SolarCity is introducing a smart energy home offering to new residential customers in Hawaii.
The package includes solar PV, battery storage, smart electric water heaters and Nest Learning Thermostat. A home gateway controls the battery, water heater, thermostat and inverter to maximize solar PV generation and self-consumption.
The smart energy home management system combines solar with batteries to store excess electricity generated from the solar power system during the day, then deliver it to the home at night. The smart electric water heater uses solar PV to heat water during the day and store it for later use in the home.
As Greentech Media points out, Hawaii's Customer Self-Supply (CSS) tariff allows for only inadvertent export to the grid at zero compensation, making the SolarCity system ideal for the state.
Using the battery, smart electric water heater and thermostat, the system can automatically modify energy usage based on how much solar power is available to prevent energy from being exported back to the grid.
System size, as well as the combination of technology and number of batteries, vary based on customers individual energy usage.
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