Franklin Home Power Solution
As more homeowners look for reliable backup power and ideal ways to manage their energy, two options gain attention: the standalone inverter battery and the hybrid home battery storage system. While both can keep the lights on during an outage, they offer very different levels of performance, flexibility, and user control. This guide explores how each system works, what each is best suited for, and why hybrid home battery systems are advancing the way homeowners manage energy.
Standalone Inverter Battery: A Convenient Power Backup Solution
In today's world where electricity is as essential as water and air, power outages remain a significant challenge. This is where inverter batteries kick in as a fundamental solution for backup power. Designed to store energy and deliver electricity during outages, inverter batteries, like generators, are standalone devices critical for scenarios where grid power is unavailable.
What Is an Inverter Battery?
An inverter battery is a specialized storage device designed to work in tandem with an inverter, converting stored direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) to power household appliances during outages. Inverter batteries are optimized for deep discharge cycles, making them ideal for repeated charging and discharging.
Primary Applications
Inverter batteries serve three key roles. First, they act as backup power sources during grid failures, keeping lights and essential appliances running.
Second, they are indispensable in off-grid settings such as recreational vehicles, boats, and remote expeditions.
Third, they can integrate with solar systems, storing surplus solar power for nighttime or overcast days.
How Do Inverter Batteries Work?
The operation of inverter batteries revolves around three phases: charging, storage, and discharging.
During charging, grid power is converted from AC to DC by the inverter. For solar charging, an inverter battery usually leverages a DC solar setup, where a charge controller is used to regulate charging and optimize efficiency.
Energy is then stored as DC within the battery, which may use lead-acid, AGM, gel, or lithium-ion chemistry. When outages occur, the inverter reverses the process, transforming stored DC back into AC to power connected devices.
Pros and Cons of Fundamental Inverter Batteries
Inverter batteries offer notable benefits, including cost-effectiveness, particularly with lead-acid variants and resilience to deep discharge cycles. The simple design allows easy installation in basic solar or backup systems.
However, basic inverter battery systems lack advanced voltage regulation, which can cause power fluctuations that affect sensitive electronics. Their storage capacity is typically sized for partial backup, supporting only essential loads such as lights, fans, and small appliances, rather than providing whole-home backup. Furthermore, they are not integrated into an intelligent home energy management system that can prioritize self-generated clean energy, schedule loads, export surplus power to the grid, or optimize energy consumption based on time-of-use (TOU) electricity rates.
Maintenance is another consideration, particularly for lead-acid batteries, which require routine watering and cleaning of terminals to maintain performance and longevity.
Hybrid Home Battery Storage System: Intelligent Whole-Home Energy Optimization
Hybrid home battery storage systems mark a breakthrough of residential energy solutions. Unlike basic backup systems, it intelligently manages multiple energy sources such as solar, grid, generators, and even EVs, along with home battery storage to provide continuous, optimized power for your entire home.
Intelligent Voltage Stabilization for Reliable Power
One of the key advantages of hybrid systems is their ability to stabilize voltage output. With the advanced power electronics and the inverter executing a more sophisticated process of DC-AC conversion, these systems maintain steady AC power output. This ensures consistent, safe electricity for sensitive appliances, far beyond what basic inverter batteries can offer.
Multiple Energy Source Coordination
At the heart of a hybrid system is an energy management controller that coordinates various available power sources. Solar energy is prioritized for immediate use, with excess production stored in the home battery. If solar and battery cannot meet demand, the system intelligently taps into grid power, generator backup, or even the stored energy in EVs. By optimizing energy supply in real-time, hybrid systems create a highly efficient and resilient home energy ecosystem.
Intelligent Energy Usage and Cost Optimization
Hybrid systems do more than just store power. They proactively help homeowners reduce energy costs. By leveraging time-of-use (TOU) electricity rates, they can pre-charge batteries during low-rate periods and supply home loads during expensive peak times. This automated management translates directly into lower energy bills. Additionally, with their ability of grid interactions, homeowners can also sell their power to utilities through energy-trade programs to generate extra income.
Enhanced Backup and Load Management
In the event of a power outage, hybrid systems automatically prioritize essential loads. Through smart load-shedding technology, non-critical appliances such as pool pumps or A/C units are temporarily disconnected, preserving battery power for critical needs. This extends the available backup time and ensures energy is directed to the most important needs.
Expanded Capabilities with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) Integration
Some hybrid systems enable EVs to function as backup power sources, discharging their battery to support home loads during outages, turning the vehicle into an additional energy reserve.
FranklinWH System: A Model of Hybrid Energy Management and Battery Storage
The FranklinWH Energy Management and Storage System illustrates what a top-tier hybrid home battery system looks like. The aGate controller intelligently manages solar, battery, grid, generator, and EV inputs, ensuring the home is always powered by the cleanest and most cost-effective source available. The aPower 2 battery delivers robust energy storage, featuring 10 kW continuous power and 15 kWh capacity, with scalability up to 225 kWh per aGate by linking multiple units, as well as an industry-leading 15-year warranty.
Features such as TOU optimization, Smart Circuits for intelligent load control, and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) participation create substantial value, helping homeowners both save money and even earn revenue from excess energy sold. Designed for flexibility and dynamic future growth of energy demands, the FranklinWH System sets a new benchmark for modern whole-home energy solutions, empowering homeowners with lucrative long-term financial benefits and true energy freedom.
