Excerpts from a Hawaii Business Magazine article from October 4, 2018:



Another Excelerator-supported company, Shifted Energy, saw that the state’s renewable energy movement is excluding renters and low-income residents who cannot afford solar panels, batteries or electric vehicles.



The local company’s solution: using software and controllers to turn electric water heaters into batteries that can interact with the grid and help residents save money on their electricity bills. CEO Forest Frizzell says electric water heaters tend to be the primary or second-largest users of energy in a home, and 40 percent of Hawaii homes have them.



Shifted Energy tested its solution in 2015 when it partnered with Hawaiian Electric to install 499 grid-interactive water heaters at Kapolei Lofts, providing the utility with 2.5 megawatt hours of daily storage capacity and a tool to help stabilize the grid, whether it’s to integrate additional renewable energy or because a generator goes down.



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