

Add the bcs switch and another charge controller and you are looking at $15k.

How is this a fair fight?

 

[knexbuilder]

Not cheap for sure. Top of the line never is though

 

[Shimmy]

How is this a fair fight?

Well, FWIW the XW system could do a sustained peak of 22kW, and offers a level of redundancy where you can limp by if there is a problem. The price delta to get that redundancy is about $2k with the EG4. If the system had an average load of ~5kW then the lifetime cost of energy premium is ~$0.003/kWh, assuming the EG4 has a similar life.

I know for me the only reason to consider the 18kPV (or SolArk) over the XW-Pro is space requirements. Once I succumb to that issue there are a few cool things that the AIOs offer (like the simplicity of swapping one system out for another) that mitigate the compromise, but by my math there is no real life-cycle cost difference between any of the three products.

 

[1201]

Well, FWIW the XW system could do a sustained peak of 22kW, and offers a level of redundancy where you can limp by if there is a problem. The price delta to get that redundancy is about $2k with the EG4. If the system had an average load of ~5kW then the lifetime cost of energy premium is ~$0.003/kWh, assuming the EG4 has a similar life.

I know for me the only reason to consider the 18kPV (or SolArk) over the XW-Pro is space requirements. Once I succumb to that issue there are a few cool things that the AIOs offer (like the simplicity of swapping one system out for another) that mitigate the compromise, but by my math there is no real life-cycle cost difference between any of the three products.

Are you saying one xw pro can sustain a peak of 22kw??

 

[Shimmy]

Are you saying one xw pro can sustain a peak of 22kw??

No, two per your assumptions. I am saying though that the practical capacity of one EG4-18kPV and one XW-Pro are comparable. You would want your starting amps on the EG4 to fit within (or at least close to) the 12kW rating, while the XW-Pro could handle 12kW starting inrush.

 

[1201]

No, two per your assumptions. I am saying though that the practical capacity of one EG4-18kPV and one XW-Pro are comparable. You would want your starting amps on the EG4 to fit within (or at least close to) the 12kW rating, while the XW-Pro could handle 12kW starting inrush.

So how are you getting a price delta of $2k?

 

[Shimmy]

So how are you getting a price delta of $2k?

Two of the EG4's for redundancy to match the effective redundancy you get with the XW-Pro's

 

[1201]

Two of the EG4's for redundancy to match the effective redundancy you get with the XW-Pro's

Both have 10 year warranties no?

If I invest the almost $10k Delta for 10 years just the interest is more than enough to buy another one and still be money ahead

 

[Solar Guppy]

Both have 10 year warranties no?

This is exactly where many go wrong, the China companies will have moved on in 12 to 18 months and no longer support the "previous" generation, maybe even a name change or two.

Now the XW has been sold and supported for close to 17 years at this point, that's a warranty.

 

[1201]

This is exactly where many go wrong, the China companies will have moved on in 12 to 18 months and no longer support the "previous" generation, maybe even a name change or two.

Now the XW has been sold and supported for close to 17 years at this point, that's a warranty.

So, spend 3x based on the assumption that one company will not attend by it's warranty? No, thanks

 

[Gotshocked!]

I have been running two Schneider XW pros for about four months and love them. I upgraded from two EG4 6500s. I can tell you, with those units I was always worried about overloading or tripping, but that isn't even in my mind now with the XWs. They just work. Certainly more expensive and complicated to install, but completely worth it. I wish Prowse would review them.

This convinced me to buy Schneider when I was on the fence. Wish he had videos comparing newer units as well.

David Poz style? The comments in the video indicate this youtuber is FOS or negligent/ignorant as to how the SA must be set up.
Sometimes, it's hard to tell the hit pieces from the truth.