Server Rack vs. Wall-Mount Battery Buyer's Guide - Which Is Best for You?

[@TheSolarLab]

🛒 Shop EG4 Server Rack Batteries: • LifePower4 V2 Server Rack Series: signaturesolar.com/all-products/batteries/server-rack/eg4-lifepower4/?ref=thesolarlab • LL-S Server Rack Series: signaturesolar.com/all-products/batteries/server-rack/eg4-ll/?ref=thesolarlab • Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off 🛒 Shop EG4 Wall Mount Batteries: • PowerPro All Weather: signaturesolar.com/eg4-powerpro-14kwh-all-weather-lithium-solar-battery-wallmount/?ref=thesolarlab • PowerPro Indoor: signaturesolar.com/eg4-wallmount-indoor-battery-48v-280ah-14-3kwh-indoor-heated-ul1973-ul9540a-10-year-warranty?ref=thesolarlab • Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off 🛒 Shop Deals at Signature Solar: • Current Promotions: signaturesolar.com/promotions?ref=thesolarlab • Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off 🔔 Subscribe to our KZbin Channel: @TheSolarLab 0:00 - Intro 0:49 - Server Rack Pros 4:05 - Wall Mount Pros 5:21 - Server Rack Cons 6:31 - Wall Mount Cons 8:12 - Our Recommendations In this video we go over the difference between server rack batteries and wall mount batteries to help you decide which battery type is best for you when building out your solar power system. We use the EG4 LifePower4 & EG4 PowerPro batteries as examples. ⚡ FOLLOW US: instagram.com/thesolarlab/ www.tiktok.com/@thesolarlab 👨🏼‍💻 The Solar Lab: www.thesolarlab.com We maintain an affiliate relationship with some of the products reviewed, which means we get a small percentage of a sale if you click our links, at no cost to our viewers.

[@davefroman4700]

Rack mount all the way. Being off grid is all about redundancy. Its a lot easier to get by if you lose one battery out of 6, than one out of one or two.

[@fromcitytowild]

That's where I'm leaving. I'm regretting buying the Anker f3800 and it's still in the box 😅 I knew I needed more battery capacity and will go towards server rack. I did buy the Anker because I have a bus conversion,RV, and tiny home so I wanted something portable so not a Total regret.

[@Fabionomaz]

Not everyone has the space to fit a huge server rack and pay more money for the trouble. And if you don't want it inside your home can place it outside unlike a server rack

[@fromcitytowild]

@@Fabionomaz correct, after much research the Anker is a great choice especially on the big yearly sales! Server rack battery ($1,300) as an alternative to Anker's expansion battery ($1,700 ish on sale) doesn't make much sense since you need a separate inverter to charge that ($800) so there isn't cost savings vs buying Anker expansion battery. Yes you get more storage than Anker's expansion battery but buying it on sale for around $1,700 is great. All plug and play too so it's fast and easy.

[@bluezcluez315]

Nice video and comparison. I’m an installer for Signature Solar and have installed both of these. I prefer the wall-mount whenever possible. The cabinets look good on paper/photo but the busbar layout is not easy to land all 6x modules. It’s quite bulky too and consumers generally prefer the clean, against-the-wall look for utility products like a battery. The server rack modules are useful when installing in a basement or similar location; you’re not getting 300 lbs down stairs without struggle. See if you can get your hands on the new (to USA) PointGuard ESS. It’s the best of both worlds as a stackable, modular wall-mount. They even have up to 8 kWh modules which I’m guessing is the weight limit for 2 people to lift and install without a special dolly or struggle. There is also the Anker Solix X1 with a similar architecture. - Solar Steve

[@RussellHogan]

HomeGrid too

[@Matt335i]

Been following for a while now, seeing you guys grow has been very cool. Video quality is increasing quickly. Keep it up!

[@TheSolarLab]

Thank you, appreciate it!

[@petersamios5409]

Very well put. One other thing you can do with the rack is mount it on the wall or on an elevated base. In a basement, where mine are going to go, I plan on mounting the rack about 2 feet off the ground. The space below it will hold parts and other related items. It also helps mitigate minor flooding issues.

[@Spirch]

can you attach an inverter to the rack and see how safe/mobile it is? (something similar to hand truck solution)

[@mistaox]

Server Racks also offers more flexibility with cooling.

[@aliyada]

I'm bought into the Delta Pro Ultra ecosystem, and seeing these 5kWh batteries going for half the price of a (on sale) DPU battery is really cool! One of my requirements was portability, so I'm paying a premium for that, but it's really cool seeing the static installation options getting cheaper and denser! Must say, being able to expand by 5-6kWh per battery is pretty fantastic. When mildly triaging during a grid outage, one can last me around 24 hours. Just tacking more and more on is great! :D

[@joekirklin]

I did the same, and kinda regret it. Bought the DPU, and instantly started dreaming bigger. While the DPU is a truly amazing, capable, and scalable "all-in-one", it doesn't scale all that well without spending some serious money. I've since bought a pallet of panels and two of the indoor wall-mount EG4 batteries. Still trying to decide on which inverter, but leaning toward the 18kPV. I'm aiming to take my house essentially off-grid (with grid there for emergency charging), and leaving my old grid-tied solar system on the grid to keep credits up with the utility, as I still want to charge my EV on the grid (doesn't make any sense to me to charge batteries with batteries). The DPU will be relegated to a small off-grid cabin I'm building, which is probably a better use for it compared to powering my home.

[@tumbleweed1976]

Excellent comparisons. Portable options offer portability which for our family was worth the investment. One downside is repairing, if needed.

[@johncarr123]

Can a 12K PV hybrid inverter be mounted to the back of the cabinet for a ultra portable system?

[@Vizzaka]

Another great one :)

[@TheSolarLab]

⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@NeverTakeNoCut-offs]

The wall mount are for installers. It makes their work easier, but if one little cell or bms fails, you are out a lot of money. Server rack for DIYers..

[@luigig44]

First time seeing you! Great video. Have you considered making a video on fire alarms or even suppression? I mean, those are a lot of batteries on the background, and a fire system may not be warranted but it could be worth it if you can make a video out of it.

[@Daddy_finn]

Robbie this one is for you. I miss your car video's, are you ever coming back??

[@unaffiliated_x9279]

Great video guys.

[@TheSolarLab]

Thank you!

[@gargoylekingGWO]

Great video keep up the great work

[@lewpolk9269]

Looking for a back up system, what's the advantage of using a rack system compared to one of the portable systems with added batteries?

[@ronwatkins5775]

Can I ask some advice? Im not sure im doing it correctly, but I have a 500W constant 24/7 load. I think this works out to 12KW battery requirement. Is that correct? I would need 3 of these rack batteries just to run a 500W load? Im confused about why a tiny little 500W inverter needs 3 of these huge batteries. Am I doing this correctly?

[@Snerdles]

Yes. 0.5kW over 24 hours is 12kWh. There are going to be some losses in there so you'd probably want 15-20% more just to be safe which means three of the server rack batteries at 15kWh would be about perfect. Keep in mind, just because you have a 500 watt inverter does not mean it's always using 500 watts. If you plug a little 10w LED lamp in to it the after losses it's only consuming about 12 watts. This also assumes you are charging them to full and then disconnect them from input power and don't input any more energy. A small generator with a small battery will be WAY cheaper... But then needs fuel and makes lots of noise, so there are trafeoffs with everything.

[@ronwatkins5775]

@@Snerdles Understood. I was thinking of one of those 3000W all-in-one units but I was kind of surprised at the size of battery which would be required for something that small.

[@steveanimatrix3887]

Good video. My only nit is when you're talking about battery capacity you refer to it as killowatts instead of killowatt hours.

[@ArthriticAngler]

For doing storm backup of generator. What inverter battery system pairs the best. Able to start small well.

[@Dturn77]

How do you feel about LiTime or Chins type batteries? I know they’re not on the same quality level, but as far as cost per wh I don’t think you can beat it. Thoughts?

[@climbernl]

Have you seen the Haier Cube? Best of both worlds in my opinion. Both stackable and wall mounted.

[@joeestrada113]

Can you make a video connecting the life power and LL batteries? I heard that I will need a special cord to use them together

[@BillyBobDingledorf]

280Ah. At what voltage? Can we use KWh to normalize?

[@26longlongtime]

I have one. The wall mount is 14.3 KWh

[@BillyBobDingledorf]

@@26longlongtime Thank you.

[@1Idontwantachannel]

Would there be any concerns with installing cabinet vs wall mount in a three car garage in Dallas, Texas? The garage is well insulated, but I would expect that the temperature in the garage could fluctuate from 40 degrees F in winter to 100 degrees F in summer.

[@bstancel12]

EG4 has an outside rated wall mount battery and an inside rated one. You might want to look at the outside rated one (IP67 I believe) as it is built to be tortured outside.

[@krslavin]

Please - 30kWh (kilo-Watt hours) is the capacity of a battery, NOT 30 kilo-Watts. Kilo-Watts are the rate at which energy can be added or removed from the battery system.

[@travails3829]

Good comparison overall, would like to see it made a bit more clear that the two choices shown are wildly different in capacity. The rack holds 30.7 Kwh vs 14.3 for the wall mount, more than twice as much.

[@steveanimatrix3887]

True, but 2 wall mounts is still cheaper than 6 rack mount batteries without the rack system. You'll still be a bit under, but the difference between 28.8kWh and 30.7 isn't that great. Also the EG4 wall mount shown is weather sealed with internal heaters and can sit outside. It's even cheaper if you get the non-weather sealed version.

[@neemaborji9993]

3 of the rack mounts is slightly higher than one of the wall mounts. Also, you keep referring to their capacity in watts instead of kilowatt hours or watt hours

[@LukeM-q6y]

Are you able to use a combo of Wall mount and server rack batteries?

[@XxTWMLxX]

As long as the voltage is the same. And both support same communication protocols yes. With eg4 it's usually luxpower.

[@davimarsteinarsson6753]

kW vs kWh, would be good to get that right

[@travschula]

just released discontinuing the eg4 batt.

[@SignatureSolarEthan]

There are definitely pros and cons of both like you mentioned, but there is just something about those wall-mounts man... Great video guys!

[@TheSolarLab]

Thanks for watching Ethan!

[@johnnybergeron1471]

Nice content 😁

[@TheSolarLab]

⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@goodcitizen4587]

I like em both!

[@MariuszDerela]

Can someone guide me what is the minimum deep size for server rack? I am looking for 600x600mm (around 24x24 inch) but not sure if that will be good enough. Should I choose sth bigger like 600x800 (~24x32 inch)?

[@scottwest1029]

You forgot about shipping costs... "you can upgrade one at a time for $1299... (not verbatim)" What server rack battery seller throws in free shipping for single unit sales? Add $200-$300 per unit usually.

[@cvhinson1]

Gotta do what the $ dictates that you do

[@EGbattEnergy]

Server rack battery is more easy to move. The 15kwh battery is a little bit heavier

[@powerwall]

Great video

[@TheSolarLab]

Thanks for watching!

[@gsftom]

Good video

[@isaacsweeney2986]

Very dissapointed that you dont post car vids on your main YT. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@chumanji9]

I always wonder how everyone moves there 300lbs battery into place.

[@brentfrank7012]

With friends 😊

[@Brockleejohnson]

I got a new video on my page of me fighting for my life to get the indoor wall mount battery into my house 😂😂 go check it out I promise u that 300lbs it’s real

[@TheSolarLab]

We just watched it haha that's amazing. Definitely deserved the round of applause at the end 😂

[@Brockleejohnson]

@@TheSolarLab lol thanks for checking it out I figured it would give ya a good laugh!😂 also great videos you’re making keep up the awesome work your opinions are appreciated!💪🏾

[@quickquote1568]

Neither one of these is the best. It's best and far more cost-effective to build your own DIY battery pack using high-quality long-lived EVE cells and a JK BMS.

[@sygad1]

Please level your audio, feels like everytime you start a sentence you blast the shit out of the microphone