Outage Watch - Application Note

Outage Watch - Preparing Systems for Potential Outages

Summary

Providing backup power during grid outages is a key use case for residential battery storage. That’s why Lunar customers are able to configure a backup reserve that their system will maintain in order to provide resilience in the case of outages.

Lunar has improved the outage protection provided by Lunar Systems with the release of a new feature, Outage Watch. Outage Watch is an automated mechanism that prepares the system for potential outages by monitoring a set of external factors, such as severe weather alerts, that put the customer's site at risk of an outage.

When a customer has Outage Watch turned on, the system will monitor for severe weather alerts and other triggers in the region. Please note that the Outage Watch setting is turned on by default when a system receives Permission to Operate (PTO). When there is an alert for a given location, systems with Outage Watch turned on will automatically move into Outage Prep mode. This mode charges the system from the grid and holds the battery at full charge for the duration of the alert. When the alert ends, systems are returned to their previous operating mode.

This Applications Note describes the Outage Watch feature available for the Lunar System.

Turning Outage Watch on/off

The Outage Watch feature can be turned on/off by end customers, via the Lunar app, and users of Gridshare. Some customers will not be able to change this setting in the Lunar app if changing device settings has been disabled by their installer.

! Note: Outage Watch is turned on by default when a system receives PTO

Turn Outage Watch on/off in the Lunar App

Users can manage the feature at the bottom of the battery settings page:

1. Scroll up on the home page
2. Tap on the battery card (the card displaying the current battery mode).
3. Scroll to the bottom of the battery settings page
4. Use the button to turn Outage Watch on/off

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Turn Outage Watch on/off in Gridshare

To enable the Outage Watch setting for a Lunar System:

1. Go to the site by searching the Site Id or Site Reference in the search bar
2. Click Devices, then click Lunar Inverter

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3. Click Control Settings

4. Toggle Outage Watch to enable the setting

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5. Click Submit changes to enable Outage Watch

! Note: This turns on the Outage Watch setting, which monitors for severe weather alerts and automatically responds. Turning on the Outage Watch setting will not initiate a grid charge (see below for how to do this).

Manually Set a System to Charge from Grid

Installers also have the ability to force a battery to charge from the grid manually, by changing the device mode to Outage Prep in Gridshare. This enables installers to support customers when there is an increased risk of outages outside of the triggers monitored by the automated system e.g. localized utility outages due to maintenance work.

1. Select Outage Prep from the Customer Mode dropdown in the inverter Control Settings page

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2. Click Submit changes to move the system into Outage Prep mode

! Note: Devices that have been manually set into Outage Prep will require installers to manually return the system to their previous operation mode.

Understanding when Outage Prep Mode has been Triggered

When a system moves into Outage Prep mode, the Lunar app home screen and battery settings will update.

A user will be able to see:

● When the battery is predicted to reach 100% charge.

● Whether the mode was triggered automatically by an alert, or by their installer.

● For alert-triggered events, which mode the system will return to once the alert passes.

Previous Outage Prep events triggered by severe weather are visible on the power overview chart. Users can tap the chart’s key to see the specific timestamps and duration of the event.

Pausing Events Triggered by Outage Watch

When a system is in Outage Prep mode triggered by severe weather, a customer is able to pause this for 24 hours.

1. Go to battery settings
2. Tap “Pause for 24h”
3. The system will revert to its previous mode and the Outage Watch feature will display when the pause is due to end.

FAQs

Which weather alerts will trigger Outage Watch?

Outage Watch will trigger when the following weather conditions are declared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) for a given area:

● Hurricane warning

● Hurricane watch

● Tropical storm warning

● Tropical storm watch

● Red flag warning

● Thunderstorm warning

● Severe thunderstorm warning

● Tornado warning

● Winter storm warning

● Blizzard warning

● High wind warning

● Ice storm warning

● Snow squall warning

● Wind chill warning

● Flash flood warning

● Flood warning

● Coastal flood warning

● Lakeshore flood warning

Can customers opt out of individual Outage Watch events?

Yes, customers can opt out of Outage Watch events from within the Lunar App. Once a customer opts out their system will be returned to their regular operation mode, and Outage Watch will not trigger their system to charge for 24 hours.

Can installers force the battery to grid charge remotely where required?

Installers can move a system into Outage Prep mode in Gridshare to manually force a grid charge.

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