The FranklinWH aPower, featuring 13.6 kWh capacity, 10 kW continuous output, and an industry-leading 12-year warranty, stands as the epitome of home battery storage. To enable the highest level of reliability and availability, FanklinWH aPower borrows the engineering philosophy from the automotive, data center, and semiconductor industries, where failure simply isn’t tolerated. That philosophy is reflected across three key areas of the product lifecycle: design, materials, and manufacturing.
This article breaks down aPower’s strengths in design, material options, and manufacturing, explaining why it can stand out with exceptional product quality.
1. Reliability-Focused Battery Storage Design
Cutting-edge Battery Management System: A Smarter Brain
Every home battery unit has a Battery Management System (BMS), but not all BMS are created equal. FranklinWH aPower employs an automotive-grade BMS with over 30 protection and control functions, designed to handle extreme conditions, and installed in a separate, isolated compartment away from the cells. This matters because when unexpected issues occur, such as encountering extreme heat, cold, or faults, the BMS can always stay alert and well manage these issues instead of getting overwhelmed.
By contrast, many lower-cost batteries use simpler BMS designs placed right next to the cells, which may save money but increase risks.
Handling Cell Expansion (The Problem No One Talks about)
It’s unavoidable that battery cells naturally expand as they age. By the end of their life, they push outward with a force of 50–75 kN, powerful enough to lift a small car.
If this force isn’t properly managed, it can speed up aging, damage the internal structure, cause electrical faults, and compromise dust and water protection.
FranklinWH tackles this with a dual-safety structure, using reinforced end plates and steel band containment, which has been tested to withstand forces up to 100 kN. That makes a significant difference in year five, eight, and ten, exactly when cheaper designs often start to struggle.
Better Balancing Leads to Longer Life
A home battery is made of many cells. Over time, they don’t age evenly. Most brands rely on passive balancing, a reactive solution that keeps all cells working evenly in terms of voltage and stage of charge (SOC). This helps early on but becomes less effective as the battery ages.
FranklinWH uses a hybrid active + passive balancing system, inspired by electric vehicles. This design is essentially more proactive and offers tremendous benefits in balancing the cells:
- Up to 10 times more effective than passive-only solutions
- Slows down performance degradation significantly
Consistent Performance Even under Cold Weather
Battery charging efficiency drops below 10° C, and many energy storage systems simply reduce performance in response.
The FranklinWH aPower takes a different approach with a built-in active heating system that keeps cells at an optimal 15–25° C, ensuring reliable operation even down to -20° C. The result is more usable stored solar energy, even in cold climates.
2. The Battery Materials That Actually Matter
Top-Tier Battery Cells
Cells are the heart of any home battery.
FranklinWH leverages top-tier cells with PPB-level reliability (parts per billion, meaning only a handful of failures per billion components), while typical industry cells are PPM-level (parts per million, meaning about 1,000 failures per million components). This will make a huge difference over a decade.
Semiconductors inside the system control everything, and FranklinWH relies on automotive-grade components with a failure rate under 10 PPM, compared to about 1,000 PPM for common consumer-grade components, a clear gap in reliability.
Full Cell Monitoring
Monitoring only works if it’s complete. The aPower battery incorporates 16 temperature sensors distributed across the pack, ensuring all cells are tracked and leaving no blind spots. By contrast, selective sensing, commonly seen in the industry, can miss areas where potential failures hide, highlighting why comprehensive monitoring is critical.
3. Advanced Energy Storage System Manufacturing: Built to Last
Stronger Internal Connections
Eliminating traditional wire harnesses that feature bundles of separate wires, FranklinWH uses Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC), which are more resistant to vibration, handle heat and aging more reliably, and can last up to ten times longer than the traditional method. Its busbars use pre-tightened alloy copper bars, improving heat dissipation by 60% and eliminating loose connections entirely.
Robust Dust and Water Protection
FranklinWH aPower is rated IP67, which means it is completely dust-tight (the “6”) and can safely be submerged in water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes (the “7”).
In general, the higher the numbers in an IP rating, the better the protection against dust and water.
Automotive-Grade Exterior Finish
The enclosure isn’t just about looks. FranklinWH aPower uses a three-coat, three-bake automotive painting process that provides strong ultraviolet (UV) resistance (protection against a type of electromagnetic radiation that comes from the sun), prevents cracking or fading for over a decade, and holds up in extreme heat and cold.
Conclusion
The FranklinWH Systems are widely adopted across the US, Australia, and Canada.
Especially in the US, it has become a top choice for homeowners, installers, and third-party owners thanks to its robust reliability, exceptional user experience, and an ultra-low 0.21% RMA rate, and it’s now advancing into the top tier of the market.
For homeowners, choosing FranklinWH isn’t just buying an energy management system with a home battery. It’s choosing an energy solution with less worry, fewer surprises, and reliable energy performance for the next decade and beyond.
