Questions, answered like a datasheet.

A BESS stores electrical energy in battery cells and releases it when it is worth more, such as during grid peaks, outages or high-tariff windows. A complete system combines cells, a battery management system (BMS), power conversion (PCS) and energy management software (EMS).

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP), chosen for thermal stability, long cycle life and a wide safe operating window. Energy density is secondary to safety in stationary and jobsite industrial duty. The larger stationary blocks (Core 250, Core 2000 and Vault 5000) use semi-solid LFP cells as standard, for added thermal safety and longer cycle life.

Round-trip efficiency (RTE) is the share of stored energy you get back after charging and discharging. PKE systems deliver 88% DC–AC RTE, and every savings model is computed on that honest number rather than on one-way conversion efficiency.

kVA (power) is how hard the system can push at any instant; kWh (energy) is how long it can sustain it. PKE sizes the two separately from your metered peaks and their durations, which prevents systems that are over-powered but under-stored, or the reverse.

By a five-step method: ingest 12 months of utility settlement and interval data, build a Customer Energy Matrix of net demand by date and slot, size power and energy separately, simulate dispatch against your actual ToD tariff, and prove payback and IRR. Hardware is selected last.

Twelve months of utility settlement data, interval load data at 15-minute resolution or better, your ToD tariff schedule, contract demand details and a single-line diagram. The full checklist, including application-specific additions, is on the Data Requirements page.

Indicatively 1.5 to 3 years for Power-series hybridization of diesel generation, on a conservative estimate. Actual payback depends on diesel price, run hours and load shape, which is why every quote follows a dispatch study rather than a rule of thumb.

Charging when tariff slots are cheap, typically at night, and discharging during expensive evening peaks. Net value per kWh equals the peak rate minus the off-peak rate divided by 0.88 RTE. The Technology page includes a live calculator.

Yes. Discharging during your monthly peaks reduces the maximum demand the utility bills, which lowers the demand-charge component directly. Peak shaving and ToD arbitrage usually stack in the same system.

Three families: Block 15 (compact BESS, parallel up to 6 units), Power 250/300/500 (containerized, discharging at up to 1.6C on Power 250 and 1C on Power 300/500 — Power 500's lower 0.5C rating is its charge rate, not discharge — hybrid, off-grid and AC-coupled modes, parallel up to 8) and Spike 135/270 (compact peak-power units delivering up to 462 A from a small feed).

Spike 135 covers roughly 4–8 T crane classes (231 A max output); Spike 270 extends to about 50 T (462 A max). Above that, two to three Power 250 units in parallel serve 320–500 A peaks. See the Spike page's crane pairing table for exact class boundaries. Spike units cannot be paralleled; Power units can.

Core Mini 70/90/120 all-in-one hybrid cabinets (72.3–120.5 kWh, IP55), Core 250 in Storage and Hybrid builds, Core 2000 containerized blocks at 2 MWh class with liquid cooling, and Vault 5000 utility-scale blocks at 5 MWh class.

Yes, and it is designed for exactly that, with four independent MPPTs and eight PV strings for multi-orientation rooftops, up to 75 kW PV input, and on/off-grid switchover in 20 milliseconds or less.

A 5-year product warranty and a 10-year battery performance warranty on the Core Mini class, with equivalent terms per controlled datasheet across the platform.

PKE engineers safety in five layers: stable LFP chemistry, BMS isolation at the smallest fault boundary, aerosol suppression with smoke and temperature detection, IP54–IP55/C4 enclosures rated by product, and N+1 redundancy for critical loads. Each layer assumes the one below can fail.

The BMS isolates the affected group and derates around it; suppression and venting are designed so a cell event stays contained. The system continues operating on remaining capacity while service replaces the module, because the module rather than the system is the replaceable unit.

Cabinet-class systems use closed-loop HVAC holding cells across −30 °C to 50 °C. Container-class systems such as the Core 2000 and Vault 5000 use liquid cooling, which holds tighter cell-to-cell temperature spread at megawatt scale and directly slows degradation.

IEC 62109 and IEC 62477, EN 50549, VDE 4105 and 4110, AS4777 and G99/G100, with fire systems combining aerosol suppression and smoke/temperature detection.

Hybrid systems transfer to off-grid mode in 20 milliseconds or less, fast enough for most loads to ride through, with 150% overload capability for 10 seconds to absorb inrush.

You do, through PKE EMS. Charge windows, discharge priorities, demand ceilings and reserve floors are yours to set; EMS runs that plan every cycle, integrates with SCADA over Modbus TCP and API, and logs every control action with role-based access.

State of charge, pack voltage, cell temperature spread and health, and current dispatch mode, updated live on a dashboard you can open from a browser or the app.

Yes. Protection executes on module and rack controllers at the edge, and dispatch runs on the site EMS. Cloud dashboards are optional; the system is whole without them.

No. PKE is a complete solution provider. An EPC integrates and hands over; PKE runs the sizing study, engineers the system, builds it, operates the dispatch software and stays accountable for the study’s numbers through operations and augmentation.

Yes, by design: module-level augmentation plus parallel headroom (Power to 8 units, Block to 6, Core Mini to 10 on-grid and 4 off-grid) so capacity grows with load instead of being replaced by it.

Run the Solution Finder for an indicative fit, or send the core dataset from the Data Requirements page to start a sizing study directly. The study comes back with dispatch simulation, payback and a recommended configuration.