Resiliency has become a buzzword nationwide amongst city officials as they move to ensure their municipalities can weather unexpected storms, literal and metaphorical. Unexpected power outages, in particular, can cause extensive disruptions to vital services and emergency responses. For this reason, many municipalities have embraced generators, with gasoline and diesel generators serving as go-to backup power sources. While providing uninterrupted power, these generators take time to power up and are powered by carbon-based fuels, a habit many cities are attempting to kick as both officials and residents grow more conscious of the environmental impact caused by these fuels.

          Beyond mandates aimed at reducing carbon footprints, cities must also consider the potential for fuel shortages in the midst of a disaster. AIMS Power has seen these potential hiccups and created innovative solar alternatives made possible by improvements in battery and inverter technologies, which have also plummeted renewable energy prices.

          “We’ve been working 20 years making products that can provide power when there just isn’t any other source for it — perhaps in a remote location or the city power is just down,” AIMS Power President Bruce de Jong said. “Our batteries are ready and charged up, using our own battery chargers and/or solar panels.”

          Based in Reno, Nev., AIMS Power has garnered notice in the off-grid and renewable energy sector, thanks to its products, which serve as trusted sources of power to many of the world’s largest companies and government organizations. It has also found a niche in the RV industry, where it a provider of portable power solutions.Among its offerings are DC to AC inverters, solar panels, deep-cycle batteries, solar charge controllers, controllers, cables, fuse kits and more.

          AIMS Power’s inverter chargers feature much larger capacities compared with competitors’ while being within a consumer-friendly cost point. Most competitors offer a 3,000-watt unit, while AIMS Power has an off-the-shelf 12,000-watt inverter charger.

          De Jong said, “Our inverter chargers are among the most durable, are easy to use and are rich with features. We have over 50 models, and they all have algorithms to charge any battery type. Priority can be set to either AC in or battery. They also switch over rapidly and seamlessly.”

          The company’s low frequency and pure sine inverter chargers come in 12-, 24-, 48- and 384-volt variants. These inverters feature automatic power transfer bypass. Producing cleaner power, the pure sine inverter charges are all-in-one devices that convert DC power to AC power, enabling them to charge a backup battery bank for use when AC power is disconnected or electricity from the local utility is lost.

          “Our inverter chargers are used worldwide for emergency backup systems,” de Jong said. “Whether it’s an alarm, cash register, lighting or barricade systems, you can count on the AIMS Power system to power your backup or portable needs.”

          In the pursuit of green energy, cost-savings and resiliency, cities are embracing solar panels. AIMS Power offers a wide range of 60-watt to 275-watt solar panels in rigid and foldable variants for several applications.

          “Cities all over use our inverters with solar to provide clean, reliable emergency and daily use power,” he shared. “We can help design systems that a handy man or electrician can install. Larger systems are generally installed by professional solar installers.”

          Additionally, the company carries an extensive selection of AGM and lithium deep-cycle batteries and accessories available in many versions. AIMS Power combines its lithium iron phosphate batteries with a smart battery management system. This pairing brings more efficient power, delivering full power until the cell is fully discharged while not impacting battery health.

          “Recently a customer that was using a variety of battery chemistries found their city employees were using the same chargers to charge up the batteries. The batteries weren’t lasting, and they were wasting tens of thousands of dollars buying new batteries,” de Jong shared. “They called us, and we found the problem and advised that our chargers are programmed for seven different chemistries. This solved their problem so now they buy our chargers and inverter chargers to take care of their charging needs no matter what battery type they have.”

          AIMS Power continues to prioritize innovation and its philosophy of sustainable living. Living by this principle, its own office building in Reno is entirely off the grid. In 2021, the company will be introducing hybrid inverters to tale solar power and load share with city power to reduce clients’ energy bill. These inverters will also allow net metering for energy credits. A control unit is also underway, which will put data into a single box, enabling users to control the AIMS Power products remotely via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

          “As AIMS Power moves forward in the development of new products, we continually appreciate the input and feedback we get from our customers,” de Jong said. “It’s really what has driven our success for now our 21st year. We look forward to releasing our central control and display units that are able to pop warning messages to cellphones, send updates on battery levels and notify about equipment failures. It will also have full software manuals and remote updates, and the list goes on. Later this year, our hybrid inverter will be released. This will be our product line to enter the grid market. Our units will be very flexible and be a tremendous upgrade to the current grid inverters. Stay tuned for the details.”

          For information, visit aimscorp.net.