Energy firm Moixa, a leading light of the green technology sector, is set to turn homes into power houses with its latest smart battery system. The V4 stores and manages solar and off-peak electricity, boosting returns for customers and cutting costs for charging devices.
The British designer and manufacturer’s wall-mounted battery unit and control platform can be bought as a package with panels or retro-fitted in systems which although use renewable energy don’t have the storage element.
As the world becomes more energy reliant and the new power revolution spreads, the V4 can take advantage of the increase in time-of-use tariffs, explains Moixa chief executive and co-founder Simon Daniel.
“The next decade will see many more UK homes become mini power stations, generating and storing electricity, buying it when it’s cheap and selling it back to the grid,” he predicts.
At 4.8 kilowatt hours, it’s the company’s third and biggest battery with a 20-year life span and offering 1,000W when fully charged before grid top-up is necessary.
The average home uses about 700W during the evening peak.
The design, capable of reducing bills by up to 60 per cent, gears it to bigger properties, larger families and those who spend more time at home. All-in costs range from £3,950 to £8,500 for the full panel package.
Made for Moixa by a British electrical specialist, the battery arrives just before the Feed-in Tariffs incentive, the clean energy cashback for consumers generating renewable electricity, is axed next March.
That could spur a spike in solar take-up, while afterwards the focus is likely to shift to consumption and reducing bills, “increasing the need for solutions like Moixa’s,” says Daniel, adding: “Although there are other smart battery developers, Moixa’s GridShare platform sets it apart.”
This cloud-based asset management software, for consumers, social landlords and utility companies, connects to the battery in a property or an electric vehicle.
The GridShare Client element uses machine learning technology to understand how someone uses their energy and identify behaviour patterns, for example when they plug in their car or bike.
It then calculates the best way to control the devices, working out say when and how much to charge and take account of weather forecasts.
It also provides apps so customers get to grips with their usage.
Further management tools and services include Gridshare Partner for Moixa’s partner energy providers and installers, and GridShare Services which groups properties and enables them to sell their services to the grid, for example reducing energy demands if a power station has a fault.
Daniel and co-founder Chris Wright began in 2006 by inventing a foldable computer keyboard, then going on to acquire tens of patents and make Moixa the UK’s smart battery leader.
The business turned over £3 million this year and employs 50, plus 150 more indirectly.
Its equity investors, angels and ex-utility company chiefs, now include Japanese companies as Moixa increases its sales and presence in the country.
“As an island nation Japan’s power needs and challenges are very similar to the UK,” explains Daniel.
To support that drive last year the company raised £7.4 million in new equity, taking its tally to £15 million in rounds, contracts and grants, and plans a similar-sized raise within the year.
“As we move towards renewables, there remains the challenge of the energy being unreliable while being expected to meet peak time usage,” says Daniel.
“Our smart battery systems are overcoming this. They know when it makes sense to purchase energy and when to export it. They will soon know whether it’s better to power your home or charge a car.”