ABB and Humless started their planned “Take Charge of Your Power” roadshow to demonstrate the new Universal 10/4 Residential Storage System. Powered by Humless’ groundbreaking 48-V Universal Energy Management (UEM) and ABB’s UNO-DM-TL-PLUS-Q line of residential inverters, the demo truck will visit CED Greentech and other locations in multiple states during coming weeks. The roadshow tour kicked off November 7 at the CED Greentech grand opening in El Paso, Texas. The current schedule includes stops in Utah, California, Nevada and Arizona.
“Two million California power customers have been affected so far this year by PG&E cutting electricity supply during high wind blackout periods,” said Glenn Jakins, Humless CEO. “Electrical utilities in other states are following suite, negatively affecting the U.S. power grid’s reliability record. We hope to empower consumers by reducing the threat of blackouts, helping the public take charge of their relationship with the utility.”
This is the power industry’s first all-in-one Electrical Storage System (ESS) that intelligently manages the flow of electricity from any source for any use. It integrates with any existing residential grid-tied solar system and works with any manufacturer’s panels. Humless Universal is the first to enable simultaneous AC/DC Coupling and is very expandable.
“Consumers and solar installers are responding positively to this innovative plug-and-play energy storage system for residential solar installations,” said Franklin Sullivan, EVP, lead business manager for ABB Electrification business in the United States. “The simplicity and versatility of this system allows installers to recommend a tested, single unit upgrade to solar systems that have no battery backup. This allows consumers to achieve greater grid independence.”
The advanced intelligent energy controls in the Humless Universal paired with the ABB UNO-DM-TL-PLUS-Q line of digitally enhanced inverters gives customers options to match grid requirements; for example, load shaving, time of use, generator auto start, and smart outputs. This provides intelligent energy management for customers’ power needs, lowers electrical costs and extends battery life.
Check the Take Charge of Your Power roadshow calendar for the nearest event location and date.
News item from Humless
Solarman says
“This is the power industry’s first all-in-one Electrical Storage System (ESS) that intelligently manages the flow of electricity from any source for any use. It integrates with any existing residential grid-tied solar system and works with any manufacturer’s panels. Humless Universal is the first to enable simultaneous AC/DC Coupling and is very expandable.”
Yes, pack more value into a system that is flexible enough to be “added” to existing grid tied systems and also become a packaged part of new solar PV with energy storage systems. We have all witnessed the California energy programs and controls put on energy use and energy generation. Utilities around the country are pushing for “net billing” to replace “net metering”. The IOUs are pushing for demand fees or TOU spiking that further ‘dilutes’ the payback period of residential solar PV. In California the electric rate programs have pushed residential solar PV adopters to install larger 10 to 15kWp solar arrays on their roofs and the ROI is still in the 7 to 10 year recovery area. With TOUs and tiered rate electricity structures, the excess solar PV generation going back onto the grid is being nominalized. Now it is becoming important to add or buy a solar PV system with smart ESS as the package. The up front “cost” is greater, with the way the IOUs are desperately trying to recover lost revenues any way they can, with moving TOU periods, demand rate spiking, “duck curves” and on and on…. Being able to play the IOU game and come out ahead, is one of the “value” adding functions of smart ESS. With the humless product one could have solar PV into the battery pack, or use the AC coupling at late night to charge the battery pack with off peak grid power for the next days wake up power demand.