Last week, weather forecasters warned of something rarely seen in the Seattle area—a tornado—which could have meant widespread power outages and property damage across the Pacific Northwest.
The first place my mind goes during extreme weather is power outages. The second? Whether it’s finally worth investing in a whole-home battery backup system.
Thankfully, the tornado never materialized, but that didn’t stop me from revisiting the question. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it before, but the harsh reality is that installing a home battery backup system can cost anywhere from $9,000 to $20,000, depending on the size of your home and the complexity of the installation.
That steep price tag doesn’t make much sense for someone like me who doesn’t have solar panels, especially since I’m primarily interested in keeping the food in my fridge from defrosting and spoiling during an outage. But now, there’s a new option that might be a better fit: a backup battery made specifically for appliances.
That’s what I discussed on my most recent podcast with Cole Ashman, the CEO of Pila Energy. Pila debuted their appliance battery system last month at SXSW and is part of a growing wave of startups reimagining home energy storage by breaking it down—fractionalizing it—across individual appliances.
Over the past year, I’ve spoken with Sam D’Amico of Impulse and Sam Callisch of Copper, two startups building battery-powered induction stoves. So when I heard that Pila was developing a backup battery that could work with any large appliance, I was intrigued. Even more compelling was Pila’s vision for a mesh power network, where multiple Pila batteries can coordinate via software to optimize and distribute energy across the home.
“We’re taking the battery out of the garage and into the future,” said Ashman on the podcast. He explained that Pila’s approach is to fractionalize and virtualize what you’d typically get from a Tesla Powerwall or other whole-home backup system. That means creating smaller, more affordable batteries—each powering a single appliance—that work together as a virtual battery system. This lets users skip the five-figure investment and electrician, while still gaining insights into energy usage and unlocking cost savings through time-of-use optimization.
Ashman, who previously worked on Tesla’s Powerwall and led product at Span (makers of the smart electrical panel), sees Pila as a more accessible alternative. “Only about a quarter to half a percent of homes in the U.S. have smart batteries,” he said. “We want to make energy security something anyone can afford.”
According to Ashman, Pila’s battery can power a standard refrigerator for up to 32 hours. It plugs directly into the appliance and automatically kicks in during an outage. The company is also planning for future support of bidirectional power, meaning the battery could one day feed energy back into the home or grid—much like the latest EVs.
One especially interesting part of our conversation focused on the rise of DIY solar. In the U.S., most solar installations are handled by professionals and often cost tens of thousands of dollars. But in countries like Germany, consumers are increasingly turning to “balcony solar”—plug-in solar panels that hang off a balcony and don’t require professional installation or massive upfront investment.
Utah’s recent passage of House Bill 340 may help kick-start a similar trend in the U.S. The bill allows solar systems up to 1.2 kW AC to plug directly into standard 120V outlets without needing complicated interconnection applications or paying utility fees, as long as they meet NEC and UL safety standards. Ashman believes H.B. 340 could lower the barrier to entry for both renters and homeowners, creating a more democratized approach to renewable energy—and accelerating the adoption of home battery systems like Pila’s in the process.
For now, Pila is accepting $99 reservations for its first battery, which is expected to ship in late 2025 at a discounted price of $999 (MSRP $1,299). “We’re starting with the fridge,” said Ashman, “but this isn’t just about food—it’s about resilience, safety, and putting energy control back into people’s hands.”
Bottom line, Pila, and others like Impulse, Copper, and BioLite, are changing the in-home power stack, and I’m definitely here for it, especially if it means I don’t need to take out a second mortgage to do it.
You can watch our conversation on YouTube, listen to my full conversation below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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