Franklin Home Power Solution
In February, the FranklinWH team attended the Intersolar expo with 20,000 industry experts and leaders, to discuss leading-edge topics and map a renewable future.
FranklinWH held sessions on energy management and storage issues. Here are four takeaways from those sessions for you.
Takeaway #1: Supplier Hierarchy of Needs
Linh Tran, VP of Product Marketing at FranklinWH, created a Supplier Hierarchy of Needs for a successful business in the home energy industry.
At the very bottom of the pyramid is financial stability. Without stable financial support, it will be difficult for industry business owners and their customers to survive over many years.
The next necessity is a reliable supply chain strategy. Historically home batteries have shortages, without such a strategy the business owner will be at a strong disadvantage.
The third layer is product reliability. As Linh stated, without a safe, reliable, and high-quality product, it is not even possible to compete in the industry. As the home battery is a passive component, reliability makes the difference.
The fourth element is salability. It is one thing to make a good quality product, while it is a different thing to ensure it addresses an actual market need.
The top of the pyramid is customer service. Good customer service is keeping customers satisfied to the point of getting five-star customer reviews, customer referrals, and word of mouth that is going to continue to grow and foster the business.
Takeaway# 2: With NEM 3.0 taking effect, the solar market will contract while the battery market will expand.
As Michelle Davis, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie brought up, Wood Mackenzie anticipates that the solar market will start to contract in 2024 while solar plus storage is going to increase. She also confirmed the payback period under NEM 3.0 is longer than NEM 2.0, while a battery will help reduce that period.
Takeaway# 3: For battery companies that will stick around will be those providing easier installation and commissioning.
Tyson Berg, Renewable Energy Distribution Sales Leader at Greentech Renewables, raised the issue that companies providing easier installation and commissioning solutions are going to survive longer. Installation efficiency is also essential to a company’s financial status since contractors don’t need to waste time and dollars on longer processes.
Michelle also mentioned that labor shortages in the industry may make the issue worse. If the installation time is longer than other suppliers, regardless of whether it is caused by technology or labor limitations, it just won’t work.
Takeaway# 4: Batteries should be leased, depreciated, and homeowners should get a new one every 15 years.
Tyson also believes that home batteries should be leased, so that homeowners don’t need to own the batteries while still enjoying all the benefits that batteries bring. Batteries become a commodity. Homeowners can still get different incentives for installing the battery and after 15 years, they can get a new battery. Contractors earn the lease fees over the contract period. In this way, it is a win-win situation.
We thank our speakers for providing unique insights about the industry. We also thank our great distribution partners and all the attendees who stopped by the FranklinWH booth to discover or learn more about the Franklin Home Power system, a whole-home energy management system that integrates solar, battery, grid, and generator power sources and manages them to optimize the safety, reliability, and efficiency of home energy.
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