Combined with PowerReady’s custom battery backup systems, the
VAWTs will continuously recharge by way of solar and wind energy
during an outage, providing emergency backup power. PowerReady
VAWTs can produce up to 50% more electricity annually and generate
power in winds as low as 4mph up to extreme speeds of 120mph.
PowerReady also offers a complete line of battery products and power
supplies, as well as its flagship product, the PowerReady IPS, a silent
portable emergency backup Indoor Power System.

PowerReady
www.powerreadyusa.com

South Florida’s active hurricane season is helping one Boca Raton-based startup sell a new approach to the old problem of losing electricity during a storm – or through power outages in general.

Power Ready International’s Indoor Power System (IPS) is a $9,000 portable unit that doesn’t require gas or a permit, can run on solar power – but also can take charge from electrical outlets – and holds 12,000 watts in its battery.

A full battery could last a few days if it’s running at 3,000 watts, Power Ready GM Bill Dato said. The generator could last an extra two days if a 200-watt solar panel was plugged in and getting full sun.

And, unlike traditional fuel generators, it can be run indoors without worrying about carbon monoxide poisoning, he said.

The key is the IPS’s proprietary battery that is rated to last 1,500 cycles. (A full cycle is when the battery is completely drained and recharged, Dato explained.) Plus, the unit has a full warranty up to five years, and a partial warranty up to 10 years, he said.

“You don’t have to wait until the wind stops blowing to go out and fuel up the system,” Dato said.

The IPS can stay juiced on a conventional power outlet, a solar panel or windmill, but it basically acts like a giant battery, ready immediately after a home’s regular power gives out. In this respect, it’s like a laptop computer battery.

Power Ready opened in January, said Jill Serubol, who co-owns the company with a pair of investors who aren’t involved in regular operations. Serubol said she started it along with Dato after they worked for a traditional gas generator dealer.

“We built a prototype and started playing around with it,” she added.

Both Serubol and Dato declined to disclose how much startup capital went into the company.

Power Ready is currently setting up a series of distributorships, but is also considering larger retail opportunities, Dato said.

Serubol said Power Ready hopes to sell 500 units this year.

That would put it ahead of schedule for achieving profitability, Dato added.

“Our first-year projections are approximately $2 million,” he said.

In that last 60 days, Dato said, Power Ready has shipped over 24 demonstration models to dealers.

But, success may depend on the unit’s price.

Ed Huss, GM at Beach Ace Hardware in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, said a conventional 3,000-watt gas generator sells for about $700, on average.

That’s a major cost differential with the $9,000 Power Ready system, but Huss added that the IPS’s solar compatibility could make it very attractive for people living in condos and apartments.

“I don’t know one apartment building or condo in our area, up and down the beach, that allows a generator.”

Huss also said the IPS technology is “not very common at all,” although he noted the unit’s price could be a turnoff for many.

Still, Dato said the IPS could help reduce electric bills since it can be used continuously with renewable energy sources.

In recent weeks, South Florida has been the target, at least for awhile, of three tropical systems.

We are in peak hurricane season. And with this increase in tropical activity comes an increasing risk of extended power outages and the accompanying headaches.

For those weary of noisy, gas-guzzling generators and the potential danger of being without electrical power for extended periods, a Boca Raton company claims to have a solution.

An indoor power system that requires no gas, no permit and no maintenance has been developed by a company called PowerReady International, which has been selling its battery-powered generator since March.

General manager Bill Dato said demand for the system has been high as South Floridians seek alternatives for hurricane season.

“There are so many problems with traditional generators, these units fit much better with the whole green movement,” Dato said.

He said the units provide 12,000 watts of power, and demonstrated with a unit in the office that is used to power a microwave, refrigerator, lights, a television and computer.

“Obviously it is great for the home, but we have high demand from the medical community as well,” Dato said. “The system provides continuous power in the event of any kind of outage, which needless to say is fairly important.”

Maria Arias of Boca Raton has been an indoor power system owner since March. She said the system gave her peace of mind as Tropical Storm Fay approached.

“It was very comforting to know I had an easy-to-use backup power system. I am not mechanically inclined, and this system is so easy to use,” she said.

Arias said she never owned a generator but stayed with friends during power outages and disliked the disruption and the feeling she was a burden.

“Between the fumes emitted, the gas it took to run [a generator] and the difficulty in setting them up, I just didn’t care for them,” she said.

Dato said the price of the system is $9,000. There also is a financial incentive to buy one: businesses get federal tax breaks up to 30 percent of the unit’s cost and individuals can receive a $2,000 tax credit.

PowerReady System Can Provide Days Of Power

BOCA RATON, FL: A Boca Raton company believes it has a green alternative to noisy, smelly generators.

WPBF News 25’s Brian Albert reported that PowerReady sells a generator that runs on an environmentally friendly battery and keeps a sizable charge.

“A normal stand-by generator is not only bad for the environment, it’s expensive,” said Bill Dato, general manager of PowerReady.

The PowerReady Indoor Power System costs $9,000 and there’s no additional cost for fuel. The PowerReady can keep your home lit for days after a major storm.

“This will provide three to four days of power in any type of emergency,” Dato said.

The emission-free PowerReady runs on a battery that provides 12,000 watts of power that can be continually topped off by plugging it into the wall. The system activates automatically when power is lost.

“The power transfers so quickly you will never see any interruption,” Dato said.

The portable system will keep refrigerators, lights, air conditioning units and TVs running at the same time. Albert said the system is quiet, unlike fuel-burning generators, making the PowerReady ideal for both offices and homes.

Business and individual buyers can get a federal tax credit for buying the PowerReady that’s 30 percent of the cost for businesses and up to $2,000 for individuals.

*As seen on ABC, WPBF-TV 25.

BOCA RATON, FL: A local company is looking to shake up people’s hurricane-preparation routines this season. That is, at least when it comes to their generators.

PowerReady International, which just opened its doors in January, is selling a battery-powered generator that it touts as noise-free, odor-free and pollution-free.

But one of its boldest assertions, especially in this market, is that it’s safe to use inside the home.

South Florida residents, used to warnings about generators’ toxic carbon monoxide fumes, have spent the years since the 2004 storm season learning to keep their backup generators far from the house.

But PowerReady’s generator runs on a battery instead of gasoline; the company keeps one of the generators running for demonstrations inside its office.

The emission-free battery of the PowerReady Indoor Power System 12,000 provides, as the name implies, 12,000 watts of power - 3,000 of which can be used at any one time - and is connected to an uninterrupted power supply system that allows the generator to start automatically if the power goes out.

With conservative use, the generator can be used for about four days before needing to be recharged, said Bill Dato, PowerReady’s general manager.

“When we demo the product, people look at it and think it’s magic,” Dato said. “It’s the only power system that’s portable and requires no permits. Once you receive delivery, you can plug it in and it’s ready to go.”

The generator costs about $9,000, with added shipping costs for people outside of Broward and Palm Beach counties. However, Dato said the PowerReady IPS doesn’t have the expense of gasoline, nor does it need permits to be installed, as it can be kept in any room in the house.

The company began selling the units in March. But Dato said the company will have sold about 50 by the end of this month to people around the country.

A potential hitch in those plans may be that many people, as Dato claims, are interested in the unit because it’s touted as “environmentally friendly.”

While PowerReady’s Web site states that the generator is “green certified,” Dato admits that the generator is still in the process of getting certified and that they will soon be adding the word “pending” to the site.

However, a call on Tuesday to the company that is supposed to be working on certifying the product said the first they had heard from PowerReady was on Monday, the day before.

The problems the company is running into are overcoming the stigma against having a generator inside the home, and what to do when the battery does run out.

Once the battery’s charge is exhausted, it must be recharged, and if the power is out, the only options are using another generator - likely gas-powered - a costly solar panel or a car battery.

Nevertheless, many people who have heard about the PowerReady IPS are excited about its potential.

Boca Raton resident Maria Elena Arias, 51, bought a generator from the company about a month ago, and said she tells her friends to do the same.

Although she has not had to use it, Arias said she likes how simple it is, and how it’s portable and can be taken with her if she moves.

“I’m kind of afraid of propane and gasoline. This is really perfect for me … to make it through a storm,” Arias said.

Dato said PowerReady hopes to sell 350 to 500 units by the end of the year. But he said the company is more focused on setting up dealers and distributors to do the selling for them.

He said he hopes to have completed contracts with 50 dealers by 2009.

PowerReady is working on a contract with All Power Supply, a portable power equipment distributor in Fort Lauderdale.

Mark Plummer, All Power Supply’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said he became interested in becoming a distributor because he thought it catered to a good niche of people in South Florida.

“It’s a great option for places like condos where you can’t use generators or don’t want to use gas,” Plummer said.

Battery-powered generators hit the market
Reported by: Glenn Glazer

Power Ready Indoor Power Systems
WEST PALM BEACH, FL: After Frances, Jeanne, Wilma and a few close calls, many have gone out and purchased generators to keep the necessities and creature comforts running while the power’s out.

One local company is now selling a new type of generator that runs on batteries.

The Indoor Power System, or IPS, has only been on the market for a few weeks, but the idea behind it, has been around for a while.

“This technology has been out for many, many, many years, the principles in the company basically took all those ideas and put them into a neat package that’s functional, portable, and brought it to market,” said Bill Dato, General Manager of PowerReady International.

The unit runs on a maintenance free rechargable battery. It is fuel free, doesn’t require any permits, doesn’t emit dangerous fumes, can be kept and run inside, and it’s virtually silent.

The indoor power system cuts out the noise of a gas powered generator, but how much power can it actually supply?

“It’s a bank of 12,000 watts. If you extract 3000 watts out within 24 hours, you could have four days of coverage,” explains Dato.

To put it into perspective, we measured this refridgerator we measured used about 25 watts an hour with the doors closed.

So that’s only about 600 watts a day to keep your food cool, which means there is still quite a bit of power to spare.

The unit is rechargeable through a number of sources, like your household outlets, or your car, but the one that gets you a federal tax credit is it’s available solar panels.
After all… sunshine is still free.

NBC - May 13, 2008

Green Generator An Eco-Friendly Way To Power Home After Storm
Few can forget the powerless feeling of being left without power for days during the 2005 hurricane season.

Maria Elena Arias remembers being left in the dark for a week and a half: “There’s no AC. There’s no power. I have a business. I can’t even run my business.” But, for Arias, getting a generator was out of the question. “I’m afraid of lighting my bbq. I’m afraid it’s going to blow up in my face. Let alone a gas powered generator.

“Now there’s an eco-friendly alternative. An indoor power system from PowerReady International. It’s a generator that doesn’t run on fuel — so you’re not polluting the air or creating a hazardous environment. It is so surprisingly quiet you can hear a coin drop and can be recharged using solar panels.

The generator is a great alternative for people who live in high-rises or work in small offices.

Bill Dato of PowerReady International demonstrated how this new generation generator works.

“It’s a proprietary battery system. You have to look at this as a back-up. You have 12,000 watts in the bank,” he said. “If you really operate in survival mode, you’re going to use less than 3,000 watts per day. If you have 12,000 watts in storage, you’re going to have four days’ worth of protection on one charge.

“You can run all kinds of appliances on it, from kitchen items to your home office. There’s an easy-to-use panel that lets you know how many watts you’re using and how many you have left. Appliances can either be plugged into a power strip and then plugged into the generator, or they can be connected through a small load center.

“Let’s just say your home breaker panel is here,” Dato motioned to a space on the wall. “You just mount this right next to them. Then you take the circuits of your main circuit breaker and put them into this little box, such as your fridge.”The unit costs $8900. It’s heavy, but portable. And, you can even camouflage it if you don’t have a lot of storage space. “There’s pretty much no carbon footprint from using this unit. And, it’s made out of recycled materials and it’s also recyclable.”

Homeowner Maria Elena Arias already ordered hers. She plans to keep it in her garage. “Just in time for hurricane season,” she says, vowing not to be caught off guard again. “My business will be off and running. I will have power. So, I will be ok.”

Supply threats that emerged overseas and a weaker dollar sent light, sweet crude for June delivery to a new trading record of $120.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before futures retreated slightly to settle up $3.65 at a record $119.97.

Oil’s sharp rise this year has driven gas prices to unprecedented levels, prompting consumers to reconsider summer vacation plans and limit daily excursions; they’re also spending less at malls and shopping centers because they’re paying more not just for fuel, but for all kinds of goods and services. Americans are also being pinched by tight credit conditions, a sluggish jobs market and a downturn in the housing market.

“American consumers are being hit hard financially from a bunch of different directions,” said Troy Green, a spokesman for AAA.

The average national price of a gallon of regular gas slipped to $3.611 a gallon on Monday, down 1.1 cents from Friday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices reached a record $3.623 a gallon on Thursday.

But if oil prices continue climbing, gas prices could rise as high as $3.75 a gallon on a national basis, Green said, though, “in some places, it’s already above $4 a gallon.”

In most years, gas prices peak in May or early June, then mostly decline for the rest of the year. But oil at $120 — and rising — may force the experts to rewrite their rulebook.

The mix of factors that drove oil to its latest record were a microcosm of the forces that have nearly doubled oil prices from their levels of about $62 a barrel one year ago. The dollar weakened against the euro on Monday, attracting investors to commodities such as oil which they see as a hedge against inflation. Also, a falling dollar makes oil less expensive to investors overseas. A series of Federal Reserve rate cuts starting last year weakened the dollar considerably against foreign currencies; analysts blame the dollar’s protracted decline for oil’s sharp rise this spring.

Supply outages or threats emerged in Iraq, Nigeria and from Iran on Monday; events in all three nations have caused prices to spike many times in recent months.

In Iraq, Kurdish rebels warned they could launch suicide attacks against American interests to punish the U.S. for sharing intelligence with Turkey after Turkey bombed rebel bases in Iraq on Friday. In Nigeria, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC spokesman said attackers hit an oil facility belonging to Shell’s joint venture in southern Nigeria and that some oil production has been shut down. And Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country will not bend to international pressure and give up its nuclear program.

Energy investors grow concerned any time conflict breaks out or is threatened in the oil-rich Middle East. Years of unrest in Nigeria have cut off nearly a quarter of the major U.S. supplier’s oil output.

Beyond the occasional threats to crude supplies, global demand for oil continues to grow. While demand for oil and gasoline has been soft in the U.S., the Chinese and Indian economies are growing by double digits, boosting global demand for oil.

Diesel prices fell Monday, slipping to a national average of $4.239 from a record $4.251 on Thursday. The runup in prices of diesel, used to power most trucks, trains and ships, is one reason why food prices are so high.

Andy Lebow, senior vice president at MF Global Inc., thinks the gas price declines of the last four days are almost entirely due to crude oil’s sharp drop last week; prices fell from $119.93 on Monday as low as $110.30 on Thursday before rebounding. Gas prices tend to follow prices in the futures market, but with some lag.

“If the price of oil remains this high, we could see the price of gas rise another 10 to 15 cents,” Green said.

It’s impossible to tell whether gas prices will fall this summer, as they have in the past, Green said. However, he noted that demand for gasoline has fallen since early this year, a sign that high prices are cutting Americans’ appetite for fuel. Analysts believe falling demand is preventing refiners from raising gas prices fast enough to keep up with oil prices, which they much buy to turn into fuel. While oil prices have risen nearly 94 percent in one year, gas prices are up only 19 percent.

In other Nymex trading Monday, June gasoline futures rose 8.65 cents to settle at $3.0529 a gallon, and June heating oil futures rose 8.78 cents to settle at $3.3065 a gallon. June natural gas futures rose 40.1 cents to settle at $11.178 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, June Brent crude futures gained $3.43 to settle at $117.99 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.