Powering The Home With Smart Energy Storage

Smart Home Solutions Using Smart Energy Storage

Energy bills don’t normally get us all talking but they’re currently a hot topic, so we thought we’d ask our friends over at Powervault to help explain how Smart Energy Storage can play a role in powering the home in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

What is Home Energy Storage?

A Home Energy Storage solution works with your solar panel installation to store your surplus solar power when you don’t need it - and then supplies your home at the times when you do.

Solar panels are a fantastic way to generate your own electricity and reduce your need to draw energy from the national grid. The more people that can generate electricity themselves, the better it is for our environment.

That’s where a Home Energy Storage solution could come in handy by storing up the energy when your Solar PV panels are basking in the sunshine.

But if you really want to make use of intelligent systems to help manage your bills and reduce your carbon footprint, then there are energy storage solutions that are Smart.

How Can a Smart Energy Storage Solution Help Me Save Money On My Electricity Bills?

A Smart Energy Storage solution reduces customers’ energy bills by not only storing free solar energy but also cheap, off-peak electricity from the grid.

One of the considerations that many owners of solar panel installations will be aware of, is that PV generation is at its most effective during the summer months – when household electricity consumptions is in fact lower.

In the winter months however, solar PV generates less solar electricity - yet when it’s colder outside, domestic consumption of energy is higher. So, when considering what Home Energy Storage solution to invest in, it’s important to make sure it will work hard for you all year round.

And this is where a Smart Energy Storage solution combined with a Time-of-Use tariff like our TIDE tariff, plays a key role.

What is a Time of Use Tariff?

A Time of Use tariff uses a Smart Meter to access low electricity rates over night. A Smart Home Energy Storage solution will take advantage of these low-priced off-peak electricity rates by charging during these times. It will then use this energy to power the house, offsetting any electricity that would have been imported from the grid at ‘peak’ times.

By creating a virtuous circle from domestic solar PV generation, smart energy storage and an appropriate Time-of-Use tariff, households can benefit from lower bills whist also reducing their carbon footprint.

An Example Of How A Smart Energy Storage Solution Has Worked For A Homeowner.

Ok, so this next bit gets a bit technical, but we wanted to demonstrate some of the intelligent functionality that is available to help you manage your energy consumption and in turn, your bills.

Here's an example of how this worked for a homeowner with a Time-of-Use tariff and solar PV on the 2nd of February this year. These graphs are taken from Powervault’s customer portal.

The Smart Energy Storage device was charged at the cheaper off-peak rate at night between 00:30 and 04:30, as shown in purple.

This supported the home’s consumption in the morning from 04:30 – 09:00, as shown in blue on the top graph before the Solar PV Panels started to generate electricity, shown in yellow.

The PV generated some excess during the day that was stored, topping up the battery, as shown in blue. The energy in the storage devise was then used to power the household needs for the rest of the day.

This customer benefitted from cheaper off-peak rates to optimise their use of self-generated renewable electricity as well as the low cost imported electricity.

This meant nearly 100% of the electricity they imported from the grid was at the cheap off-peak rate.

Saving Energy, Saving Money & Saving Our Environment

Smart Energy Storage, combined with solar PV and a time-of-use tariff, creates a virtuous circle that enables households to maximise their self-consumption of solar generated electricity, their utilisation of cheap ‘off peak’ electricity, and minimise their imports during expensive ‘peak’ times.

By incorporating Smart Energy Storage into your home, with PV generation and a time of use tariff like TIDE, you’re not only helping your wallet, you’re helping the environment too. Every household that moves to solar PV/smart storage/TOU tariff is helping to decarbonise the UK’s electricity network, as well as substantially reducing their own electricity costs.