TECHNOLOGIES >> BATTERY STORAGE

Battery Storage

Energy can be stored using battery energy storage systems (BESS) which are devices that can hold surplus power generated through solar and wind systems and release it as and when the customer needs. Some batteries can export and import electricity directly into the grid, which helps to balance national demand and supply. This gives options to trade energy, for example, selling electricity to your neighbours, or via a ‘battery community’ or micro grid.

Low consumption may not suit having a battery but for larger premises or higher demand, exploring battery options may be a good idea in terms of meeting operational needs and reducing costs. To assess the financial investment, we can help you review your annual usage, advise on generation capacity, types of battery, installation costs and any export payments.

Battery technology development is a fast-paced industry. If the cost of the battery is your main consideration, prices are continuously dropping year-on-year, and it may be worthwhile waiting before making the investment to take advantage of a lower price. If, however, your priority is to become more energy self-sufficient, reduce overhead costs, and/or be part of an increasingly decentralised electricity network, then we can walk you through the right solutions for you.

Solar Batteries

Power production from the use of solar photovoltaic systems in the UK is now commonplace and popularity has grown with installations continuing daily. For many years the only downside of Solar PV has been the fact that only half of the power produced is actually used by the owner of the system. At night time when solar panels are not generating power, we are still using power (at increased levels than those of the daytime), and receiving power back from the grid.

Up until recently battery storage for solar PV systems has been uneconomical for most lifestyles or households and businesses, with short life spans and lead based batteries.

It has always been more cost effective to buy energy from the grid at night than to invest in bulky, expensive battery storage systems.

Thanks to technological advances in inverter and lithium batteries, household power storage has now become a reality in the UK.

The automotive industry has lead the advances in high performance lithium batteries, developed to withstand rigorous discharging and recharging regimes, over prolonged periods of time.

One system is able to deliver enough power storage for most lifestyles energy usage for an entire evening. If more is needed, more can be added. The battery system is very easy to expand.

How It Works

While your solar panels are generating energy during daylight hours, first the system provides for your power usage, subsequently the extra generation charges the battery system.

Once these are fully charged the extra energy is fed back to the grid. When the Solar PV system stops producing power due to poor light, the inverter pulls the free stored energy from the battery storage. Only if the battery storage system is empty will the system take power back from the grid.

For a typical household that currently only uses 50% of the energy generated by their PV system, a battery storage system should increase this to around 85%.

Wind Batteries

Choosing the right battery storage system for wind energy generation can make all the difference to keeping your system operating continuously without reliance on the grid. A wind turbine battery storage system can operate without support from the grid by utilizing inverters and continue to operate during situation such as power outages. To integrate your wind turbine with the grid, an inverter is required which converts direct current electricity to alternating harmonising to what is used by the electrical grid.

Electricity is safely stored in the battery providing energy when the wind is not blowing or during increased production times. Wind storage batteries can also work in tandem with solar. Renewables energy technology has come along in leaps and bounds and now inverters not only facilitate the storage of energy in the battery, they are also capable of performing grid services, which benefits distributed generation by reinforcing the entire electrical grid with endless support generators. These inverters increase the output to keep the grid stable for all users instead of dropping when an increased load comes in.

To ensure uninterrupted power, having a battery is vital to your operation. Get in touch with us to explore your options.

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Let’s change the way we think about and use power; one embedded generator at a time!