January 2026 Update
Happy New Year from the Pila team! There’s so much that’s already happened, and we can’t wait to share what’s new…
🏆 CES 2026 Wrapped 🏆
In January, Pila took to Las Vegas for CES 2026 — and what a week it was.
CES is the world’s biggest stage for new technology, and we were thrilled to spend the week connecting with homeowners, renters, partners, and future customers who stopped by to experience Pila firsthand. From live demos to in-depth conversations about energy independence, solar/EV/generator integrations, and smarter home energy use, the excitement and feedback were incredible.
We’re honored that Pila was recognized in the CES Innovation Awards Showcase as an Honoree in two categories: Smart Home and Sustainability & Energy Transition.
We also received a Best Tech at CES 2026 award from Yanko Design, who captured our design ethos expertly:
“ Backup power is usually something you hide in a garage or closet. The Pila Mesh Home Battery is a slim, 3.3-inch-thick object designed to sit beside a desk or under a console, treating energy infrastructure as something you actually want to see…
Multiple batteries coordinate wirelessly like a Wi-Fi mesh, charging during off-peak hours and discharging during expensive peaks, while the Pila app monitors appliance-level usage, refrigerator temperature, and solar input, turning scattered appliances into a coordinated, intelligent energy system.”
Moments like CES remind us why we’re building Pila — to make home energy independence approachable, beautiful, and part of everyday life.
Thank you to everyone who visited, shared feedback, and supported along the way!
As Seen in The Verge
We were excited to see Pila featured in The Verge’s CES roundup, “The CES 2026 stuff I might actually buy.” We love that title and we’re honored Pila made the list.
The Verge’s David Pierce put it this way:
“ Every time the power flickers — which seems to be happening more and more — I get a little closer to buying a backup battery. These are, against all odds, not hideous to look at! ”
At the end of the day, our goal is simple: build products that are powerful, but also genuinely useful in everyday life. Reliable backup power, lower energy stress, and better control over the devices you depend on.
Thank you, Verge team, for the nod. And thank you to our growing community for helping make Pila something people actually want in their homes.
Plus! Even more from The Verge 👇
Pila Takes Over CES YouTube
CES wasn’t just on the show floor — it lit up YouTube too.
We were blown away by the number of creators who stopped by to cover Pila, sparking conversations that reached audiences across smart home, tech, and energy communities. Seeing Pila resonate with such a wide range of viewers — from home automation fans to deep energy enthusiasts — was incredibly rewarding.
A special thank you to Ricky (Two Bit da Vinci), Matt Ferrell (Undecided), Kim Java, Eric Welander, and many others who took the time to explore, film, and share Pila with their audiences!
More Pila Features from CES…
📰 PV Magazine | Pila Energy emerges to offer residential batteries, but sexy
🚚 Shipping Update!
A Note from Our CEO
To our Reservation holders and future customers, First — thank you!
Over the past several months, we’ve been heads down in what I affectionately call the unsexy phase of product development. It’s that final stretch where the last 20% of work takes 80% (or honestly 800%) of the effort.
Behind the scenes, our team has been:
Piloting Pila systems across San Francisco
Proving through real-world grid events (including December’s major SF outage)
Tuning control algorithms so Pila seamlessly powers the devices you rely on
Conducting testing to ensure the highest bar of safety, quality, and reliability
Polishing the software experience for maximum delight, minimum friction
Scaling up company infrastructure to begin serving customers across all 50 state
+ A dozen-and-a-half other things that make me proud to work alongside this team
With hardware design complete and the system working precisely as designed, we’re now in the final stretch, focused on final touches of perfecting your Pila experience.
At the same time, our team is deep into volume manufacturing preparations, with the first batch of early customer shipments estimated to begin this April! From there, our team will be laser focused on ramping production quickly to fulfill the tremendous demand we’ve seen.
Zooming out — If you’ve been following the headlines, you’ve likely noticed what we’re seeing too. Outages increasing, electricity costs rising, and home batteries becoming a weekly topic of conversation. The need for smarter, more reliable power has never been clearer.
For those who placed early reservations: we cannot wait to get Pila into your homes. Your support and belief in what we’re building truly mean everything to us.
You’re going to absolutely love this thing. Thank you for being part of this journey.
— Cole, Pila Founder & CEO
A sneak peek at Pila pilot testing across San Francisco!
Power Up with Accessories!
Pila accessories have officially landed — explore fridge sensors, mounting solutions, and more on our site!
🎥 Design That Goes Beyond Looks 🎥
When we talk about design at Pila, we’re not just talking about aesthetics.
Yes — how Pila looks matters. This video tells the deeper story: why we partnered with Bould Design, how Pila was shaped by the realities of renters and modern homes, and why we believe energy products should feel like lasting infrastructure – not clunky emergency equipment.
Watch the video to see how those ideas influenced everything from form factor to user experience! 👇
🎥 DERVOS 2025: Permissionless DERs Wait for No One 🎥
Back in October, we joined industry leaders at DERVOS to discuss the future of distributed energy — missed the event? The video is now live!
🎙️ Pila on Earthlings 2.0 Podcast 🎙️
New Pila Blog: Why 2026 Will Be the Year Home Batteries Become Essential Home Appliances
In 2020, air purifiers transformed from niche gadgets into essential home appliances — driven by a sudden, shared awareness that the air inside our homes mattered. Home batteries are poised for a similar shift.
As blackouts become more common and reliable backup power more attainable, 2026 may be remembered as the year home energy resilience stopped being an upgrade — and started becoming peace of mind.
Not because people suddenly became energy experts, but because staying powered is simply becoming part of protecting everyday life.
📣 Check out our new FAQs!
Our FAQs are now live on YouTube — get quick answers to the most common questions about Pila.
📚 What our team is reading 📚
Rising electricity prices are driven less by data centers and more by costly disaster recovery, grid maintenance, and fossil-fuel dependence, with evidence showing that clean energy and smarter regulation — not more coal or gas — are the most effective paths to stabilizing long-term power costs.
📖 The Times | Powered by the sun (and AI): why home batteries are going mainstream
A recent Sunday Times (UK) feature explores why falling costs, smart tariffs, and new financing models are pushing home batteries into the mainstream — transforming them into practical tools for savings and resilience.
📖 E&E News | Energy set to dominate state politics in runup to midterms
As electricity prices spike and data center demand reshapes state politics, the pressure on the grid underscores the need for flexible, distributed home batteries that can lower bills, add resilience, and relieve peak demand without waiting on massive new infrastructure.
We think Bad Bunny might agree…
📖 UtilityDive | Programmatic alignment is key to scaling residential battery demand response
As residential batteries reach meaningful grid scale, the real bottleneck isn’t technology but alignment—highlighting the need for simpler, interoperable, customer-friendly systems that make participation in demand response seamless rather than complex.