Everything used to be so much easier - the post office provided our telephones, and our electricity came out of a wire in the wall. This might sound extremely oversimplified, but many consumers really do feel this way. And they are not entirely mistaken. If things weren't already complicated enough, they became even more so when we started generating power on our roofs and storing the output in the basement. But now EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG has found a way back to good old-fashioned simplicity. At HANNOVER MESSE 2018, the company is showcasing energybase - an end-to-end solution for smartly networking photovoltaic systems with major consumers and domestic battery storage.

energybase sets up a kind of communications center at the customer's home. It links the individual components together and optimizes energy flows to ensure as much home-generated electricity as possible - EnBW predicts up to 80 percent - can be used on the spot. "Another key feature is that energybase can be extended in all sorts of ways, to tie in with heating solutions and e-mobility, for example," says Project Manager Dominik Gluba. And it’s not just EnBW's customers who stand to benefit. Municipal utility providers and manufacturers who integrate energybase into their portfolio as a white-label product will not only stand out from their competitors but also deliver genuine added value to their end consumers, meeting their desire for sustainable energy solutions. Besides the control box itself, the company's customers can also tailor the web portal and a smartphone app to suit their requirements and wishes. "We offer a wide range of options," says Gluba, "from simply integrating our logo right through to developing highly customized special features."