The perception of fossil fuels at today's current high prices, paired with an aging utility/grid infrastructure that shuts down more often than any time in recent history, people want and need the energy security.

Technological Advances for Solar and Energy Storage are Making Energy Solutions More Accessible
Technological Advances for Solar and Energy Storage are Making Energy Solutions More Accessible

Q&A with Glenn Jakins, CEO | Humless

Can you share a little about Humless' company and mission?

Since 2008, Humless’ vision has been to help people gain energy independence. Our first innovation was a portable solar generator which could run a refrigerator for a day and be recharged by the sun. Since then, Humless has continued to strive in our quest to provide products that build energy security and rely less on fossil fuels.

 

What is Humless doing to reduce dependencies on fossil fuels?

Humless has purposely chosen to use Lithium Iron Phosphate based batteries not only for their longevity and reliability but also because they are earth friendly. As homeowners across the US embrace solar power, Humless helps them gather energy during the day, and store it to use later, when they need it most to heat and light their homes. 

 

Why is it more important than ever to focus on reducing fossil fuel dependency?

With fossil fuel production and cost stability currently being so fragile, and affecting American consumers' expenses on a daily basis, lowering fossil fuel reliance for Americans is a major focus of Humless' drive towards cost-effective energy security stability. 

Additionally, less fossil fuels means less greenhouse gas emissions. If we can change the way we power our lives, we can significantly reduce pollution and protect the environment around us. We have to make alternative energy more practical and affordable to ensure more people adopt these technologies.

 

What are some of the key alternative energy industry advancements in recent years?

Never in history has a small energy storage system, offering energy security been this affordable.Humless has scalable small-to-larger energy storage solutions for all home and family sizes for the entire US. Now, most households  in the US can afford energy security, relying less on the utility grid and fossil fuels. The perception of fossil fuels at today's current high prices, paired with an aging utility/grid infrastructure that shuts down more often than any time in recent history, people want and need the energy security Humless can put in their home. If they add an EV car, we can help with charging that battery too. Simply put, fossil fuels are a limited resource, with costs at a historic high. Energy storage is a clean, safe, quiet technology that is a low cost compared to what was available in the past. How have those changes made alternative energy more accessible?

 

How have those changes made alternative energy more accessible?

These changes have made alternative energy more mainstream and affordable. As the technology is accepted by the masses, more people become trained within the technology in order to service the growing demand. This in turn gives more people access at lower costs.

 

Tell us about Humless’ new battery inverter and its UL Certification.

More than 95% of residential solar PV systems in the USA only have the ability to do net metering. In other words, they produce electricity from their PV system and sell it back to the grid. If the grid fails, they have no power and no way to use their PV system to run their home. Humless has designed a system that allows homeowners to net meter, but they can also create a microgrid where the power from their PV system runs their home if the grid goes down. They can run their home during the day using the Humless hybrid inverter as well as storing power in our LiFePO4 batteries to use later. Our products conform to the UL9540 standard.

 

What makes a hybrid system a more efficient and affordable option?

The hybrid system can sell power back to the grid as well as run the home off-grid. As many utilities start to give less money back to the homeowner for net metering, it makes sense to use the power produced by the solar panels to run the home even when the sun isn’t out, and sell only excess power to the grid.

 

How do you see the Inflation Reduction Act helping to grow energy storage?

The Inflation Reduction Act makes energy storage more affordable than ever. In the past, it was difficult to find an economic model that had a decent return on energy storage solutions. Customers can now count standalone energy storage assets towards the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Just as the initial ITC helped grow the solar industry by more than 200x, this new provision allows taxpayers to think about their energy needs as a whole, and we can expect energy storage to grow with that mindset. Consumers can now install things like the Humless Hybrid Universal Energy Storage System while getting a tax credit. This way, homeowners can save money by using their self generated power at night through our reliable Lithium batteries. The ability to have control of your power is a very emancipating feeling, and the Inflation Reduction Act puts it within reach of more people.

 

 

The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag

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