VARTA Microbattery announced that VARTA Storage is featuring the Engion Series of energy storage systems at Solar Power International 2014. The safe and reliable Engion Series is designed to allow residential and commercial property owners greater independence from public utilities by reducing their cost of electricity and ensuring power is available in the event of a power grid fault. Comprised of Engion Home and Engion Family systems, the series employs VARTA’s highly efficient lithium ion (li-ion) battery modules to store energy generated by photovoltaic (PV) systems and/or the electric utility grid. Due to the modular configuration of the VARTA battery modules, systems may be configured with capacities ranging from 2.8 kWh to 13.8 kWh and are available in the range of 25 kW through 100 W. The systems additionally feature a battery inverter capacity of up to 4.0 kW.
“Homeowners, as well as owners of commercial properties, will realize significant cost benefits and efficiencies resulting from the modular design of the VARTA batteries used in Engion energy storage systems,” said Fred Schellert, head of marketing and sales for VARTA Storage. “Users are able to access ‘green’ energy derived from PV systems and/or the power grid regardless of the time of day or weather, and are able to match the storage capacity of their Engion system with their application. Moreover, the Engion Series is designed to support a 20-plus year lifespan as it is configured to allow existing battery modules to be combined with future battery technologies.”
VARTA Storage’s Engion Home systems are provided with capacities of from 2.8 kWh to 6.9 kWh and a battery inverter capacity of up to 2.4 kW, whereas Engion Family systems are offered with capacities of from 3.7 kWh to 13.8 kWh and with a battery inverter capacity of up to 4 kW. The series supports 3-phase 400 VAC input along with an Ethernet interface. It also boasts an expected life of up to 8,000 cycles and a 20-year lifespan. Engion Family systems measure 60 cm (W) x 185 cm (H) x 40 cm (D), while Engion Home systems measure 60 cm (W) x 130 cm (H) x 40 cm (D). The series is engineered with extensive redundant mechanical and electrical functions, flame-retardant housing and automatic overvoltage cutoff.