A home battery can do more during a blackout if it isn’t busy running nonessential, energy-hungry appliances. sonnen and SOLRITE Energy are putting that same principle to work for the grid, adding smart breakers that can temporarily switch off selected household loads while batteries help meet electricity demand.
The companies announced today that they’re integrating ADAPT Energy’s controls and Eaton AbleEdge smart breakers into the SOLRITE–sonnen virtual power plant (VPP). The setup combines sonnenHub with breakers that manage power-hungry equipment, both during outages and when the grid needs help.
The announcement doesn’t specify pricing, how many homes will receive it, or when existing customers can get it.
A VPP connects home batteries into a network so they can work together as a larger energy resource. This addition gives SOLRITE another way to respond: in addition to controlling the batteries, it can reduce the amount of electricity that participating homes use.
The pool pump can wait
sonnen and SOLRITE used the example of a pool pump, as it’s energy-intensive, nonessential, and runs for longer periods. When an event begins, ADAPT temporarily switches off the pool pump while the sonnen battery sends electricity to the grid.
With less battery power going toward the pump, more can flow to the grid. Across participating homes, that gives the VPP more flexibility than relying on battery dispatch alone.
Homeowners have to opt in to that grid participation, and ADAPT will switch off only pre-approved household loads. Joining the VPP program doesn’t give the operator blanket permission to turn off anything in the house.
“Instead of putting the pressure on homeowners to change the way their home is wired, and to manually manipulate loads during an outage, we’re putting intelligence into their energy system, which provides a seamless and automatic backup power experience for their home,” said Troy Morgan, president of PanTech Design, the developer of ADAPT Energy.
Making backup power go further
The breakers also tackle a practical problem with home backup: Big appliances can drain a battery quickly, and the surge of power some equipment needs to start can overload a backup system just as an outage begins.
ADAPT coordinates the smart breakers with the sonnen battery to automatically switch off large loads during backup operation. When grid power returns, it restores them, so homeowners don’t have to go around resetting individual circuits.
That also gives homeowners more flexibility later. According to the companies, changing which smart-breaker-controlled loads are switched off during an outage doesn’t require rewiring those circuits.
The installation benefit matters, too. Some backup setups require electricians to move selected circuits into a separate panel. This system manages compatible circuits where their breakers already sit, which the companies say reduces installation complexity and inspection work.
Whole-home backup still has limits. Automatically managing large loads helps the available battery capacity go further; it doesn’t mean every appliance can run at once throughout an outage.
SOLRITE finances, builds, and owns residential solar-plus-storage projects through what it calls Virtual Power Plant Agreements, with no upfront cost to homeowners. It says it operates in Texas, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Illinois, with more markets planned.
Read more: sonnen files for insolvency in Germany as US sales double
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