LG Electronics has shifted its focus in the solar industry entirely to its energy storage system, now that panel manufacturing has ceased. The new Home 8 residential ESS was unveiled this week at RE+.

The LG Home 8 energy storage system combines an inverter and NMC battery in a single unit that is floor-standing and wall-supported to provide an organized, streamlined installation. Its 7.5-kW inverter/charger provides a total capacity of 14.4 kWh of usable on-demand energy and is stackable up to four units, which in combination allows up to 57.6 kWh of usable energy.

Customers who do not have solar but still have a TOU plan with their utility can still use the Home 8. The ESS can be used independently from the grid and can charge during the daytime when electricity prices are lower. Home 8 can then be utilized during peak consumption hours when prices increase. In preparation for potential natural disasters and power outages, Home 8 can store energy in advance for later use. The LED display on the front of the system allows owners to check the estimated battery state of charge (SoC) and encourages mindfulness of electricity use during power outages.

When Home 8 is managed by LG’s ThinQ monitoring and control app, homeowners can delegate how, where, and when the unit is used to maximize efficiency, giving homeowners the ability to achieve pure independence from the grid, and providing them with better control in managing their home energy needs.

LG Electronics also plans to bring a commercial energy storage system to market soon.

The LG Home 8 with LG Electronics is a separate entity from LG Energy Solution (previously LG Chem) and its LG RESU battery.

Kelly Pickerel has over a decade of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World.

Right now, I would spend my dime on a Panasonic Evervolt or Sonnen system using (LFP) chemistry. It is starting to look like LG’s denial early on in 2019 and subsequent discovery of a couple of manufacturing lines that had batteries with torn tabs and folded separator materials causing shorts and thermal run away is a lot wider spread across several ESS projects and perhaps World wide.

The battery cells in the Home 8 ESS are not the same as those in LG Chem’s batteries. They are packaged differently to greatly reduce the chances of thermal runaway.

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