Sigenergy (PointGuard) bi-directional system

[tearitupsports]

I won't speak on behalf of anyone, but I know there are several of these systems working with the Lightning. Due to the tax credit rush there has been delays in getting new ones out. I think a lot more people are going to get equipment later this month (including myself).
There are also several people using this with Rivian and Tesla especially now (including new systems put in within the last month or so).

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[JohnsonEJ23]

Any chance you have an updated status? Thanks!

I got my setup installed and officially turned up on 12/31, just in time for the tax credit deadline. I had very specifically asked for a NACS V2X system so it was setup for the future, but they accidentally ordered me the CCS one. So it obviously still works fine, but I'm waiting for them to swap that out as well as add a generator input receptacle. It's really amazing how seamless it all works and I was blown away when I first charged at 25 kw. I was previously maxed out at about 5 kw charging with the setup that I had prior. I still need to dig a bit deeper into some of the scheduling settings, or see if I want to try to run the configuration off of my Home Assistant setup. And as far as the solar goes, as the days are getting a bit longer now, on a sunny day, we're generating enough energy to power our house, charge my truck, and still export a little bit extra to the grid. So far, I'm very happy with it.

 

[JohnsonEJ23]

I got my setup installed and officially turned up on 12/31, just in time for the tax credit deadline. I had very specifically asked for a NACS V2X system so it was setup for the future, but they accidentally ordered me the CCS one. So it obviously still works fine, but I'm waiting for them to swap that out as well as add a generator input receptacle. It's really amazing how seamless it all works and I was blown away when I first charged at 25 kw. I was previously maxed out at about 5 kw charging with the setup that I had prior. I still need to dig a bit deeper into some of the scheduling settings, or see if I want to try to run the configuration off of my Home Assistant setup. And as far as the solar goes, as the days are getting a bit longer now, on a sunny day, we're generating enough energy to power our house, charge my truck, and still export a little bit extra to the grid. So far, I'm very happy with it.

A couple of notes:
- The 25 kw rate is only if you have power from the grid, solar, and house battery feeding it at the same time.
- This is a DC charger, so if I charge above 80% the Ford app warns me that I might get charged waiting fees up to $1/hour if I stay plugged in. Kinda funny getting that while I'm parked in my own garage, but I also wish I could turn it off so I don't see it every night when I'm charging up to 90%.

 

[Legacy_Lightning]

I’ve had this system installed for just under a month now. For the most part, it’s been seamless, but there are a few little "nuances" that keep it from being a truly exceptional experience.

The main one is a bit of a manual hassle with the DC charging. Since my setup is configured to charge at night and discharge in the morning, I’m running into a snag: once the battery hits its charge set point at night, it stops. When morning rolls around, I have to physically unplug the charger and plug it back in to get the discharge cycle to kick off. If I try to start the discharge without the unplug/replug dance, the EVDC just errors out. I’m really hoping this is something Sigenergy can patch with a software update soon, because it’s a bit annoying to have to babysit it.

I’m also running into some strange logic with the manual discharge settings. If I trigger a manual discharge while I’m still on the grid, it starts dumping power from the battery back into the grid alongside the V2H load. To actually make it work, I’ve been having to manually disconnect from the grid entirely just to stop it from back-feeding. I’ve poked around the settings quite a bit and can’t seem to find a way to stop it, so I’m fairly certain it’s a logic flaw in the firmware. Hopefully, that’s another one they can iron out on their end.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Does Solar Make Sense in Ohio?

Damn. I really want to do a SigEnergy deployment but I’m just not sure it makes financial sense.

My utility, The Illuminating Company (First Energy), has net metering on the generation component but not the distribution related component of the bill. This means that my 2,100kWh average will still yield a $200+ bill per month even if I produce more than I use. Most of my EV charging is at night which creates challenges in offsetting energy used from the grid. Between my 2 EV’s that’s about 40kWh to 50kWh in charging at least 3 nights a week. Can it be done on battery storage? Absolutely, but that would significantly drive up costs from my current $50,000 quote for 19kW of solar plus 27kWh of battery.

Makes it really difficult to justify a $50,000 solar + battery install if I can’t even get close to zeroing out my electric bill.

Does anyone with Ohio solar experience have any recommendations or feedback?

 

[v2h8484]

Damn. I really want to do a SigEnergy deployment but I’m just not sure it makes financial sense.

Dedicated home batteries rarely make financial sense even before the POCO's started implementing all the non-bypass-able charges and removal of the federal incentives. Unless there is some unusually lucrative buyback program that you can access frequently, financial sense is likely a futile consideration.

Frankly, it's a bit ironic to see people buying dedicated home batteries to make V2H work. V2H was supposed to eliminated the need for dedicated home batteries in most situations and provide better financial ROI.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

Dedicated home batteries rarely make financial sense even before the POCO's started implementing all the non-bypass-able charges and removal of the federal incentives. Unless there is some unusually lucrative buyback program that you can access frequently, financial sense is likely a futile consideration.

Frankly, it's a bit ironic to see people buying dedicated home batteries to make V2H work. V2H was supposed to eliminated the need for dedicated home batteries in most situations and provide better financial ROI.

The challenge is that most of my charging is after the sun has set. So having the batteries allows me to shift the power deployment to a later time. Even if that weren’t an issue, I’d have at least 1 battery so I can unplug my EV and still have power to the home in the instance of an outage.

 

[Legacy_Lightning]

Dedicated home batteries rarely make financial sense even before the POCO's started implementing all the non-bypass-able charges and removal of the federal incentives. Unless there is some unusually lucrative buyback program that you can access frequently, financial sense is likely a futile consideration.

Frankly, it's a bit ironic to see people buying dedicated home batteries to make V2H work. V2H was supposed to eliminated the need for dedicated home batteries in most situations and provide better financial ROI.

I agree with that sentiment. However, I’d argue that trying to run V2H without any home battery backup isn't a great idea either, for a few obvious reasons.

At the end of the day, solar and batteries—or even V2H—aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions. There are so many variables involved that every homeowner really needs to run their own numbers based on their specific situation. You have to figure out what your primary goal is: Are you chasing ROI, trying to hedge against rising utility rates, or just looking for reliable outage protection? Once you know your target, you can approach the setup accordingly.

For those of us in Texas, there is definitely a financial upside to be found, especially with the "free nights" plans available. Personally, I chose this route because living in the Houston area, I knew I needed a solid backup plan for power outages. I didn't want to mess with a traditional generator, so for my situation, I believe that pairing home batteries with V2H is the cleanest, most effective way to go.

 

[v2h8484]

Totally agree that everyone's situation is different to some extent. There are certainly people buying dedicated home batteries and V2H to play the arbitrage game or go off-grid full time but that's a small minority. Most people still buy dedicated home batteries and V2H primarily for backup power during grid outages. In this context, having to drive the EV during outages is certainly a limitation of the single EV setup. However, given the economy of scale of the EV market, I would suggest that it's cheaper to get a second used EV instead of a dedicated home battery system of similar battery capacity.

I am hesitant to adopt dedicated home batteries because they are unlikely to make financial sense for backup power usage. In addition, they are still complex always-on power plants often indoors attached to the house structure. Such systems would likely make me the only knowledgeable power plant operator in the household. No other member of my household would be willing or able to learn to operate such systems. That's a concern especially for emergency situations even if they are rare since the impact can be severe. Large indoor always-on home battery systems can have low frequency but high impact risks that are still poorly appreciated by most home battery buyers (example ).

So, for my financial ROI, operational simplicity and safety preferences, I would conceptually like to have an open standards based V2H system (with multiple EV's of different brands) parked outside (i.e. no batteries attached to the house structure) that can be quickly disconnected if necessary by other household members even if I am not around. The HIS seemed like an imperfect but promising start for modern V2H and It's a shame that it turned out to be such a disappointment.

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