dcbel Takes Household Energy Management to the Next Level

Dan Fletcher is the chief operating officer of dcbel, a company with a big mission and valuable products. Dan reports that its mission is “to deliver energy to a household so they can live a without compromise.” He is resolute and dcbel delivers resilience, control, and choice.

Dan and his colleagues believe that homeowners ought to be rewarded for their investments in solar and batteries and electric vehicles by taking advantage of time-of-use rates and optimizing solar and storage for their highest values. dcbel’s products integrate these systems, reaping the greatest functionality and maximum compensation for homeowners.

Based in Montreal, Quebec, dcbel has facilities in San Bruno, California with operations in Texas and a small office in Europe. The company has grown thanks to clever engineering and control technologies, and thanks to increased market penetration of EVs combined with increased utility interest in the value of aggregating incremental loads from household systems. dcbel’s primary product, the ARA, connects household systems to optimize their values. It includes integrating hardware and a sophisticated controls processor.

Ted brings the conversation down to Earth, specifically to his own home. How can dcbel optimize his home’s energy use? Dan notes that people like Ted are “in the club.” They have invested in solar, sometimes batteries and electric vehicles. dcbel can link these systems, controlling demands and times of day and season, with opt-out features and consumer control. All homes can tap into dcbel’s backup power capability. Instead of solar systems being unusable during grid outages, dcbel assets are islanded from the grid, and homes continue to be powered by solar, batteries, and EVs.

Unfortunately, those “in the club” cannot reap the full economic benefits of a new system. “Technology favors new entrants,” notes Dan. You have already invested in a unidirectional charger; now you’d buy a bidirectional charger to power your home to gain greater functionality and to participate in utility programs. Many utilities compensate homeowners who can export power during peak periods, as much as $2/kWh through the Emergency Load Reduction Program in California. Furthermore, a new dcbel system obviates the need for multiple inverters. You no longer need one for your solar system and another for your batteries. By using dcbel, one inverter is at the hub of your household energy system.

Dan provides an interesting perspective to the conversation and dcbel’s efficient operation: dcbel’s mantra is “keeping DC until you need AC,” ie, for as long as possible.” Solar which comes off the roof as DC, can directly, and without conversion, charge batteries. The batteries can later charge cars… all DC. Dan notes that each conversion loss — the losses that dcbel avoids — is in the 10 – 15% range.

Ted and Dan dig into the state of virtual power plants in America. It’s not universally accepted by the ~3,300 utility jurisdictions in America. Each has its own rules, interconnection requirements, and compensation levels. More are becoming aware of the potential and synergy of integrating homes and the grid, notably integrating electric vehicles and the grid. Smart control of household use and distributed energy resources saves money for both consumer and utility. dcbel is a market leader in an exciting space. More homeowners and more utilities are seeing the value of integration so that power flows both ways for mutual benefit.