It’s been a year since the residents of the Efficiency House Plus homes in Hügelshart, Germany, moved in. They have already experienced one hot summer and their first winter. So how have these innovative, low-energy homes featuring their own PV systems, battery-storage systems and heat pumps fared during this time?

With the Sunny Boy Storage 3.6/5.0/6.0 range, you can have backup power for your home when there is a blackout. In this blog, we will discuss how to use the Secure Power Supply function included in your Sunny Boy Storage and alternatively how you can have automated backup of your household with the optional Automatic Backup Unit.

Batteries are taking on an increasingly important role in decentralized energy systems and constitute the heart of off-grid systems. They can also be increasingly found in on-grid systems, where they can cut energy purchase costs by means of increased self-consumption or peak load shaving. Battery monitoring plays a key role here. After all, PV system operators want to know whether their systems are actually working as intended, because downtime costs money and causes hassle. That is why SMA is offering a comprehensive upgrade for battery analysis via ennexOS.

Approximately 1,000 people live in the village of Gutu in Nepal, about 800 kilometers away from the capital city of Kathmandu. There is no public electricity supply. Until recently, everybody shifted for himself: open fires to cook on and smoke in the house, a huge stock of candles or the hum of the diesel generator at the local metal processing company were a part of everyday life. Find out why the village inhabitants have been able to leave all this behind them.

(Update 4/2/2019 – multibattery functionality) Starting in June, the powerful SMA battery inverter Sunny Boy Storage 3.7/5.0/6.0 for private homes...

The Sunny Island battery inverter supports a wide range of on- and off-grid installations with compelling product features—from operation in off-grid areas to home energy management. With the new release, it changes to battery operation even faster if the grid fails.

Plenty of oil, but little electricity. Nigeria may be rich in raw materials, however, electricity supply leaves much to be desired. SMA supports the energy transition in Nigeria’s commercial and rural energy supply with a range of intelligent solar solutions and local training programs. Solar micro- and stand-alone grids ensure sustainable economic development in this Sunbelt nation.

1144 castle church – 1671 orphanage – 1848 windmill – 2018 hybrid mass storage: Most of the sites in Varel, a city in Lower Saxony, were built some centuries ago. But this year another one joined them: An intelligent battery mass storage that stabilizes the utility grid and intermediately stores excess energy from renewable energy sources until it is needed. And everyone benefits from this.

Factories located far away from utility grids depend on electricity supplied by diesel generators. For financial reasons, operators often rely on what is referred to as hybrid supply, i.e., a combination of a diesel system and PV system. The core element of the PV-diesel hybrid solution is the SMA Fuel Save Controller. It regulates the electricity supply to ensure that priority is given to cost-effective solar energy.

The iconic, state-of-the art Mary Pickford Theatre in Cathedral City, California, now includes a self-sustaining renewable energy plant with SMA inverters.