Generator company Kohler Power is expanding into clean energy with a new line of energy storage systems, joining its generator competitor Generac in marketing to the residential solar customer.
“For over 100 years Kohler has provided distributed energy solutions that power the world’s homes and businesses,” says Brian Melka, Kohler Power Group President. “We are leveraging that history of trusted expertise to improve the power resiliency of homes and small businesses through this exciting product launch. Clean energy plays a crucial role in the future of sustainable living and the continued expansion of Kohler Power for the next 100 years.”
The Kohler Power Reserve energy storage system can be AC- or DC-coupled. Homeowners can access and manage their stored power through the Kohler app that allows users to choose the operation mode for their system (back-up, self-supply, time-of-use or custom) to personalize their battery’s storage and output.
“The new Kohler Power Reserve product line allows us to support customers who have invested in solar energy for their homes by offering them a smart storage solution to efficiently optimize their home’s power usage,” says Kyle Brandemuhl, Kohler Power General Manager of Residential and Power Products. “With this modular system, homeowners can more easily access their stored solar energy for use at night, on cloudy days, or as a backup system for when the grid goes down.”
For non-solar powered homes, the Kohler Power Reserve energy storage system offers a way to store energy from the grid during times of lower rates and then rely on the batteries for power during peak rate periods while providing the home with backup power in case of a power outage.
Kohler’s 10-kWh, 15-kWh and 20-kWh units all provide 7.6 kW of continuous power. The main 10-kWh system can be paired with a 5-kWh expansion. The Kohler Power Reserve system uses lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry.
Jim Har says
Too expensive.. I have used a 10kwh Deluxcell for the past 6 months and so far its been perfect. The cost delivered and installed was 4200 dollars.I can monitor by an app and it’s wonderful, i have not used it during winter yet. But the warranty is 10 years. More than happy with the Deluxcell home energy system
Nick says
Jim, that’s great information. Could you please tell me who installed the battery / system for you? Deluxcell is a Taiwan company. Do they sell the battery and the homeowner has to find someone to install it or do they have people to install it?
I had the 3 of the Tesla Powerwall batteries installed to supposedly back-up my entire house. The system definitely did not perform as promised and the customer service of Tesla was the very worst of any company I’ve ever dealt with. Everything ran off of an app and there was no one I could talk to about the system… ever. I never got anyone from Tesla to explain the system or fix it so that it would work as described on their website. The installers deferred any explanation of how to set the syetm up and use it to Tesla customer service – that doesn’t exist. No one ever showed me how to set it up or use it or anything. Luckily, I had only paid the initial deposit for the system. When I could get no help from anyone at Tesla and couldn’t get a human to call me, I stopped paying. Very quickly they came back, removed the system and never refunded my initial deposit. I never want another Tesla experience so I would like to know who set up your system and how happy you have been with them.
Thanks!
dan presler says
over all it takes power to charge it up -where is that power coming from? solar only works when the sun is out and wind turbines only work when there is wind – windless nights = the old power plants for power. and if the building has electric heat – which our President wants for all 50 states – what will happen when the power goes out at midnight at -20 deg – like it does in Mn? takes lots of power for electric heat.
Solarman says
Try Northern Groundsource Inc. or contact Minnesota Geothermal Heat Pump Association. Seek and ye shall find.
Mike says
Heat pumps = efficient electric heat. Battery backups replace generators. And for people who live in cold climates – a backup wood pellet furnace would certainly do the trick – and is totally carbon neutral. I’ll bet if you tried to answer your questions yourself you would have figured out similar answers – those questions you are asking have set the bar pretty low.
Solarman says
On the link to the Kohler site, a 5kWh battery module is $7100, when comparing this to the Humless Universal product that can be both A.C. and D.C. coupled and for $3200 per 5kWh battery module can be stacked up to around 60kWh of energy storage. Kohler seems to stop at 20kWh and cost about $23,000, the Humless Universal 20kWh can be found for about $17,300. It pays to shop around from time to time as more energy storage and micro-grid companies are being announced every year.
Mike says
Humless offers a 1 year warranty. I believe the Kohler unit offers a 10 year warranty. Big Difference!
Bruce Nagy says
I’m happy to learn about companies entering the home storage space, but I think at this point in history the key question is always up front or monthly cost. Is this product for early adopters who will pay a premium for the privilege? Or for regular people? How does this product impact the home/business storage economic arc? I doubt if I’m the only one paying attention to this aspect of this topic.