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Solar + Storage Solution Achieves 90% Energy Self-Reliance

March 22, 2018 by Paul Shepard

With its modular design, ABB’s new solar inverter with energy storage capability, REACT 2, provides a capacity of up to 12kWh, increasing electric self-sufficiency of homes.

ABB’s new REACT 2 inverter and energy storage solution includes a high-voltage Li-ion battery with a long-life and a storage capacity of up to 12kWh. The modular solution can grow with the needs of any household from 4kWh to 12kWh and significantly reduce electricity charges thanks to an achievable energy self-reliance of up to 90 percent.

The inclusion of a high-voltage battery (200V) delivers more reliability and up to 10 percent more system efficiency compared to lower voltage alternatives (48V).

Tarak Mehta, President, Electrification Products division at ABB said: “We know that prosumers want to harness energy and store it until needed. The growth in self-consumption is one of the most exciting trends in renewables, driving greater demand for integrated and efficient battery storage. We have responded to this with our new high-voltage solution, which not only delivers energy savings of up to 90 percent but will flex and grow as consumer demands change.”

One of the advantages of REACT 2 is its modular design, which can be easily expanded from 4- to 8- to 12-kWh storage capacity to cope with the changing needs of any household, adapting as it grows and delivering double the maximum storage capacity of the first REACT model.

“It’s this future-proof thinking incorporated into the design of REACT 2 that makes it ideal for energy efficient solar power storage. Further, the ability to install REACT 2 on both ac and dc sides, offers the perfect solution for new systems or the retrofitting of existing photovoltaic systems,” added Mehta.

REACT 2 also offers complete installation flexibility, thanks to the different set-up configurations available. It is quick and easy to install with a simple ‘plug and play’ connection and an app for installers.

As demand for smarter energy solutions continues to grow, REACT 2 takes advantage of ABB’s cloud-based, industry-leading portfolio of digital solutions, ABB Ability™, to provide home owners with complete control over their solar power usage.

Based on the combination of REACT 2 and ABB-free@home®, home owners can make the best use of the electricity generated by their photovoltaic system, avoiding consumption peaks by spreading the electricity load and keeping usage within the capacity of the energy harnessed.

REACT 2 transfers the information on solar energy, home consumption and battery status over a wireless network to the ABB-free@home system access point, which can then control other ABB-free@home devices including heating, lighting, and music. It can even be used to power electric vehicle charging solutions such as the new ABB ac wallbox, and activate new smart functionalities based on energy information.

For areas with unreliable power supplies, REACT 2 also offers a backup function to guarantee power in case of blackout.