This startup is revolutionizing home backup power with an automatic, effortless system: 'We're the Goldilocks'

What if you could power your most important appliances during a power outage — without shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for a whole-home generator?

BioLite, a clean energy startup, is making that possible with an automatic battery system for the specific areas in your home that you want to protect when the power goes out. And you can install it yourself in less than half an hour, the company says. 

"If you can install a flat-screen TV, you can install this, no problem," said Erica Rosen, BioLite's VP of marketing.

The Cool Down caught up with the BioLite team to get the full scoop on how users can keep their appliances running during an outage — and save money and headaches in the process.

🔋 How the backup battery works

Backup by BioLite consists of a Core unit and an Extend unit, which together provide 3 kilowatt-hours of backup power. According to Rosen, that's enough to run a "fridge and some other small devices that are connected for around 30 to 60 hours."

The batteries look like long, slim laptops (less than 3 inches thick), so you can hide them behind cabinets or appliances. The setup is "designed to live in forgotten spaces," Rosen told us.

All you need to do is plug the battery into a standard wall outlet and then plug your critical devices into the backup. When the grid is up and running, the power bypasses the backup battery — and if it goes out, the battery automatically kicks in.

You can connect refrigerators, microwaves, CPAP machines, computers, WiFi routers, and other household appliances crucial for your lifestyle.

💸 Total costs and savings

BioLite's main backup system costs $3,000 and qualifies for a 30% federal tax credit — bringing the total price to around $2,100.

The setup is more convenient than a portable battery generator, and it costs less than buying an entire home battery or whole-home generator. 

Do you have a backup power source in your home? Yes — a portable generator 👍 Yes — a full-on generator 🔋 I use solar panels ☀️ No — I don't 😬 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"We're the Goldilocks — we're just right," Rosen said. "Portable power can be really helpful, but oftentimes it's big, it's heavy, it's on wheels and you have to … pull it out, you have to make sure that it's recharged, and then when it's sitting out it's like having another coffee table in your room."

On the other side of things, a whole-home backup is great, but it's often prohibitively expensive for many families. "If you can afford it, that might be an amazing solution for you — but for many people, they can't afford that $30,000 price tag or they're a renter and they don't even have the ability to do that in the first place," Rosen said. 

"So [BioLite's backup] becomes a really interesting and accessible step into grid resilience without breaking the bank," she added.

☀️ Solar and other expansion opportunities

"The No. 1 thing people worry about when the power goes out is their kitchen, namely their fridge. You've got expensive groceries, you might have breast milk, you might have insulin, medicated dog food, things like that," Rosen told us.

"It's this really emotional space, and so this is a very easy way for you to start to protect your rooms without expensive home renovation."

But Rosen told us that "for people who might be looking for more power at a single site, you can actually chain up to seven units for a total of 10.5 kilowatt-hours."

You can also sync the backup battery with existing solar panels to maximize clean energy solutions for your home.

And beyond energy solutions that plug into a standard wall outlet, Rosen mentioned BioLite is "working further down the line on larger things like 240-volt solutions, [which] will be for larger power-hungry supplies."

📍 Where did BioLite get its start?

Backup is a new product, but BioLite has actually been around for 10 years. 

"We've delivered home charging and clean energy solutions to over 15 million individuals across sub-Saharan Africa," Rosen said. "That's where we saw the need for independent, accessible energy that an end user can install themself."

When the team looked back at the U.S. market, "we saw the grid is getting less and less reliable." So they took their insights from building home energy solutions internationally and turned them into "solutions that can be used here at home," Rosen said.

📅 When will the batteries be available?

You can preorder the BioLite backup batteries now — and setups will start shipping in fall 2025.

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