Case study: Puerto Rican apartment complex relies on battery power

Puerto Rico’s unreliable grid and hurricane-related blackouts have driven demand for solar and battery storage, prompting long-time installer Ricardo Fonseca to expand his services. His company, Ingenious Solution Services, began with industrial validation work and later added solar, plumbing, and refrigeration services, especially after Hurricane Maria in 2017. The shift reflected growing customer need for energy resilience as the island’s electrical system struggled to recover.

For a two-unit apartment building in Bayamón, Fonseca installed three separate solar-plus-battery systems using Briggs & Stratton SimpliPHI 6.6 batteries. Two systems power each apartment, while a third supports the building’s electric gates, parking lighting, and common areas. The design avoids generators and allows independent operation of each system, addressing space constraints on the fully occupied lot.

Each apartment’s system includes eighteen 550-W solar panels paired with 19.8 kWh of Briggs & Stratton batteries, supporting appliances like air conditioners, heaters, and stoves. After five months of self-consumption while awaiting grid approval from Luma Energy, the systems have maintained uninterrupted power, with batteries charging in 75 to 150 minutes depending on sunlight.

Fonseca, who has worked with Briggs & Stratton for over eight years, highlights the batteries’ reliability, compact size, and fast charging. He notes customers using multiple air conditioners at night no longer rely on backup generators, and he plans to expand installations across Puerto Rico from Mayagüez to Fajardo and central municipalities.