Off-Grid

In off-grid systems reliability is paramount. And fuel for back-up generators can be extra pricey. Without the foresight that Sponge brings to the table, generators often start up based on predetermined battery set-points, with no regard for the time of day or future solar availability.

Poorly timed generator firing can lead to solar curtailment when the battery gets charged excessively before sunrise, meaning your system burns fuel when it could be using the sun instead. Sponge changes this by leveraging generation and load forecasts to optimize generator runtime, ensuring it doesn’t fight with solar power and putting up to 30% of your fuel bill back in your pocket.

Up to 30% less fuel spend

Up to 50% longer generator lifecycle

Reduced annual maintenance costs

Key Features

Generator Optimization

Generator runtime is scheduled to minimize interference with forecasted solar, maximizing solar utilization and minimizing fuel cost.

Consumption from flexible loads like water heaters, EV chargers, pool pumps and thermostats is carefully shifted in time to maximize solar capture, or capitalize on the cheapest grid rates, according to preference.

Battery reserve charge responds to forecasted solar availability to achieve optimal balance between self-consumption and outage readiness, battery throughput, and other factors, on a rolling basis.

Export Limits

There are a number of reasons why a system might be limited in how much available solar can be exported to the grid:

  • DC Oversizing (with DC coupled storage)
  • Utility Defined Export Limits
  • Constrained Feeders
  • Energy Independence

 

In these scenarios, the job to be done is maximizing self-consumption, to maximize solar capture. The Sponge optimizer gets this done by optimally scheduling flexible load around solar availability, and controlling the battery to make sure it always has just enough room for tomorrow’s solar. No more, no less.

Up to 45% more savings

Up to 2X better outage protection

Intelligent dynamic priority

Key Features

Export Shifting

Solar and battery exports are shifted to periods with maximum credit value or export headroom via intelligent battery dispatch and optimal load control.

Battery reserve charge responds to forecasted solar availability to achieve optimal balance between self-consumption and outage readiness, battery throughput, and other factors, on a rolling basis.

Consumption from flexible loads like water heaters, EV chargers, pool pumps and thermostats is carefully shifted in time to maximize solar capture, or capitalize on the cheapest grid rates, according to preference.

Weather forecasts, alerts and utility notifications are continuously tracked to understand periods of heightened risk of power outages. With Sponge, your system responds accordingly to prioritize reserve power over using the battery for savings.

TOU & Dynamic Pricing

Time of use (TOU) rates and dynamic pricing are critical tools to make sure we can get the most out of our grid while we electrify cars, furnaces and industrial loads. They also present great opportunities for energy savings with flexible loads and energy storage. Sponge orchestrates all the levers available to reshape the load profile of a home or building to maximize time of use savings, without impact to the occupant.

In a commercial setting, this includes predicting and responding to changes in the hourly spot price of electricity to ensure maximum returns from storage and flexible load assets. 

Minimize Energy Costs

Maximize Asset Value

Key Features

Arbitrage Optimization

The cheapest periods of electricity pricing are forecasted and capitalized on by bringing in just the right amount of cheap grid power to get you through the peaks without working your battery harder than it needs to, and without compromising its other duties, like self consumption and back-up. 

Consumption from flexible loads like water heaters, EV chargers, pool pumps and thermostats is carefully shifted in time to maximize solar capture, or capitalize on the cheapest grid rates, according to preference.

Solar and battery exports are shifted to periods with maximum credit value or export headroom via intelligent battery dispatch and optimal load control.

Weather forecasts, alerts and utility notifications are continuously tracked to understand periods of heightened risk of power outages. With Sponge, your system responds accordingly to prioritize reserve power over using the battery for savings.

Battery Backup

Batteries are great resilience assets. Instead of noisy, expensive generators, they can be a jack-of-all-trades, working to save you money while they also keep the lights on. But a battery is only as good as its controls. With predictive optimization, Sponge ensures your battery is working hard on generating savings when the coast is clear, and is fully charged when danger looms. To take it a step further, our load controls allow your system to shed low priority circuits when our forecast says the battery might not make it through. Ensuring the most important devices always make it until sunrise, and until the grid comes back. 

Up to 50% longer outage protection

Infinitely faster battery pay back

Key Features

Outage Prediction

Weather forecasts, alerts and utility notifications are continuously tracked to understand periods of heightened risk of power outages. With Sponge, your system responds accordingly to prioritize reserve power over using the battery for savings.

Shed non-critical loads when the forecast says your battery won’t make it until sunrise. Bring them back when the skies are blue.

The cheapest periods of electricity pricing are forecasted and capitalized on by bringing in just the right amount of cheap grid power to get you through the peaks without working your battery harder than it needs to, and without compromising its other duties, like self consumption and back-up. 

Battery reserve charge responds to forecasted solar availability to achieve optimal balance between self-consumption and outage readiness, battery throughput, and other factors, on a rolling basis.