Circuit breakers are everywhere, providing critically important electrical safety in buildings, vehicles and electrical devices of all kinds. However, this mechanical technology has remained mostly unchanged for a century.
Atom Power believes that this lack of innovation is hindering the clean-energy transition, and that digitizing power systems to enable smart communication between electrical sources and end-use equipment is essential. The company commercialized a UL-listed solid-state digital circuit breaker in 2019. Now it is expanding into two new markets: EV charging and residential energy automation.
Atom Power’s suite of smart electrical products includes a digital circuit breaker, a customizable distribution panel and a personalized software solution that enables control and customization of electrical infrastructure both for buildings and EV applications.
According to Atom Power, EVs can be charged directly from their circuit breakers, enabling digital control with flexible installation solutions while also delivering power and capacity optimization to the building owner and the grid.
Atom says its digital circuit breaker technology can deliver cost savings of up to 50 percent to EV fleet operators by centralizing power management and reducing equipment and maintenance costs.
Atom Power is ready to deploy its EV charging solution in the third quarter of 2021. This solution is designed to reduce the risk of costly damage to charging pedestals. The technology that charges the vehicle resides in the electrical panel and digital circuit breaker, and the charging pedestal does not contain high-tech electronics—it is simply a metal tube with a charge plug and cable.
The residential circuit breakers, which will allow for connectivity, monitoring, controllability and digital access to a home’s power, will be available in fall 2022. Atom says its residential circuit breakers can be installed in all new residential properties, and in 80 percent of existing home electrical panels in North America.
Both solutions eliminate the need to purchase additional meters, controls, communications and software, as Atom embeds all of these features within its circuit breakers.
Atom’s digital circuit breakers are controlled and monitored on a smartphone or computer—users can virtually see the electrical panel and each circuit breaker on their screens, allowing them to remotely turn devices on and off, and even change the physical characters of a circuit breaker with software. For example, a user can change a 100-amp circuit breaker to 90, 70, 60 or 15 amps using the app.
“As more distributed energy resources like solar and battery storage devices power the grid, and more people and businesses adopt electric vehicles, there is a growing and critical need to better manage power at the edge of the grid, particularly in our homes,” said Ryan Kennedy, CEO and co-founder of Atom Power. “Our fully digital circuit breaker can seamlessly manage the variability that comes with renewable resources and increased EV charging without disrupting our quality of life.”
Source: Atom Power
Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine
