Latest / Clean Power Hour / LG Home Battery System Features & Benefits with Jim Brown, LG ESS | EP170

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LG Home Battery System Features & Benefits with Jim Brown, LG ESS | EP170 · Clean Power Hour

• 0:50
  Jim Brown: LG manufactures a host of products. commercial air conditioning, sorry we call it commercial air care. But you think about home efficiency, home energy, high efficiency heat pumps, hot water, electric, LG Dryer, Refrigerator, Home Entertainment, home air care, and now a home energy storage system. So I can see this ecosystem evolving with a host of LG products. The LG homemade is just one component.
• 1:22
  intro: Are you speeding the energy transition? Here at the Clean Power Hour, our hosts Tim Montague and John Weaver bring you the best in solar batteries and clean technologies every week, want to go deeper into decarbonisation? We do two, we're here to help you understand command the commercial, residential and utility, solar, wind and storage industries. So let's get to it.
• 1:42
  intro: Together, we can speed the energy transition.
• 1:50
  Tim Montague: Today on the Clean Power Hour, a conversation that I honestly have not thought about having. But you know, LG Electronics is a household name in the United States. They make washers and dryers and televisions. And they used to make solar modules. But they got out of the solar industry. And so we kind of forgot about LG for a little while. But they're back. They have a residential and commercial storage product.
• 2:14
  Tim Montague: And my guest today is Jim Brown.
• 2:14
  Tim Montague: And I apologize, but I don't know your title. Jim, what is your title?
• 2:20
  Jim Brown: That's okay, Tim, really glad to be here with you.
• 2:23
  Jim Brown: Thanks. I get called a lot of things. But the title is Senior Account Manager.
• 2:27
  Tim Montague: Awesome. Well, we're gonna geek out on what's going on in the LG booth. We're here at RT plus the largest gathering of energy professionals in North America.
• 2:37
  Tim Montague: It's a wonderful trade show and conference. So before we go to the LG though, what's your background? How did you get into energy? You said that you were a SunPower. Dealer. Give us the story. How long have you been in solar and
• 2:52
  Jim Brown: storage? Yeah, thanks, Tim. Yeah, once upon, I've been in solar 14 years, started in solar manufacturing automation. So I actually I actually work for a Swiss machine company called komack solar. And we designed engineered and built the machinery that actually interconnected solar cells electrically. That was my first exposure to solar but it was on the manufacturing side. And automation machinery Mechatronics Yeah, super cool.
• 3:17
  Tim Montague: When was that?
• 3:17
  Tim Montague: Yeah.
• 3:19
  Jim Brown: Oh, gosh, you're testing my memory. Well, I don't know can we do the math minus 220 23 minus 14 wasn't that long ago but I got a little bit weary of the world travel Tim and and so I love the cylinder see so much. So I came over on this Digi side and started with you mentioned some power dealer.
• 3:42
  Jim Brown: Just make a tiny correction. I was a SunPower employee for four and a half years in both commercial and residential dealer channel management. But that's where I got my you know, really got my feet wet on the Digi side of solar really have enjoyed the journey since SunPower. I moved on to LG solar during those solar module manufacturing days. And you know, when LG made the tough decision to exit that business was a tough day for me too, because I lost my job. But it wasn't too too long after that LG Electronics called back and said hey, would you come back and work on this residential energy storage product with us and I couldn't be more thrilled to be back with a company and in this space, specifically energy storage for residential application. And no doubt on behalf of the LG brand and product name. Couldn't be happier to be here.
• 4:33
  Tim Montague: Now if my memory serves me, LG was making batteries for a long time. They just weren't necessarily going direct to consumer right. They were making the cells that others were packaging in their products. Is that right?
• 4:46
  Jim Brown: Yeah. Great question, Tim. And, and a great point too, because even after a year in this business segment with LG Electronics, we continue to explain the difference. LG corporation is a huge global corporate entity and one part of the business is known as LG Chem. They had a battery business, which they spun off I think it was in q4 of 19 or 20.
• 5:10
  Jim Brown: They spun that off into LG energy solution to give the battery business its own identity. So it's really still LG, but it's a distinctly different business manufacturing battery cells and batteries for a variety of applications including energy storage and even EVs. LG Electronics solution is different Tim we're a different business. And while we use battery cells in our LG homemade solution, it's a complete solution. It's not just a battery. So we have the Smart Energy box or some people call the gateway. The automatic transfers which the mid people call it different things. But paired with a, we call it the home eight, it is the inverter and the battery modules in a separate enclosure. And then of course, there's the intelligence that guides the system behavior.
• 6:07
  Jim Brown: So it's a complete solution versus a battery manufactured by the other LG business. Sure.
• 6:12
  Jim Brown: Yeah. Thanks for asking. Yeah,
• 6:15
  Tim Montague: definitely. So you're entering the or you've entered the residential storage market. It's a crowded space.
• 6:28
  Tim Montague: Why now? You know, have we reached some tipping point in residential storage that LG was like, yep. Now it's time or what? What's the story there?
• 6:37
  Tim Montague: Yeah.
• 6:40
  Jim Brown: Another great question. I'll give you the insight that I have the, you're exactly right. This energy storage space is wildly expanding, even just from last year in Anaheim. mind boggling how many storage solutions were presented. And this year, my gosh, even more, it's really, really something and I haven't even walked the floor yet. But um, you know, the product is not necessarily new to LG, LG Electronics launched and all in one a comprehensive storage system in Europe and 2016. Much the same as what we're showing today at RT plus. At some point in time, I can't explain why LG made the decision to retool the product for the US electrical grid. And we brought it to the US in May last year. Install started in May we officially launched at Ari plus in Anaheim last year. And we've been enjoying a nice rate of installs here across the country. Since you know since that already plus launch. I think what's really interesting, you asked me why now, I not sure I can answer that. Exactly. I don't have insight into those folks, at that level making those decisions. But here's what I do see today. LG, manufactures a host of products. commercial air conditioning, sorry, we call it commercial air care. But you think about home efficiency, home energy, high efficiency, heat pumps, hot water, electric, LG Dryer, Refrigerator, Home Entertainment, home haircare, and now a home energy storage system. So I can see this ecosystem evolving with a host of LG products. The LG homemade is just one component.
• 8:29
  Tim Montague: Awesome. And give us some basic stats. Is it a 10 Kw H or 14 Kw H solution? And is it how is it scalable? Sure. You mentioned you know, ATS so you're targeting off grid operations as well. So give us the lowdown on that. Yep,
• 8:50
  Jim Brown: yep, be happy to simply first and foremost AC coupled system. So solar inverter agnostic, all we want is the AC juice from the solar inverter. And there is probably those, you know, one off applications where a homeowner just wants a battery backup and doesn't have solar can easily connect the LG homemade to the grid, no problem. It is a 7.5 KV a continuous AC output with a peak to nine for 10 seconds. And then we have 14.4 kilowatt hours of usable energy. Cool thing is you can use all of it. We build in a hard floor. So we have 15.8 kilowatt hours of total energy.
• 9:33
  Jim Brown: But we build in the hard floor at 14.4 kilowatt hours this way, the installer and the homeowner have no programming responsibility, no memory, recall what they were told about depth of discharge and all of that. And so we package that reserve so that in the event a homeowner discharges the battery to zero state of charge, the homemade goes into self care mode, it'll wake itself up every two hours looking for juice. If after 24 hours, there's no juice available to charge the homemade or go into a deep sleep. You know, heck, there's only so much I can do in 24 hours, Tim, I'm going to sleep too. But the cool thing is the installer does not have to roll a truck. They just don't. There's a black start button on the side of the home aid. The homeowner pushes that button to wake up the product when the grids back or when solar is producing and the machine will start charging itself. It's a really great feature to save homeowners the headache of waiting on a service call and installers the headache of rolling a truck.
• 11:30
  Tim Montague: Very cool. And I assume it's lithium ion of some flavor but what can you speak to the chemistry?
• 11:37
  Jim Brown: Yeah, isn't that that is where we're at these days right lithium ion so that is the umbrella that generic description You're right. LG chose NMC chemistry. We wanted the energy density, more juice in a smaller space homeowners don't want all the clutter on the wall or on the floor. They just don't. So we chose NMC. And I know when the question of chemistry comes up, Tim, the next question that is always asked is, well, what about safety? It's an important question. And I just simply refer homeowners and installers to this sort of line of thinking. If you look around any home today, how many products do we see that are UL certified? A lot. So LG take safety very seriously. We relied on UL to certify the system for safety based on ul 9540. Equally, if not maybe even more important, we relied on UL to test to the LG home ADSs against ul 9540. A, the fire test thermal propagation, UL says it's safe Tim, I am perfectly comfortable recommending the product to any homeowner in any installer, even with the NMC chemistry because it gives them the energy density that they're looking for more juice and a smaller space.
• 12:57
  Tim Montague: The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America. The maker of North America's number one three phase string inverter with over six gigawatts shipped in the US. The CPS America product lineup includes three phase string inverters ranging from 25 to 275 kW, their flagship inverter, the CPS 252 75, is designed to work with solar plants ranging from two megawatts to two gigawatts, the 250 to 75 pairs well, with CPS America's exceptional data communication controls and energy storage solutions, go to chintpowersystems.com To find out more.
• 13:33
  Tim Montague: And so if I'm a consumer shopping around for, you know, a solar and storage solution, how is it that you're going to mark it and who are your as you see it? You know, you're familiar with Tesla, and solar edge and N phase and Franklin and Lyon energy and you know, the list goes on now, right? Sure. How are you going to mark it? And what is it that differentiates LG from the others other than your fantastic brand? I mean, that's something that few others probably already have. Right?
• 14:14
  Tim Montague: You are a known quantity. But what do you say to that?
• 14:18
  Jim Brown: Yeah, thanks, Tim.
• 14:18
  Jim Brown: It's no doubt as I mentioned, you and LG exited solar, you know, it was a bad day for me.
• 14:26
  Jim Brown: But when they called and asked me to come back, I came back.
• 14:29
  Jim Brown: The LG brand Yes, for sure. LG Electronics, a well known global powerhouse, an entity that I can get behind associate my name and my reputation with it's very similar with the LG home ADSs.
• 14:45
  Jim Brown: LG is a known brand. Many homeowners have LG already in their home, whether it's a TV or appliance suite of some kind. So the brand recognition makes it easier for installers to warm up the homeowners right out of the gate. You're right, there's definitely competition. It's okay. I'm glad that homeowners have choices. But one of the things I know for certain LG has been around for a long time dating back to the 50s. When homeowners make this kind of large purchasing decision, they want the peace of mind knowing that the company is going to be there to stand behind the product if they need them. LG can absolutely stand tall and proud saying we've been here since the 50s. We're going to be here for the future. And in fact, I've even had to feel the few inquiries about LG solar warranty inquiries. And I can tell you from firsthand experience LG is standing behind that warranty 100% as written.
• 15:45
  Jim Brown: So this is a go to market strategy to reinforce the brand, the company longevity, the demonstrated value of the warranty and the corporation behind it. It gives homeowners peace of mind to make that purchasing decision.
• 16:02
  Tim Montague: But so if I go to Home Depot Am I gonna see an LG battery on the floor in a big box store?
• 16:09
  Jim Brown: No, you absolutely will not. Okay, so, LG will bring this product to market through certified installers. So we partner with solar and storage installers already in the market. It is their business to bring solar and energy stores to homeowners. We work closely with them build that relationship we teach train coach him on the product, the system design the installation details, and we have not only a team of account managers across the country but sales Applications Engineer To help with pre sale design and support, and dedicated tech support for after the sale, answering the phone, answering the email, even getting on a plane and going to the site and supporting the installer, should we need to troubleshoot, diagnose, and, and manage an issue?
• 17:00
  Tim Montague: And these are mostly solar installers. Yes.
• 17:04
  Tim Montague: Okay. And so that leads, you know, to a natural other question is, is the installer going to have some kind of an exclusive relationship with LG, then? Or could they be as you know, could they carry multiple manufacturers of residential products?
• 17:25
  Jim Brown: Same question. In no way as LG forcing exclusivity, where we're out here to be a better manufacturing partner, to earn their business and show them that they can do better business by partnering with LG Electronics, our LG pro program launched recently for the ESS product segment. And this is a it's not a form of exclusivity, but it does provide those installers who choose to work with us exclusive access to a substantial amount of sales and marketing collateral, co branded collateral opportunities, a host of logo and photos to support their own brand as they augment their website and their social media journey in this storage market. Certainly, there's some training housed on the LG pro portal as well. But in no way do we demand exclusivity. We want to earn the business and we want to be a better partner.
• 18:20
  Tim Montague: Very cool. So what else should our listeners know?
• 18:25
  Tim Montague: You know, my audience is solar and storage professionals, and other types of energy professionals, but the core is solar storage. So we're all geeking out, you know, on this myriad, this honestly explosion of opportunities, and options.
• 18:45
  Tim Montague: But what else should our listeners know? And if if I'm an installer that's not carrying LG today, what does that pathway like, I guess is a consideration. And yeah,
• 18:59
  Jim Brown: Thanks, Tim. There's, there's no doubt a whole host of things we could talk about. But I see our Time is winding down.
• 19:06
  Jim Brown: I think what's really important to remind people in this space installers in this space, and I love the opportunity to be here with you today to talk to your audience who is also my audience. For these people who have already had storage experience out there. There are a lot of stories, some favorable, some very challenging. I think one of the key closing comments I want to share is that LG Electronics brought this home a ESS to the market to not be all things to all people, meaning the smart home is a journey, not a destination. And when it comes to battery backup, particularly when the grid is down, of course, homeowners want to live comfortably till the grid comes back. And there are some solutions out there trying to accommodate those needs. Not all homeowners are smart, home savvy, you know the managing this circuit and that circuit, there are some products out there that do a pretty good job.
• 20:08
  Jim Brown: What LG Electronics wanted to bring to the market is a residential energy storage solution that is purposefully designed with unique features for homeowner comfort and peace of mind. Think about that 24 hour period of self care and installer, ease of use. Just wiring. Installing the homemade is simple. But commissioning the homemade is even easier. LG knows a thing or two about displays and touchscreen display. So in our Smart Energy box, the gateway, if you will, there's a touch screen where all things set up and commissioning happen in about 35 minutes. And then Tim, we connect the homemade to the internet and go on from there. We can set up power up setup and get this homemade running. Without any internet connection. You don't need a phone, a laptop or an app. It's all done on the touchscreen. And so if an installer wants to simplify their commissioning journey, we have the answer.
• 21:14
  Tim Montague: And if you know one of the questions that comes up from consumers, frankly is well can I install one unit today? But then if I decided to go for full resiliency in a few years install a second unit so I have full 20 kWh, right, which would be pretty robust off grid.
• 21:32
  Tim Montague: You know my rule of thumb is 30 Kw H gives us a medium sized home potential for off grid operation right If they have good sized solar array, but tell us about that that scenario scalability.
• 21:49
  Jim Brown: Sure. Yeah. Thank you for that. Speaking of the future and looking to the future, if and installers interested to talk to us further, you know, if they're here and they catch your podcast, our podcast, Tim, they can come see us at the LG Electronics ESS exhibit, we're on the second floor. It's the 4700 block of the exhibit hall and Hall A will be there, of course through today, tomorrow and two o'clock on Thursday.
• 22:16
  Jim Brown: Otherwise, they can absolutely go to lg.com forward slash us, they can easily fill out the form to show their interest and that will get to the right person to make contact with them. They're also welcome to reach out to me directly.
• 22:30
  Jim Brown: Emails, jim.brown@lg.com is enough to reach me. In terms of scalability, they want to add another homemade supereasy. The Smart Energy boss can accommodate for homemade inverter battery, all in one units. So up to four that would be up to 30 Kw continuous AC output, and up to 57.6 kilowatt hours of usable energy. Easy enough to add a home a to another Tim up to four. With a single Smart Energy box. It's a matter of AC conductors, little conduit and a comm wire is enough
• 23:11
  Tim Montague: vertical. I love it. Thank you so much Jim Brown with LG Electronics. I'm Tim Montague, checking out all of our content at clean power hour.com Give us a rating and a review on Apple and Spotify.
• 23:22
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• 23:30
  Tim Montague: And you can comment and connect with me on my website as well clean power hour.com. With that, I'll say thank you and let's grow solar and storage.
• 23:39
  Jim Brown: Sounds great. Tim, thank you so much do grow at YouTube.
• 23:42
  Tim Montague: Hey, listeners.
• 23:42
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• 24:15
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• 24:20
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• 24:40
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• 25:18
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• 25:23
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• 25:28
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• 26:05
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