GivEnergy All in One vs. Tesla Powerwall 2

With increasing competition in the residential battery storage market from the likes of Tesla, GivEnergy, Solaredge, Pylontech, and more, it’s hard to know which is the best battery for your needs. If you’re after power cut protection at a reasonable price in the UK, you’re likely torn between the Tesla Powerwall 2 and the brand new GivEnergy All in One. Here’s a breakdown of the two products, what the differences mean to your everyday life, and which should be the best fit for your needs.

Key Metrics at a Glance

Installation Price

Powerwall: Starting from £7500 excl. VAT

All in One: Starting from £7600 excl. VAT

The price of the Powerwall 2 in early-to-mid 2023 was very high, and the lead times often weren’t much to write home about. However, recently, as Tesla have sorted out their supply chain, the installation price has fallen to as little as £7500 excl. VAT. This brings it in line with what was initially a far more cost friendly option, the GivEnergy All in One, which now typically sees installation prices starting from £7600 excl. VAT.

Chemistry

Powerwall: LMNC – Lithium Manganese Cobalt

All in One: LFP – Lithium Ferro Phosphate

Though they are both Lithium-Ion based, one of the most apparent differences on paper between the Powerwall 2 and the All in One are their battery chemistry. The All in One uses LFP, Lithium Ferro Phosphate, which is a far more popular chemistry for large battery units that need to rapidly charge and discharge, such as residential and commercial battery solutions, as well as many EV’s and HEV’s. It’s certainly a proven technology that if properly managed can last 10 years or more. Whereas the Powerwall 2 uses LNMC, Lithium Manganese Cobalt (also known as Lithium NMC). This is a less common chemistry in the market, however, it is one that Tesla has stood by for many years, both for the vehicles and battery solutions, with few issues.

The key differences between the chemistries in the real world are their energy density and their longevity.

Typically, LNMC (Powerwall 2) is more energy dense chemistry than LFP (All in One). Both for its size and weight. This is demonstrated through both the Powerwall 2 and All in One having the same usable capacity, though the Powerwall is 125mm thinner and around 56kg lighter.

The benefit of LFP is usually its longevity and lifespan, measured in 0-100% cycles. However, this is arguably not the case for these two products, as Tesla guarantee 80% of its original capacity after 10 years, whereas GivEnergy don’t seem to guarantee any percentage of capacity after their warranty period of 12 years.

Power / Size

Powerwall: 13.5kWh

All in One: 13.5kWh

Powerwall: 5kW – Peak 10 seconds @7kW (Certified at 3.68kW)

All in One: 6kW – Peak 30 seconds @ 6.5kW - Peak 10 seconds @7.2kW (Not certified at 3.68kW)

The GivEnergy All in One and the Tesla Powerwall 2 have the same capacity at 13.5kWh. In practical terms this means that in the event of a power outage, if you reserve 30% of either battery (4kWh), then you should be able to watch TV, use your laptop and keep the lights and freezer working for almost four hours, whilst enjoying a few cups of coffee in the process.

The biggest difference in the power specifications of these two are their rated output. The All in One has a 20% greater peak continuous output potential, at 6kW, compared to the Powerwall’s 5kW. What this means is that if a sustained load of 6kW is demanded of the batteries, the Powerwall 2 will shut down, whereas the All in One will stay on. This is a clear advantage of the All in One.

On the flip side, this means that the All in One would be less likely to be approved by your DNO when permission is applied for, as it will put a greater load on the grid. The All in One also is not rated to be underclocked to a lower output in the UK, unlike the Powerwall. The Powerwall is rated for both 5kW output, as well as 3.68kW output in the UK. 3.68kW is the threshold for the necessity of a DNO application, meaning that the Powerwall can be underclocked in a way that DNO permission will no longer be a requirement.

Installation

Powerwall: 114kg

All in One: 173.7kg

Powerwall: Very stringent installation qualifications. They go back to installs each company did and check / test them, difficult entry.

All in One: Easy to become a qualified installer – many in the market, easy entry.

Tesla have very stringent installation qualifications, with only 300 installers in the UK at present, 130 direct with Tesla, the rest work via Segen, an electrical supplier. Spirit Energy are rated in the top 10 out of these 300 installers in the country. In addition to their strict entry requirements, Tesla also regularly ‘test’ their installers by going to their recent clients and ensuring a high-quality installation.

GivEnergy do not have strict installation qualifications and in our experience do not test their installers. Their battery is available to purchase for non-certified installers.

Monitoring

Powerwall: Real time home and away

All in One: Home – 10-15 seconds, Away - 5 minutes

The Tesla app fetches updates on data in real time, in a constant stream of data. Whereas the GivEnergy app fetches updates every 10 – 15 seconds when on your home network, and every 5 minutes when away from your home network.

Power cut protection

Powerwall: Yes

All in One: Yes (UPS)

Both products offer power cut protection. However, the All in One has UPS standard power switching, i.e. It updates so quickly you would never notice a difference between grid power and battery power in the event of an unexpected outage. Whereas the Powerwall 2 is not UPS certified, though Tesla claims that in general you won’t notice the switch (except via a notification on the Tesla app), but you should not rely on the seamlessness of the system if you have critical loads requiring seamless backup e.g. life support equipment, critical servers.

Warranty

Powerwall: 10 Years 80% capacity

All in One: 5 Years no guarantee (extendable to 10)

As mentioned previously, the Powerwall 2 comes with a 10-year warranty, with Tesla guaranteeing 80% capacity at the end of these 10 years. Whereas the All in one comes with a 5-year warranty, that for ~£450 can be upgraded to 10 years. GivEnergy do not appear to guarantee a set amount of capacity at the end of the products warranty period.

Scalability / 3 phase

Powerwall: up to 10 on a 3 phase supply – we recommend 9 (3 per phase). Max 6 on a single phase supply

All in One: No 3 phase support. Max 6 on a single phase supply

Both support up to 6 units on a single phase supply.

Most households run on a single phase connection (230V). If you have a 3-phase connection (400V), All in One cannot be used as it is not compatible. Powerwall 2 can still be used but with the following limitations:

-There is no 3-phase version of the Powerwall so instead single units have to be put on each phase to power 3-phase loads. The maximum number of units that can be installed per site for 3-phase supply is 9 - 3 per phase. Alternatively, you can put up to 10 units on one phase to power single phase loads.

-Even with Powerwall 2 installed on each phase, the backup functionality will only allow loads to work on a single phase when the grid goes down.

Time in UK energy market

Powerwall: 5 Years – October 2016

All in One: 3 months – June 2023

Whilst in other markets, such as consumer electronics a newer product is indicative of a better product, i.e. A phone released in 2023 is almost always better than a phone released in 2015, we do not believe this is necessarily the default in the battery storage market. The Tesla Powerwall 2 was released in the UK in October 2016, giving it 7 years in the market, in which Tesla have regularly updated the software and firmware, providing a continuously cutting edge experience. The GivEnergy All in One is not quite as established in the market, having been released in June 2023, giving it 3 months in the market as of writing. We are yet to see the support GivEnergy will offer in the long term.

For both of these however, we are yet to see what happens when they reach their end-of-life, whether they will hold up beyond their warranty, whether they will receive the same level of support towards the end of their warranties, etc.