ABB is investing in Lumin, a Charlottesville, VA-based provider of responsive energy management solutions, to bring new smart and sustainable technologies to homes in North America.
Lumin’s platform enables electrification upgrades without changing the home’s existing electrical panel. It provides insights into behind-the-meter consumption data and shifts loads to support the energy transition for communities. According to information at www.luminsmart.com, “The Lumin platform is an addition to a standard electrical panel and makes ordinary circuits smart and responsive. Lumin helps homeowners automatically or manually control their home’s microgrid to enhance and protect their investment in energy storage, participate in demand-response programs, or manage their energy in real-time to avoid costly service upgrades when adding electric vehicle chargers or switching to electric appliances.”
In the United States, the residential sector alone accounts for about 21% of the country’s total annual energy consumption, a number set to surge with the ongoing shift toward electrification and decarbonization. ABB said in the press release that intelligent load management is vital for meeting the surging energy demand to increase sustainability, efficiency and lower emissions.
The investment by ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings Division in Lumin enables them to develop a joint offering to accelerate and optimize accessible home energy management. Lumin offers homeowner and installer hardware and software solutions that complement ABB’s residential portfolio. The company has been working with solar and energy storage installers, home builders and electric utilities, as well as electrical contractors, according to its website.
ABB said in the release that its collaboration with Lumin will bring new innovations to the North American residential energy sector that support the safe, smart, and sustainable electrification of both new and existing homes. A first joint offering is expected to come to market in early 2024.
“Our focus is on meeting the growing demand for integrated, easy to use, flexible products and solutions to help customers effectively manage their energy usage and lower energy costs as fast as possible,” said Mike Mustapha, president of ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings Division, in the press release. “This latest collaboration is a testament not just to our commitment to the North American residential sector, but to strengthening customer value through partnerships globally. The data gathered through this partnership will hone future product innovation as customer needs evolve.”
The investment helps expand ABB’s ecosystem of innovation partners developing solutions that support decarbonization and energy efficiency. Since 2009 ABB has made investments of around $400 million from its venture capital arm that are aligned with its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio.