Video: Key features of Generac’s PWRcell 2 Series
Generac is now selling its next generation home energy storage system, the PWRcell 2 Series. On The Pitch, Beto Fonts, product manager at Generac, explains what’s new with PWRcell 2, keys features of the installation, the differences between the PWRcell 2 and PWRcell 2 MAX, and how they both fit in the broader Generac home energy ecosystem.
Watch the full episode above or read through a partial transcript below. On Nov. 20, Solar Builder is hosting a webinar with Generac to look closer at the PWRcell 2 Series, and how solar + storage installers benefit by partnering with Generac. Register for that here.
How PWRcell 2 compares to the original PWRcell
Fonts: “It’s really a step change. It’s not just a beefing up the power, which indeed it is, but it’s also a change in architecture. We’re adopting an AC-coupled architecture, and that’s very different. PWRcell 1 was a DC-couple system that relied on our own module-level power electronics. Now you have this AC-coupled system that you can use with other PV technologies out there. We believe that gives a lot more flexibility to our installers, but it also gives that resiliency in the sense that if the battery inverter fails  … you still have the ability to produce solar. Â
“We’re also very excited about this because we are taking our ecosystem seriously, and we show that in a couple of ways in this product. One of them is the integration with the ecobee thermostat, and the other is a much more native integration with our home standby generator products.”
PWRcell 2 vs. PWRcell 2 MAX
Fonts: “PWRcell 2 MAX introduces a new battery module. Out of that, we get more power and better performance across the temperature range. We go from 10.5 KW on PWRcell 2 to 11.5 kW on MAX. We also get much higher locked rotor amps for load start capacity. PWRcell 2, we get about 150 LRA which is plenty enough to like start almost all five ton air conditioners, but with MAX we get over 200 LRA. You can start almost anything at that point.”
6:31 – PWRcell 2 Series vs. competitive systems
PWRcell 2 components and installation
Fonts: “PWRcell 2 is composed of three key devices. First we have a battery. I’s a modular solution, so you can fit up to six battery modules in our cabinet, and go from 9 kWh up to 18 kWh in this one cabinet. You also don’t have very large lifts — the largest lift there is about 55 pounds. Â
“Then you have the inverter. You have DC inputs for the battery, but it’s a battery inverter only. We’ve transitioned from a DC-coupled architecture to an AC-coupled architecture, so you can hook up to two battery cabinets to one inverter and have up to 36 kWh in a single inverter.
“The third element is the Smart Disconnect Switch (SDS). This device is like a power hub for the home. You can have up to two inverters landing on the SDS, for up to 72 kWh of energy capacity and 23 kW of power. You can also land a generator in addition to the two inverters, and you can land up to 19 kW of PV. All of a sudden you have a lot of power connected to this SDS. You can also connect a backup load panel and a non-backup load panel. All the switching, all the monitoring, all the controls of the system level is happening at the SDS.
“You can use it also as a service entrance. So, you can connect directly from the meter or you can land it on a breaker on the main service panel. We will also have full PCS controls on that device.
“It is not trying to be a load center. For example, we have a product called PWRmanager that we’re going to integrate with PWRcell 2 as well. So, you’ll have that if you need it. But our view is that the ecosystem integration is what gives you a lot of that load management. … Some of these things that you had to do with load management now are less necessary — maybe all you need is the ability to shut down the thermostat, and that gets you the power management.”
PWRcell 2 & Ecobee smart thermostat integration
Fonts: “This ecobee integration is something that no other competitor really has. The ecobee and PWRcell basically work in tandem. They communicate over a local connection and don’t require the internet to work together, which is really important during an outage. Â
“The ecobee is essentially the user interface of our battery, and it’s a much more accessible user interface because everybody in the home gets to see how much energy is left in the battery, how many hours of backup they have left, etc.
“The other key aspect is the ecobee resets the thermostat set point during an outage and, by doing so, that extends the duration of the battery because the energy consumption of the whole home goes down. As a result, this could be as much as 50% of the backup duration that could be extended.”
PWRcell 2 Series Pitch
- 0:27 – Comparing PWRcell 2 Series with PWRcell 1
- 1:54 – Step by step PWRcell 2 installation
- 3:00 – Introducing the Smart Disconnect Switch (SDS)
- 5:13 – PWRcell 2 MAX explained
- 6:31 – PWRcell 2 Series vs. competitive systems
- 7:26 – How the ecobee smart thermostat integration works
- 9:42 – Integrating a standby generator
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