When Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) introduced the Powerwall in 2015, it was the start of a race toward energy storage becoming a standard offering with residential solar. At the time, the Powerwall was meant to be a backup system for homeowners, but the promise was that eventually, it would offer the opportunity to take a home almost entirely off the grid.
There have been fits and starts for Tesla’s Powerwall business, and to date, it hasn’t really moved the needle for Tesla in comparison to electric vehicles. And today companies like Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN), Sonnen, and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) are offering their own energy storage solutions. SunPower’s recently announced Equinox Storage, which pairs with its Equinox solar product, may be the most complete offering yet.
How SunPower is bringing storage into the home
SunPower is pairing an energy storage system that can be up to 12 kilowatt-hours (kWh) with an inverter and hub that will control a home’s energy consumption. The system can charge when solar energy production is at its peak, discharge into the home when utility rates are high, and provide backup in an emergency.
The two systems currently being offered are 4.2 kW/6.5 kWh and 6.8kW/13 kWh, both of which come in a box that’s 62 inches tall, 21 inches wide, and 13.5 inches deep. That’s significantly larger than the 5.75-inch-thick Powerwall and smaller than the largest Powerwall’s 13.5 kWh of capacity. But SunPower is betting that the full package is what homeowners will value.
Norm Taffe, SunPower’s executive vice president of residential solar, said, “Equinox Storage also automatically manages energy supply based on solar production, home electricity consumption, and utility rates to make the most efficient use of stored power every day.” In that sense, it’s a seamless addition for consumers and can save them money from Day One.
When packaged with SunPower solar, the Equinox Storage product offers a single point of contact and warranty for solar and energy storage. And the storage system will likely be the hub for SunPower’s vision of offering energy as a service to customers.
Will homeowners care?
The big question is whether or not homeowners will care about energy storage. Commercial customers are attaching energy storage with about 30% of SunPower’s solar installation, but there’s an economic justification for commercial customers who can lower demand charges by using storage to shift peak demand to off-peak hours.
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