Battery storage has gone from being a nice-to-have to necessity in multifamily housing.
Factors like rising energy standards, increasing demand for reliability and resiliency, high inflation, rising interest rates and skyrocketing utility costs are making backup power a critical addition to residential developments.
As a homebuilder, you need solutions that not only make compliance simple but deliver reliability and cost savings for both you and your buyers.
That’s why the new 208V battery from FranklinWH — and distributed exclusively by Sunnova — needs to be on your radar. Keep reading to understand why this innovative technology is set to become the MVP for your multifamily projects.
Surging Multifamily Demand Meets Tougher Energy Codes
There are two unavoidable realities in the housing market today making batteries non-negotiable.
First, multifamily construction is booming across America. Over the past decade, more and more people have chosen to live in apartments, condos and other attached housing options. This trend is expected to continue as developers rush to meet demand among cost-conscious homebuyers.
At the same time, energy efficiency requirements for new buildings are ratcheting up. California has led the charge with its rigorous Title 24 code, now mandating solar and storage installation in multifamily developments four stories or higher. Other municipalities are starting to follow — like Denver, Colorado, which will have a net-zero energy, all-electric requirement on new home construction starting in 2024.
Dirk Korte
VP, National Home Builder Sales
“Homeowners and renters want access to backup power, motivated by rising utility costs and increasing climate-driven outages.”
The trouble is, not all battery systems are created equal — especially for multifamily applications. You need a storage solution expressly designed for the 208-voltage electrical service found across attached housing units — something code-compliant, durable and easy for residents to use. That’s where the Franklin battery comes in.
Built for Multifamily from the Ground Up
The Franklin 208V battery system elegantly solves the key challenges of energy storage for multifamily homes.
All-In-One Design
This system consolidates major components into a single enclosure. There are fewer boxes cluttering walls, roof space or the equipment room. All wiring connections run through Franklin’s integrated Gateway for simplified installation.
Smart Home Integration
Using the companion smartphone app, residents can track energy usage, set schedules to minimize peak demand charges and tap into time-of-use savings.
Power & Performance
A single Franklin 208V battery can support loads up to 5kW continuous and 10kW peak — enough for most apartments and condos. Four batteries can parallel together for 20kW of continuous power and 40kW at peak. Franklin’s battery offers scalability with the ability to install up to 15 batteries utilizing a single aGate. This modular setup provides whole home backup as well as greater resilience during extended outages.
One Battery for Multiple Voltages
The intelligent Franklin battery has the capacity to toggle between 240V and 208V, adapting to the diverse needs of modern communities — whether you're developing a community with single-family detached homes, a mixed-use project with higher-density multifamily buildings or a combination of the two, Franklin’s battery has the voltage flexibility and energy intelligence to electrify your builds. Reduce supplier strain with an all-in-one battery equipped for the sites of today and tomorrow.
Compliance Made Easy
The Franklin battery has already earned CEC certification to meet California’s Title 24 building code. This approval gives builders a pre-qualified storage solution for multifamily projects in a challenging regulatory environment. Simplified compliance means less hassle — and fewer costs — for your developments.
Reliable & Long-Lasting
With an industry-leading 12-year warranty and 43MWh of expected lifetime throughput, the Franklin battery is in it for the long run. Combined with Sunnova’s 25-year Platinum Protect service plan, homebuilders and their customers can feel confident investing in this system — the peace of mind and energy security are well worth it.
Why the Franklin 208V Battery Beats the Competition
The genius of the Franklin battery lies in its specialization for 208V electrical infrastructure. The advanced software that is programed for 208V applications delivers big advantages compared to retrofitted solar batteries.
When you add up these advantages alongside FranklinWH’s trusted hardware and American support services, it really is the premier solution tailored for modern multifamily housing.
Maximize Savings Through Time-of-Use Optimization
For homebuilders working in areas with high electricity demand charges, the Franklin battery enables time-of-use cost optimization day in and day out.
The system stores abundant lower-cost energy from solar or the grid during off-peak hours. It then discharges stored electricity during the building’s peak usage periods, typically in the early evenings. Homeowners and tenants can avoid getting hammered by exorbitant on-peak rates.
This kind of active power management and demand charge reduction used to require adding a separate energy management gateway. The Franklin battery again simplifies this by embedding these smarts directly within the unit’s operating system.
The savings can add up fast — by shaving just 3 kW from a home’s peak load at 35 cents/kWh, the battery could generate over $750 per year in avoided charges in California utility territories like SCE and PG&E.
Combined with the battery’s outstanding 13.6kWH energy capacity, the system consistently eliminates high peak consumption entirely for most residences. Homeowners and renters won’t waste money powering through expensive evening rate periods.
Your buildings and residents can collectively keep thousands in their pockets annually — that’s a value prop buyers will love.
Keep Residents Comfortable Through Outages
With the grid less reliable than ever before, backup power is no longer optional — it’s a necessity for builders. The Franklin battery brings multifamily homes the energy assurance they need to weather storm season and rolling blackouts in stride.
Thanks to built-in lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry, these units can cycle regularly without much performance degradation — they can maintain 4+ hour runtimes even after thousands of lifetime discharges. With sufficient solar capacity, the batteries can potentially enable indefinite off-grid operation during prolonged emergencies.*
Each Franklin battery also supports loads up to 10kW, enough for one to two central AC units. Four paralleled together can handle a significant portion of a building’s electrical system.
The Franklin battery also boasts an IP67 environmental rating, meaning it’s engineered to withstand exposure to the elements. As one homeowner in hurricane-prone South Florida experienced, Franklin batteries kept the lights on even when partially submerged in flood waters — that’s the kind of resilience people can believe in.
Focus on What You Do Best. Leave the Rest to Sunnova.
Between soaring demand and tightening codes, the time is now to incorporate battery storage into your multifamily communities. Today’s buyers expect their residences to provide energy security and efficiency.
The purpose-built Franklin 208V battery delivers on both counts — with robust backup capability, smart energy management and streamlined installation, this system unlocks the full benefits of storage for multifamily residences.
Providing best-in-class energy hardware is just the beginning. Working together with FranklinWH, Sunnova brings complete solutions for seamlessly incorporating battery storage, solar panels and more into your next multifamily project.
All our solutions include 25 years of Sunnova Protect® Platinum, which includes battery repair or replacement. The average lifetime of the Franklin battery is around 15 years, so this coverage has the potential to be a critical value-add for your prospects.
We strive to make integrating superb renewable technology into your properties as turnkey as possible. Services include everything from 3D proposal modeling and logistics and warehousing to annual maintenance, monitoring and repairs.
You focus on building quality developments while Sunnova handles energy innovation.
Our experts are ready to explore the options for your communities.