For years, home energy storage has been rife with dangerous mechanisms and wasteful materials. With both lead-acid components and lithium-ion technology, going off the grid held uncertain side effects. Overheating, over mining, and inherent toxicity were top concerns. However, innovation has led to an evolution of this technology, and it’s taking off right here in Dallas.
The ground just broke on a groundbreaking home battery technology that now exists in East Dallas. Following this pilot program, a pioneering partnership plans to provide smarter, safer power to over 200,000 homes.
Meet Salient
Salient Energy, an innovator in stationary energy storage, just made history in a new partnership with Horton World Solutions. Salient develops proprietary zinc-ion batteries using a water-based design that eliminates the risk of fire. By teaming up with HWS, a sustainable home builder whose proprietary composite framing enables incredible energy efficiency, Salient hopes to make a huge impact in eco-friendly housing.
This is a big deal for Dallas homeowners as our climate has caused immense energy concerns in the last couple of years. With Salient, residents enjoy safer energy solutions while contributing to a healthier environment.
“Energy storage is a key part of making zero-carbon homes,” says HWS founder and CEO Terry Horton. “But the current lithium-ion systems have a lot of issues. They create a fire risk that we need to design around, which further adds time and complexity to our permitting process. They are also frequently in short supply, which makes it risky to plan for them being an integral part of our designs. When I saw that Salient’s zinc-ion could solve both these issues, I knew I had to get involved.”
The Next Era of Eco-Energy Efficiency
Recently, Ryan Brown, CEO of Salient explained the potential of this new technology to Daltxrealestate.com.
“We’re extremely excited to work with HWS,” says Ryan. “And being able to demonstrate on one of their sustainably developed Dallas homes made this a perfect partnership.”
He’s excited about the eco-advantages this type of technology will bring to a new generation of homeowners.
“From a homeowner’s perspective, we want this to be no different from a power wall,” says Ryan. “Our technology creates resilience against blackouts and allows residents to consume their own clean energy.”
Salient’s zinc-ion battery works with both solar panels and as part of the power grid. By safely storing energy for later use, this battery helps homeowners eliminate the possibility of blackouts.
What Sets Salient Apart
“With zinc-ion technology, our battery is water-based which prevents the risk of fire for greater peace of mind and easier permit applications,” says Ryan. “This gives us a huge advantage over other home battery manufacturers.”
Companies like Telsa, Energizer, and Everready provide similar solutions but with major ecological concerns. Since these brands use rare lithium-ion technology to power their products, many worry about the implications of over-mining the metals needed.
The science behind Salient makes its materials less harmful to harvest and easier to acquire.
“Our batteries are built with very abundant materials,” says Ryan. “That is completely unlike other lithium-ion systems where basically the whole supply chain is in China. Also, the lithium market globally is in a massive shortage. So, offering an alternative is something that our customers value.”
This new home battery will surely have a huge impact on our area – especially with the uncertainties of ERCOT and our ever-changing climate. It’s an innovation we can all get behind.
An Expert Opinion
Alan Hoffmann is President of Hoffmann Homes, Four Tree Development, and serves as a Technical Advisor to the City of Dallas’s Environmental Division. He caught up with Daltxrealestate.com to discuss some of the pros and cons of these energy solutions.
“I think most people around Dallas are motivated to get these batteries because of the icepocalypse,” Hoffmann said. “However, the thing to remember is when you have a weather event like that, you’re not getting enough solar energy to charge the battery if the grid goes down.
“A good way to use them might be to get free nights and weekends energy plan and charge the batteries during those times,” he said. “Though, power companies are probably going to catch on to that.”
But is it the best deal?
“The best deal right now, I think,” says Hoffman, “would be to get an all-electric Ford F-150. They have the about same power capacity as these home batteries, and they’re about the same price as well. Only, they’re mobile. So if you’re caught without power, you can always go charge them and bring the power back to your home. Rather than wait for solar or grid energy.”
