Southern Company and its Alabama Power subsidiary are proactively simulating what one possible future may hold for energy providers and their customers with the first-of-its-kind Smart Neighborhood^TM. In a rapidly changing energy landscape, this initiative will help Southern Company adapt and continue providing clean, safe, reliable, affordable energy to the customers and communities we serve.

Nestled in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, the Smart Neighborhood consists of 62 high-performance homes equipped with smart technologies and powered by a community-scale microgrid, made up of solar panels, battery storage and a natural gas generator. These pieces have been integrated into one initiative which will enable Southern Company to better understand the impact of high-performance construction standards and advanced customer technologies to our core mission.

When it comes to developing high-performance homes, there are two main building blocks that need to be considered: 1) the building envelope (or shell) and 2) the equipment inside of it. For the Alabama Power Smart Neighborhood each home features both components.

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