With power being top-of-mind for consumers — whether it be because of its reliability, quality, or cost — it is the right time to offer them the latest in power management. Here are some of the latest news and gear additions to this growing product category.
World4Solar HelioWing Hurricane Edition Solar Power System
World4Solar’s new HelioWing Hurricane Edition Solar Power System for businesses and residential homes can sustain Category 5 winds. The HelioWing Hurricane edition offers double the strength to withstand wind speeds of up to 175 mph without snow. The Hurricane edition increases the steel (powder coated, American steel) structure and fasteners strength from 50 ksi to 100 ksi to accommodate Category 5 hurricane winds. Businesses and homeowners in coastal areas can be sure their structure will remain in place, safe and secure in tropical storms and hurricanes, and they will not lose power — no storm grid outages.
The solar canopy can be concealed as a pool pergola, garden cover, or carport. Customers can add an inverter, EV charger, and batteries up to 25 kWh (Kilowatt hour) to their system. An optional LED lighting system with a control box can be built in to illuminate your business, your property, or parking area. Power the house, illuminate the garden/pool area, or charge the car — the HelioWing does it all.
The patented HelioWing is a flexible power plant, as it works either on the grid or off the grid. The system is delivered as an out-of-the-box solution, which includes all bolts and fasteners, cable management, and a telematic gateway for monitoring. As well as a permitting package and hazard certification. World4Solar certified installation network is available throughout the United States and Canada.
Ford and Resideo EV-Home Power Partnership
Ford and Resideo Technologies have announced a joint simulation project to explore vehicle-to-home (V2H) energy management called the “EV-Home Power Partnership,” designed to explore the potential of electric vehicle batteries to support optimal home energy management. The project will explore, test, and quantify the customer benefits of pairing bi-directional EV charging with a Resideo smart thermostat to help customers potentially save money on monthly electric bills, reduce strain on the U.S. electric grid, and enable use of cleaner energy, while helping ensure homeowner comfort.
This first-of-its-kind collaboration between Ford and Resideo builds on Ford’s Intelligent Backup Power technology to explore customer benefits never before possible with gas-powered vehicles through pairing a smart electric vehicle (EV) directly with smart home solutions.
The F-150 Lightning already has the capability to power the home in the event of an outage through available Intelligent Backup Power. The EV Home Power Partnership project will simulate the integration of Resideo’s smart thermostats with the energy stored in the battery on the F-150 Lightning, which can be smartly coordinated to help power the home’s heating and cooling systems.
SurgeX Connect
SurgeX Connect uses cloud-based software and firmware to enable integrators to manage compatible SurgeX devices, diagnose power quality issues, and monitor installations from a centralized hub. SurgeX Connect streamlines multi-site power management into a cloud-based, intuitive, and secure dashboard to allow integrators to take control of their installations’ power quality. Its intuitive and secure platform enables integrators to monitor, toggle, reboot, and control outlets and devices remotely, empowering integrators to meet power quality requirements across project sites confidently. The interface delivers a consistent, high-quality experience, leveraging its connectivity, comprehensive device management, remote monitoring, and advanced analytics from SurgeX’s most trusted power protection technologies.
Related: Integration Guide to Selling Power Management — Increasing Interest in Power
Middle Atlantic RackLink Cloud
Middle Atlantic’s RackLink Cloud is an intelligent platform that enables remote monitoring and management of the Premium+ Series PDUs via the cloud. RackLink Cloud, powered by Xyte, makes it even easier for integrators to proactively monitor and manage the company’s enterprise-grade, IP-based monitoring and control power products from anywhere and without rolling a truck. Existing Premium+ PDUs can enable the RackLink Cloud capability via a firmware update.
More than power distribution, Middle Atlantic’s Premium+ PDUs feature the full potential of RackLink Cloud. In addition to the new cloud capability, RackLink continues to offer flexibility that allows integrators control through the native RackLink UI, third-party AV control systems such as Crestron, partner platforms, RESTful API, and SNMP. The firmware update will also make the system compatible with Crestron XiO Cloud with native support of RackLink’s intelligent system control, logging and data management, environmental control, and protection features.
Middle Atlantic’s Premium+ PDUs are available in horizontal rackmount and compact models, providing under/over voltage, filtering, and industry-leading surge protection with patented Series Protection. They also provide accurate power monitoring and logging for current, voltage, watts, and power factor at the outlet level. This deep system insight enables integrators to understand exactly what any AV system is doing at any moment.
RoseWater Energy Group Architect Training
RoseWater Energy Group course, “Providing Protection Via Power Management for Luxury Homes,” focusing on the significance of stable and reliable power, has been approved by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for Continuing Education Units (CEU) in the Health, Wellness, and Safety category.
The course, designated RW2023, aims to educate architects on the vital role of power quality in enhancing the homeowner’s experience, elevating safety standards, and supporting the seamless integration of technology in the home.
The course outlines four key learning objectives:
- Differentiate between power quality and power storage
- Understand the daily implications of poor power quality
- Analyze various methods of protecting the electrical infrastructure of the home
- Design a home power management framework
Nice DC12-IP Smart DC Power Manager
The DC12-IP Smart DC Power Manager from Nice is a smart, compact, power management and protection solution. The Power Manager offers advanced surge protection, power sequencing, and IP control. BlueBOLT-enabled, the DC12-IP offers cloud-based monitoring, remote control, and programming of devices, and seamlessly integrates with the Nice/ELAN control system so users can manage their power via any user interface. Users are in need of smart home systems that help simplify, reduce, and manage their energy consumption. It also allows you to eliminate the bulky external DC power supplies that can be unreliable, create clutter in the rack, and cover other open outlets on AC power distribution units. In addition to its space-saving design, features include provision for remote power and energy management and scheduled on/off commands to reduce excess energy consumption.
Leviton Smart Energy Management System
Leviton’s Whole Home Energy Monitor and 2nd Gen Smart Circuit Breakers with Remote Control build on the success of the Leviton Load Center and My Leviton app as the company expands in the energy management space. With these enhancements, Leviton delivers a streamlined smart home and energy management experience by unifying control, scheduling, and personalization of Leviton Smart Circuit Breakers, Decora Smart Wi-Fi Lighting, and Evr-Green Electric Vehicle Chargers in a single interface, allowing homeowners to view their energy use trends and coordinate activity to conserve energy and save money.
Leviton’s latest innovation positions customers for the future with the ability to view consumption and production data from the grid and alternate energy sources such as solar, battery, and generator accordingly. The Whole Home Energy Monitor enables features such as turning 2nd Gen Smart Circuit Breakers On/Off from anywhere, scheduling breaker activity to benefit from reduced energy rate periods, and automating the shedding of nonessential loads. All these activities are available from a single source — the My Leviton app.
The My Leviton app provides peace of mind with alerts and notifications for unusual electrical activity, including when and why a circuit trips, high or low voltage events, if the breaker fails a self-test, or if communication is lost. In addition to customized notifications per circuit, users can select Smart Anomaly Detection to receive alerts if unusual activity is identified, such as a freezer not running, or an HVAC system running for too long.
Schneider Electric Smart Panel Tools
Schneider Electric’s modular, flexible solution adds smart panel functionality to standard home electrical systems. This solution, including Square D Control Relays and the Schneider Energy Monitor, offer homeowners nationwide app-based control. Installing this solution will provide millions of homeowners with smart panel benefits, including circuit-level-control to save energy and enhance safety, and system-wide energy monitoring. Whether updating their existing Square D QO Plug-on Neutral electrical panel or installing a new panel, this will allow homeowners to inexpensively add smart functionality only where it’s needed to better manage their energy use and reduce their utility bills.
Pantech Design Distributes sonnen
PanTech Design has announced a new partnership with sonnen as the exclusive distributor of the complete line of sonnen intelligent home battery systems for the custom, home automation integrator channel.
PanTech Design has long been a leader in design and software for the home automation market. In 2018, they partnered with sonnen to bring its intelligent batteries into this market by creating the software that enabled leading home automation systems to integrate with sonnen batteries.
PanTech Design further developed this technology into its home energy management solution, Adapt Energy. With Adapt Energy, PanTech Design has become a leader in the emerging home energy management market. For this reason, sonnen has chosen PanTech Design to help custom home automation integrators design and deliver complete home energy management solutions utilizing sonnen’s battery products.
PanTech Design will offer complete design and consulting services and provide a one-stop solution as the direct source for Adapt Energy and the U.S. distributor of sonnen batteries for the custom home automation dealer channel.
