Nissan is the latest automaker to get into the home energy storage business, following early movers Tesla and Mercedes-Benz.
Nissan calls its solution Nissan Energy Solar, and the automaker announced it on Thursday during the Electric Ecosystem Experience symposium held in the Canary Islands.
Traditionally, electricity collected by solar panels has needed to be used as it's generated or fed back into the grid at low rates. But with the cost and complexity of battery storage systems coming down in recent years, it's now affordable to install one or more in the home to save the generated electricity for use during the evening, when rates are much higher. One could also use it to charge up an electric car, which Nissan is probably hoping is a new Leaf.
Nissan Energy Solar is a fully integrated system, meaning it includes both the solar panels and battery storage system. Importantly, it also includes an energy management system that lets you control how and when you want to use your generated electricity in real time, as well as making the use of it more efficient. The management system does this by automating electricity flows, purposefully utilizing solar production peaks and storage capacities.
The system is only available in the United Kingdom at present, where it's reasonably priced from just $5,380. Nissan estimates that U.K. residents could see their electricity bills reduced by as much as 66 percent by using the system.
