FranklinWH Energy Storage Inc., a specialist in whole-home energy management, announced an agreement with Sunnova Energy International, Inc., an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) provider.
Sunnova will offer the Franklin Home Power system, an AC-coupled storage solution, as an option for the Sunnova Adaptive Home, which integrates the use of solar, battery storage, energy control and management technologies. The solution will be available to existing solar customers as well as to developers of new homes as a whole-home solution.
“FranklinWH and Sunnova offer consumers the ability to create an optimized ecosystem for their home with a platform that can seamlessly monitor and control energy from the grid, home solar and battery storage system, and generator power,” said Ke Bi, chief operating office at FranklinWH Energy Storage.
The Franklin Whole Home system debuted at Intersolar North America just over a year ago. The company is based in San Francisco, Calif. with the energy storage system manufactured in Shenzhen, China. The energy storage solution integrates a 13.6 kWh lithium iron phosphate “aPower” battery with adaptive learning, which is part of the included aGate smart control system. Franklin Whole Home reports that the battery is compatible with any PV inverter technology, and it can connect with existing solar systems while scaling up to 15 units for a total of 204 kWh of capacity. In the event of a power failure, its “black start” feature creates a micro-grid for the home.
“We see the FHP storage solution as a strong addition to our EaaS offerings, and one that in The FHP is an AC-coupled solution with lithium iron phosphate chemistry and can be applied with any solar inverter,” said Michael Grasso, executive vice president, chief marketing and growth officer, Sunnova Energy.
The Franklin Home Power (FHP) system to be offered by Sunnova comes with the aPower, which is the AC battery with a built-in advanced inverter, and the aGate, which is the energy management device that connects to the grid, home loads and the solar system. The storage solution provides self-consumption, time of use (TOU), and back-up modes for great flexibility for homeowners.
In September Sunnova announced that it had applied with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to develop a “micro-utility.” The company seeks to develop largely self-sustaining micro utilities by equipping new home communities with solar and storage. Newly constructed homes will be the focus so that Sunnova can work closely with developers to design and implement distributed solar microgrids backed with resilient energy storage.
Microgrids and the newly conceived micro utility are a new concept for the power grid, which recognizes the strengths of the input (solar energy), and helps to build the grid in a decentralized, distributed fashion.
FranklinWH Energy Storage is exhibiting at booth #723 at Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America 2023, held Feb. 14 to 16 in Long Beach, Calif.
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Lithium iron phosphate chemistry is a lot safer than lithium ion (fire risk)…but why use ANY lithium…(when heavier, safer and cheaper options are available for stationary storage)??