RGS Energy, the nation’s original solar company since 1978, and Sonnen, Inc., a global leader in smart energy storage systems, are immediately offering U.S. manufactured battery storage options to its mainland residential solar customers.

“We believe battery storage provides great value for our residential solar customers,” said Chris Gorski, RGS Energy’s director of Special Projects. “We chose Sonnen because of the safety, stability and long lifecycle of their lithium-iron phosphate batteries, and the fact that they have more than 20,000 sonnenBatterie systems installed worldwide. Battery storage is at the forefront of the solar industry as customers are seeking solutions to minimize the impact of power outages and the high cost of time-of-use power rates charged by an increasing number of utilities.”

A sonnenBatterie system provides a variety of services to solar homeowners, including back-up power during utility outages and a reduction in expensive peak energy draws from the power grid. In 2016 alone, there were over 3,800 power outages in the U.S. The addition of a battery storage system allows solar systems to continue to function independently of the power grid, enabling solar homes to provide their own power day and night during an outage to keep key home appliances running, such as lights, refrigeration, security systems and sump pumps.

“Energy storage is still in the early stages of adoption in the U.S., but smart systems, like the sonnenBatterie, are the key to creating a foundation for clean and reliable energy for all,” said Blake Richetta, SVP of sonnen. “RGS is an ideal partner for sonnen as we both value high quality standards, have a history of proven performance and view our capability to innovate as the best options for customers.”

RGS Energy is a Sonnen certified installer and expects to begin deploying sonnenBatterie systems this fall.