SolarEdge says its new ‘Lego-like’ home battery installs in under 30 minutes

SolarEdge has opened orders in the US for Nexis, a new home solar and battery storage system built to be much faster to install than typical setups. Instead of one heavy battery unit, Nexis uses small, lightweight modules that click together without extra wiring, similar to building with Legos. SolarEdge says a system can go in under 30 minutes, and it takes up to 40% less wall space than comparable setups.

Storage capacity ranges from 5 kilowatt-hours (a basic backup unit) up to 80 kilowatt-hours for a larger whole-home system, so the size can be matched to how much backup power a household wants. The inverter, the part that converts solar or battery power into power your home can use, puts out up to 13 kilowatts while connected to the grid and 14.5 kilowatts during an outage. It's also strong enough to start large air conditioning or heating systems on battery power alone, which has been a common limitation for home backup systems. The equipment is made in the US, which can matter for projects that need to meet domestic-content rules for certain incentives.

The system already launched in Germany, where SolarEdge said it saw strong demand. For homeowners considering solar-plus-battery storage, the appeal of Nexis is less complicated, less time-consuming installation, which could mean lower labor costs and more flexibility in where a battery gets mounted in the home. As with any new product, availability and installer familiarity will vary by area.