Have you benefitted from installing a SP Gateway that you didn't anticipate?

Jemma01

Hi

I received a quote for a Solar Panel that included a backup* gateway in case of a power cut to the whole house. I lived 10mins walk from my house for 6 years, and about 1.25 year in my house, not experienced one (it could have happened while I'm out, but no sign of any!).

So, I contacted my electricity network operator to see if they had historical data (as I unfortunately couldn't find an internet service for this), and they said there was none reported for my home address since 2020. But just because someone didn't report it, doesn't mean it didn't happen, esp as their data reflects my house reports, rather than the area having issues. So there is a gap in the data (e.g. my neighbour might have reported it).

My question is: From your personal experience with power cuts, have you found that you didn't believe you needed a backup gateway, and then suddenly it came in useful or ended up adding one afterwards?

I can't justify it at the moment, and would rather wait and add it afterwards on a needs-to-have, rather than a nice-to-have. I have other projects I want to pay for, and two, because I don't want any more holes in my wall, which is already limited in space, so I have to factor in battery expansion. I'm prepared to add it after the fact (I'll check that with the installer).

Also, if you know of a service that maintains historical data, that would be super. Feel free to also comment about the idea of adding it after and if that could cause other matters I should consider.

I'd appreciate your own personal experience on this.
Thanks

QrizB

I've never heard of a "solar panel gateway".

Are you talking about a home battery energy storage system (BESS) that includes whole-house backup? The only place I've seen this referred to as a gateway is with Tesla's Powerwall.

Other BESS brands offer similar fuctions but don't generally use the "gateway" name for them.

My BESS isn't wired for whole-house backup but it does have an EPS output that would provide 240VAC in a power cut. While we've had half a dozen power cuts in the 20 years we've lived here, including a couple that were long enough that I fired up my petrol generator, we've not had one in the ~4 years since my BESS was installed.

Netexporter

Whether a gateway is justified depends on the reliability of your supply. If you live in an urban setting then you are unlikely to experience many interruptions as the supply cables are generally underground and protected from weather events. If you live in a rural area, which experiences outages on a fairly frequent basis, then it may well be worth the extra cost, to enable you to go temporarily off-grid, on battery power, so you can maintain heating. Probably not worth it for solar only, as your generally get fewer power cuts in summer and they usually won't provide enough consistent power in winter.

Jemma01

QrizB said:

I've never heard of a "solar panel gateway".

Are you talking about a home battery energy storage system (BESS) that includes whole-house backup? The only place I've seen this referred to as a gateway is with Tesla's Powerwall.

Other BESS brands offer similar fuctions but don't generally use the "gateway" name for them.

My BESS isn't wired for whole-house backup but it does have an EPS output that would provide 240VAC in a power cut. While we've had half a dozen power cuts in the 20 years we've lived here, including a couple that were long enough that I fired up my petrol generator, we've not had one in the ~4 years since my BESS was installed.

My bad sorry, I reworded it as a "backup gateway", it is the power backup, either the tesla [PDF] or Sigenergy [web].
Yes both do whole-house backup. I'm not sure if my house consumption (25-30KW) would even last for long on 1 tesla or 2 sigenergy batteries.

Thansk for the answer, useful to know. 

Netexporter said:

Whether a gateway is justified depends on the reliability of your supply. If you live in an urban setting then you are unlikely to experience many interruptions as the supply cables are generally underground and protected from weather events. If you live in a rural area, which experiences outages on a fairly frequent basis, then it may well be worth the extra cost, to enable you to go temporarily off-grid, on battery power, so you can maintain heating. Probably not worth it for solar only, as your generally get fewer power cuts in summer and they usually won't provide enough consistent power in winter.

That's what I was thinking, living right in the centre, it's just not something I've experienced in the 7+ years.
It would be for the whole house, excuse my poor wording of the original post. I'll revisit what I wrote to clarify.

JKenH

I recently installed a Tesla Powerwall with their Gateway. I haven’t had. Red to call on it yet. I live in a rural area and we occasionally have power cuts which usually only last an hour or two although 35 years ago we had one that lasted 3 days. We also have scheduled outages for maintenance work which can last up to 8 hours. 

Is the Gateway worth it from a financial point of view - probably not, but given the weather over the last few days it’s given me a certain piece of mind. 

You could look at it like paying for home emergency cover or breakdown cover for your car.i.e. insurance that saves you inconvenience. You might never need it but it’s there when you do. 

Or you can take the view that you will save the money and book into a hotel or stay with family if your power goes down. 

Also bear in mind that it’s not just providing battery power but it lets you run your solar panels which you can’t normally do without grid power and that could be very useful in a prolonged outage. 

Netexporter

Also the Zombie Apocalypse or WWIII, whichever comes sooner (probably the latter, the way the orange loon across the pond is carrying on).

Qyburn

If it's not needed then don't fit it, it's just something else to pay for and which might go wrong. They're not plug and play either as it needs to be installed in line with your incoming supply, and an earth rod is needed.

cheesymouse

Having had the power off for 12 hours overnight due to damage caused by storm Goretti I will definitely be getting EPS or gateway when I get a battery installed later in the year.
We were lucky though, relatives in the neighbouring village still have no power and it’s not expected to be back on until late tomorrow evening.

QrizB

cheesymouse said:

Having had the power off for 12 hours overnight due to damage caused by storm Goretti I will definitely be getting EPS or gateway when I get a battery installed later in the year.
We were lucky though, relatives in the neighbouring village still have no power and it’s not expected to be back on until late tomorrow evening.

Relatives of mine in a rural part of west Cornwall aren't expecting power back until Sunday.

It does sound as though the OP (unlike your relatives and mine) isn't in an especially vulnerable spot for power disruptions.