stNissan Joins a Crowded Field of Home-Energy Storage Providers
Having cut their teeth with battery-powered vehicles, a natural progression for automotive OEMs to the home energy storage market is happening and happening fast.
First, Tesla introduced its Powerwall home-energy storage system for use with or without a solar system installed in the home and then recently announced it would begin installations of the devices in the U.S. Second, Daimler announced it had begun shipping its Mercedes-Benz stationary energy-storage units. Now, Nissan is introducing its own home-energy storage device called the xStorage system.
Partnering with power management vendor Eaton, Nissan’s xStorage energy-storage unit will give homeowners the ability to control how and when they use energy in their homes. Connected to a residential power supply or solar panels, the storage unit saves consumers money by charging up when renewable energy is available or energy is cheaper (such as at night) and releasing the stored energy when demand and costs are high.
As a result, consumers can enable a green-energy home using a solar system and be rewarded by avoiding expensive daytime energy tariffs. An added benefit to home-energy storage systems is that if there is a period where the grid becomes overloaded or an environmental event happens, xStorage provides power so the lights don’t go out and the refrigerator continues to work.
Nissan says the energy-storage unit is the first fully integrated energy storage solution for homeowners, meaning it is ready to go when it is installed giving consumers the ability to plug in and power up easily. It also has smartphone connectivity through an application, so the unit can be controlled with a touch of a button.
