Use all your solar electricity at home rather than export it — Warik Energy

This article was originally published in issue 20 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

Warik Energy designs, supplies and installs the Emma safe energy storage system, which features 100% safe solar batteries.

The system ensures that all renewable electricity generated on-site is consumed on site, with nothing exported to the grid. The company’s tagline is: “don’t lose it — store it, then use it”.

“The typical new home, with solar PV for compliance with Part L, is losing about 70% of that electricity to the grid, and receiving no payment in return,” Mike O’Keefe of Warik Energy told Passive House Plus.

“By installing a self-consumption system like this, you’re saving money by using all of the electricity you generate at home rather than exporting it for nothing, and all of the money you save is essentially tax-free.”

“The Emma storage system captures the exportable power and stores it in our safe battery,” O’Keefe said. This means that if there is more power available than the battery can take at any instant, the extra power is automatically diverted to the hot water tank. The Emma system can also be set to prioritise battery or heat storage. The system is controlled via an intuitive touch screen display or smartphone app.

“We only supply the safest batteries in the world — there is no gas, no acid and it can’t go on fire,” said O’Keeffe. “Our batteries are ideal for daily deep cycling and longduration applications, and are not affected by partial state of charge operation, with backup warranties from a $6bn company.”

In Emma’s grid safe mode, the system runs like a universal power supply (UPS) for your home, providing backup power when needed, keeping your lights, appliances and electric heating running. With grid safe mode, you can oversize your renewable generator, as your solar PV or wind energy charges the battery directly, and is not grid tied.

For more information see www.warikenergy.com.