HN user
Yep! Pila qualifies for the 30% Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) under the Residential Clean Energy Credit if your Pila system exceeds a total of 3 kWh capacity through either:
Two or more Pila batteries (1.6 + 1.6 = 3.2 kWh)
One Pila battery plus a Pila Expansion Pack (1.6 + 1.6 = 3.2 kWh)
Energy arbitrage value depends a lot on your utility, agreed. For most home battery systems it's a 5-7 year payback, even with solar. In my experience most folks investing in these systems are also putting a lot of value on the backup power, and from the data/insights. The average fridge in the US has $300-500 of groceries inside, and some insurance providers offer as much as $600 per outage to pay for spoiled food. So for folks contending with frequent outages, we're excited to offer more peace of mind value while delivering some additional smart energy management value on top
For folks that are looking for true whole-home backup, with every load protected, investing in something like a Powerwall would be the way to go. I don't see Pila trying to compete with whole-home systems. We were inspired to build Pila because many folks I've spoken with over the years are most concerned just about backing up a few key loads (fridge, wifi, charging phones, some lights). For them a $10-30k whole home system is a lot of extra spend, and if they rent those systems may be off the table to begin with.
Good clarification! Smarter backup batteries like Pila or Powerwall can be configured to dynamically charge and discharge, giving the benefit of outage protection and energy management. For example, charge up from the solar power you produce at home, and use that stored solar power to offset energy usage at night or when utility power is expensive. They they have a "backup reserve" setting which allows you to set a minimum charge to always be stored for an unexpected outage. Smart features like "Storm Mode" can use severe weather alerts to automatically charge up to 100% ahead of an outage to ensure you're prepared for possible outages
On a personal note, I'll also be really stoked when we're shipping to Australia. Lots of friends down there, and have been lucky to work on some past home energy products for the Australian market.
Parts of Pila's power electronics are already 230~240V capable. We've just launched in the US, and are doing our best to stay focused on excellent support for our home market before expanding. That said, I could see 2026 being the right time for expansion... stay tuned mate!
I'd love to see the price continue to come down, so more and more folks can get these products. Compared to the expensive install of a large battery systems, I'd call it a step in the right direction but I agree we need to make these even more accessible. Features like energy management and demand response can improve the economics in some markets, but low upfront cost is the ultimate goal. Most of my family in Louisiana are similarly not considering smarter backup systems seriously because of the cost and either "do nothing" in outages, rely on neighbors' generators, or have unreliable pull-start generators in their garage.
Yes, yes, and yes on offline performance! We're on it!
Appreciate the question! The coordination is similar to what a whole-home battery might be doing for you, depending on how you configure it: Timing charging to follow real-time solar production, energy arbitrage to shift home usage to times of day when electricity is cheaper (e.g. TOU rates, big in my neck of the woods in California), "storm mode" to charge up automatically when severe weather alerts are issued, and eventually things like Demand Response for grid services which you can get paid from if you opt into. Beyond the battery control stuff, locally sharing energy data across the batteries across your home can help build a model of energy usage to help make sense of your usage, look out for anomalies in your home wiring, and more -- And doing this with a local connection just means it can be a more reliable, more resilient system, even providing this sort of value when internet drops out
Yep, and to clarify Pila includes an MID onboard so while Intentionally Islanded there is no backfeed. But in terms of a whole-home disconnect, I believe we'll see more generic options appear that are somewhat DER-agnostic.
The off-grid detection is based on a combination of voltage and frequency measurement over different time windows, so I'm sorry that I won't be able to give you an exact answer on your situation. I've lived in apartments with bad high impedance neutral connections and it did all kinds of weird things to the loads... Hopefully something your apartment complex can look into!
Thanks for bringing more details to the thread - We've just launched, and for folks who like what they see and want to be first to get Pila the (refundable, cancel anytime) $99 deposit will lock in $999. Once we start shipping and fulfilling through other distribution channels, price will increase to $1299
Also, spot on that the average home draws about 30kWh, and with an EV driven average daily ranges that'll jump to about 60kWh.
This audience is definitely more up on tech - I've been surprised how often folks I talk to have never heard of UPS's!
We know we're not the first people to think of automatic plug in backup :) Aspirationally, we aim to do to the UPS what the Powerwall did to the lead acid battery bank -- Bring it into the 21st century, level up to better technology, add software intelligence so it's not sitting idle 99% of the time, and improve the design and usability to make it a more exciting and valuable product for more homes
Yes re: Home Assistant. We're stoked to have folks integrate with their own energy dashboards if that's what they prefer to do.
To give more functionality around energy management, we wanted all of the batteries to be able to work in concert. We could have gone with "any old wireless" network to coordinate the batteries. One thing that's really stuck with me from building products at Span and Tesla is how important reliable connection is over years of operation. Depending on consumer wifi is a huge pain for reliability (changed passwords, inhomogeneous equipment, etc), using cellular is OK but has latency limitations and can be expensive. Existing stacks like Zigbee just had other limitations we wanted to avoid, so we realized borrowing from the world of the mesh wifi systems could offer a lot of what's needed. If we do our job right, the result will be a reliable connection over the years, that also facilitates easy addition of new battery nodes as you go, as your needs evolve.
re: funding, We've not yet made our detailed financing info public, but you can check out crunchbase for some insights on our investors to date!
1. I'm actually hopeful we see a generic MID standard emerge with folks like ConnectDER well positioned to support that, so more homes can benefit and households can gain the ability to flexibly try different batteries without ripping out their panels every time. If not, we could definitely build our own (helped build 2 generations of Tesla's MID as well as 3 generations of SPAN Panels with MID functionality). Happy to nerd out on the topic anytime :)
2. Feedback taken hah
Yep, it can blackstart without AC power from the grid
Internet's not required, and we're aiming to pack as much offline functionality in as possible. This includes an MQTT based local API (WiFi) and ability to directly tether the phone app to the device over WiFi. Certain app features like historical usage and utility data integrations may not be available if the device isn't internet connected though, just to be transparent.
Hey there - First I will concede it's always hard to give an "average" number for something like a fridge, since all fridges consume differently based on usage, ambient temperature, ice makers, overall capacity. But I'd stand behind our numbers - we're not looking to deceive and transparently provide the remaining backup time on the device screen and app. For whatever it's worth, I've gotten familiar with lots of appliance usage data during my time at SPAN, and our average wattage heuristics for appliances are in line with what you'll see from other batteries' materials. Still, always open to hearing ideas for how to help average people put energy usage in context. Would you find a calculator module useful on the website, so you can enter your own usage data if you know it?
Right! Unintentionally back-feeding is a huge safety risk, and I hope that smarter safer solutions will prevail over the all-too-common hacky unsafe approaches. But also, I get it. I’ve wired generators back into panels - safely - in situations where it’s that or no power for days, you start taking matters into your own hands
Yikes! I’ve heard so many similar sounding examples of misuse of generators and sketchy generator setups. Pila has the grid disconnect built in so there’s no risk of un-intended backfeed when islanded
Off-grid capable, yes. In my experience having redundant systems is a great approach for off-gridding. Pila will happily work alongside a whole-home battery system to add extra capacity wherever you need it most.
Often well pumps and sump pumps can be wired for either 230 or 120V, so Pila could be an option with some added effort and a conversation with an electrician. But in any case, looking forward to building the 230/240V version!
No monthly fees -- You buy it, you own it.
Our team's really excited about the local-first approach. Both because it's going to make the system more reliable overall (essential for devices aimed at resilience), and because we're also excited to build integrations and see what the community develops as well. You're right, so few do it even though there's so much to gain. Happy to take any thoughts or requests on local monitoring/control/data features that you'd like to see!
Yep! All hardware is capable, and the Grid Code configuration can be set and updated at any time. So as more states follow suit, Pila's ready
Yeah thanks I appreciate the questions. I'll do my best to answer them, but let me know if I can clarify anything here!
On bidirectionality: Yep this would involve backfeeding an outlet - It's new here in the U.S. but not unprecedented. Plug-in "Balcony Solar" systems have taken Germany by storm in recent years, and Utah just passed the first bill in the US (HB340) to allow plug-in solar panels to export to the grid. Pretty cool to see new these options emerge for renters. There's still work to do to take this to mainstream and get all jurisdictions, utilities, and equipment manufacturers aligned on final standards but I'm optimistic.
On solar: You've got 2 options -- Timed charging with a rooftop system just like how "AC-coupled" batteries like Powerwall work. Or, "DC-coupling" by connecting solar PV panels directly to Pila. If Pila is in your kitchen, running a DC-coupled panel wire may only be practical in a multi-day outage, but for a fridge in the garage it's a relatively easy option.
On differentiation: We're up for the challenge :) - With Powerwall and SPAN (or other home devices like Nest) my take is it's the software and integration value that sets them out ahead. That's where we're really excited to create value and carve our niche. But zooming out, it's a big market, and our goal is to give folks more options to fit their needs, and it's totally going to be the case that simpler portable camping batteries are right for some, and big Powerwall-like batteries are right for others.
Portable camping batteries, generally: More options come out every year, but on the hardware side they're not optimal since most use e-mobility battery chemistries, which are great for delivering high power on demand but wear out fast when cycled daily for home energy use. And since they’re meant to be manually deployed, they’re not always charged and ready when you actually need them—unlike a system that’s always on, managing power in the background without you having to think about it.
Our first product is focused on 120V, but we'll be iterating on a 240V option. Out of curiosity which 240V loads are you most interested to connect?
Some furnaces are still 120 volt (same as an outlet) so depending on how the furnace is connected, Pila could be an option or at least could work with some minimal electrical work. But definitely recommend chatting with a good local electrician to pick the right path
To add more: To backup big 240V appliances that are hard-wired (EV charger, large HVAC, for example) you need to connect the backup system in the same hard-wired way to the electrical panel. For folks who are keen to make the big investment in whole-home backup, it’s a great solution. Our goal is to give folks more onramps to get started with smart battery backup, focusing on no-rewiring solutions. But I’ll say, Pila can be a compliment to whole home backup systems to add a bit more backup capacity where it matters most
$999 for early access! We just launched at SXSW, and will begin shipping later this year. Via our website we’re offering the $999 early access pricing for a refundable $99 deposit today. Once we enter distribution we’re expecting to increase pricing to $1299
Yeah great question. The hardware is capable of bidirectional power, and electrical codes and standards in the U.S. are now catching up with Europe. “Balcony Solar” has taken off there, especially in Germany. Utah just passed H.B. 340 which allows up to 1200W of plug-in solar backfeed. It wasn’t so long ago that grid-tied batteries like Powerwall were working through the same kind of standards updating process to participate on the grid, so I’m encouraged