Canadian firm Koben Systems is working with California-based Instant On Energy to combine smart grid requirements with the consumers’ desire for full visibility and control of energy and gas.

The partnership combines Koben’s Genius energy hub smart panel with Instant On’s IO-Hub platform.

With technology playing an increasingly critical role in every aspect of business and personal lives, companies recognise they need to accelerate the development of microgrids to ensure they remain on the resilient and sustainable vanguard. The Koben and Instant On partnership brings together skills in business and technology strategy, product ideation, and technology development and deployment to help support the transformation of an aged energy grid.

“The Koben-Instant On partnership is a powerful combination,” said Vic Burconak, Koben’s CEO. “Koben understands complex digital product interactions, its deep engineering expertise and agile, collaborative approach are uniquely complimentary to how the Instant On team works. We believe this generates industry leading technology products and platforms for a broader audience.”

Genius is an energy hub smart panel that brings together smart meter, intelligent circuit panel and essential loads panel in one.

“In working with Instant On to develop IO-Hub to do what the Genius panel does with the added feature of monitoring and controlling gas or hydrogen, we know this is the only advanced microgrid controller available today for the residential home of its kind,” said Burconak.

As an indication of commitment, Instant On is looking to ensure the integration of five million nanogrids by 2025 to protect families and communities. It already has contracts to build more than a million nanogrids for US veterans and is looking for more companies to join its mission. Koben is making this same kind of commitment to protect families and communities in Canada.

“Partnering with Koben to create the IO-Hub brings a level of confidence to address the big issue of interoperability, to ensure that solar, batteries, EV chargers and fuel cells can work seamlessly together in a nanogrid or microgrid to protect the home from blackouts,” said AJ Perkins, Instant On president. “We take our advanced solar microgrids and add the ability to integrate natural gas fuel cells or hydrogen fuel cells and have those all work off of the same microgrid controller creating a holistic environment through our IO-Hub. That’s how to take resiliency, redundancy and reliability to the next level of nanogrids.”

Koben is focused on the residential and commercial industry through the development and distribution of efficiency and sustainability products. Its aim is to help lead and accelerate the transformation to high-performing healthy green buildings and homes leading to a sustainable future.

Instant On provides a one-stop shop for solar contractors and consumers for residential, commercial and industrial needs. Through a partnership with Schneider Electric GreenStruxure, it offers modular, standardised renewable energy microgrids under the EaaS model to commercial users.