Lumin Edge Pre-Releases Grid Services Platform for Utilities

Lumin, the developer of responsive energy management solutions, has introduced its newest residential load control platform, Lumin Edge. This product, currently in “pre-release,” merges Lumin’s intelligent load management software with a modular design, providing more functionality, flexibility, and value.

The Lumin Edge pre-release program focuses on grid services such as high-resolution, behind-the-meter analytics, and advanced demand-side management tools.

At the end of March, Lumin will ship units to co-op and investor-owned utilities across the U.S. and Canada, including California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, and British Columbia. Several global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners will also receive shipments. The company plans to release Lumin Edge to the broader public in the second half of 2024. 

As cities and states enact policies to transition homes away from fossil-fueled appliances and towards electrification, utilities face mounting pressure to maintain grid stability. Lumin Edge’s behind-the-meter analytics and real-time load management capabilities enable grid operators to shape demand with precision while allowing customers to respond to increasingly complex utility rate structures. It addresses the need for a responsive, high-capacity demand-side management resource, providing a flexible, cost-effective solution to support grid stability. 

A modular design allows each Lumin Edge Controller to be placed anywhere along the wire from the service panel to the targeted appliance, offering unmatched installation flexibility. The Edge Controllers communicate wirelessly with the Edge Hub through a secure mesh network, creating a quick and seamless installation process that can take an electrician less than 12 minutes per load and 10 minutes for commissioning. By managing the homeowners’ largest and most important loads, Lumin Edge delivers the ultimate combination of convenience, performance, and affordability.

Lumin Edge provides utilities with a dependable, high-capacity demand-side management resource, offering control and visibility over household loads. With instant, circuit-level responsiveness and high-resolution insights across the Lumin fleet, utilities can operate enhanced demand response programs and grid-stabilizing virtual power plants (VPPs). Through enhanced customer engagement, Edge enables increased demand response event frequency and duration while employing push notifications and participation opt-outs. Utilities can then manage the Lumin fleet through Lumin’s software platform or integrate them directly into their distributed energy resource management system (DERMS), resulting in substantial cost savings in distribution infrastructure without compromising energy sales. 

“Lumin Edge marks a significant leap forward in our mission to equip utilities with transformative solutions for smarter energy management,” said Kelly Warner, Lumin CEO. “With its unmatched capabilities, modular, retrofit-ready setup, and seamless integration into utility programs at a fraction of the cost, Lumin Edge will be the most valuable demand-side management resource available to utilities and will redefine how grid operators tackle load management in the age of electrification.”

Later this year, Lumin Edge’s platform will enable homeowners to affordably integrate electric vehicle (EV) charging and electrical appliances while avoiding a utility service upgrade — an arduous and costly barrier to home electrification that most single-family homes with sub-200-amp service will require. The avoided service upgrades will also save utilities from investing significant resources in distribution infrastructure. Lumin Edge is poised to deliver affordable electrification for homeowners while providing crucial demand-side management solutions for utilities navigating the energy transition.

The announcement follows the recent strategic investment by ABB and a major collaboration with Sunnova, underscoring Lumin’s pivotal role in accelerating the energy transition through advanced load management solutions. These partnerships illustrate the industry’s acknowledgment of Lumin’s market-advancing technology and its transformative potential to enable all homeowners to participate in a clean energy future.