KB Home introduces state's first all-electric microgrid

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Local, state and federal officials gathered in Menifee on Monday to introduce the state’s first all-electric, solar- and battery-powered microgrid communities, located at KB Home’s Oak Shade and Durango communities within the Shadow Mountain master plan.

Homes in these communities, located north of Boulder Ridge Elementary School, are equipped with smart technologies and a backup battery, plus microgrid connectivity. They are designed to provide the highest energy efficiency and to keep the power on when electricity would normally be shut down.

The microgrid connectivity system has the capability to disconnect from the traditional grid and operate independently. The community battery powering the microgrid allows homes to have full power for days during a traditional power outage.

KB Home has partnered with several companies, including SunPower, which is installing the latest solar technologies in each home. The SunVault battery charges a storage system that generates power during nighttime hours when costs from the grid are highest.

Each home also is equipped with a Schneider Electric smart panel, which combines solar, electric vehicle charging and battery energy to offer a single, code-compliant panel.

Other partners include the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Power and Energy at UC Irvine, Southern California Edison, and Kia.

“We in DOE have spent the last 40 years working on individual clean-energy technology, to get them to be cost effective,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “We’ve done as great job. But we’re now at the point where the hardest part is understanding how all these technologies work.

“Seeing the level of trust between a number of partners who maybe 20 years ago didn’t have a reason to be working with us … it’s that kind of coming together that proposed such a project. That’s what we need to realize the full promise of the technology we have in front of us.

This technology will provide some of the lowest cost of electricity on the planet and provide some of the most resilient homes and buildings.”

For information about this KB Home community, call Darius Perez at 619-549-1857 or email dyperez@kbhome.com