Briggs & Stratton’s Newest Home Battery Offers Modularity at a Good Price – CNET [CNET]

Briggs & Stratton is a company mostly known for its gasoline-powered engines. Now, the company is aiming to make its name known in the residential electric space as well. The company’s latest addition to its growing line of battery products is the SimpliPHI 6.6 Home Battery System. 

One battery has an energy storage capacity of 6.65 kilowatt-hours. You can stack up to three batteries for a total of 19.95 kWh. One battery stack comes with a 6 kW hybrid inverter. To scale your system’s power and capacity, you can install up to six battery stacks for a total capacity of 119.7 kWh. The whole battery system comes packaged with a standard 10-year warranty.

Here’s what you need to know about Briggs and Stratton’s latest home battery.

What do you get with the SimpliPHI 6.6 system?

The SimpliPHI 6.6 system has several components. You have the batteries, 6 kW inverter, battery controller and gateway device. This system was designed for ease of installation and affordability — and we’re talking speedy installation. A single stack of three batteries can be installed in 5 minutes or less, according to Briggs & Stratton. You just stack them on top of each other and click them in place. No wires to be found here, at least between the battery units.

You also have some flexibility with the type of inverter you get. This system is compatible with Sol-Ark 8K, 12K and 15K inverters. All three of these options give you more continuous power than the 6 kW inverter that comes with the SimpliPHI 6.6 system. An installer will be able to tell you how much power you really need to support your household’s energy needs. You can use Briggs & Stratton’s dealer locator tool online to find the nearest installer to your location. 

How much does the SimpliPHI 6.6 system cost?

A single-battery SimpliPHI 6.6 battery system costs $7,700, according to Briggs & Statton. This gets you all the components listed above but doesn’t include the cost of installation. Since this is a modular system, you’ll be able to upgrade your capacity a little at a time, in 6.65 kWh increments. If you have room in your battery stack for an upgrade, a single SimpliPHI 6.6 battery costs about $2,849. If you’re looking to get a stack of three batteries (about 20 kWh), you’ll likely pay around $13,400 before installation fees. 

While we don’t consider anything in the home battery world to be cheap, we found the SimpliPHI 6.6 battery system to be at a pretty good price. But nothing in the battery world is cheap. For example, the most popular home battery on the market is the Tesla Powerwall, costing about $9,300 with an energy storage capacity of 13.5 kWh.   

However, we recommend looking at several different battery offerings from installers in your area. Get multiple quotes before making a decision. This could end up saving you thousands. 

The benefits of home batteries

Home batteries can be used as an alternative to gas-powered generators, supplying power to your home during an outage. 

The benefits of these systems extend beyond just backup power. If your utility charges you time-of-use rates, you can use your battery to offset your energy use at peak times to save you some money. You can use the stored energy from your battery during the times of day when the price of electricity is the highest, instead of buying that electricity from the grid. Recharge your battery during periods when electric rates are lower. 

Home batteries can also be used to store excess electricity generated from solar panels. Don’t worry if solar panels aren’t in your budget, though. Most home batteries on the market today don’t require solar installation.

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