How can a home battery system help you save on energy ...

08 Jul.,2024

 

How can a home battery system help you save on energy ...

Photo courtesy of Panasonic Eco Systems

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Many homeowners install battery storage to increase their resilience to power outages, ensuring there's always a supply of electricity when the grid goes down. And by reducing your reliance on the grid, a home battery system can also shield you from rising and often volatile energy prices so you can better manage your bill payments and keep them to a minimum. Here&#;s how it works. 

How does storing power save you money? 

Batteries capture and store energy. This energy could be from the electric grid, which means you&#;re paying your utility company for this power. Or it could be from your rooftop solar panels, where you&#;re storing energy in your battery for free. Either way, you can draw this electricity from your battery whenever you choose, giving you the ability to proactively avoid using grid power when prices are high. 

So if you have a standalone battery and your utility charges you more for electricity at peak times, such as in the evening, and less during times of low demand, like during the day, you can avoid paying the higher rates by charging your battery during the day and using your stored power in the evening. 

If you also have solar panels with your home battery system, you can realize even greater savings on your energy bill. Your battery can store free electricity from your panels during the day when you&#;re not around to use it, then tap this stored power in the evenings when your panels stop producing power and grid prices rise.

3 ways to save money using your home battery system 

Batteries enable homeowners to more efficiently regulate energy usage to avoid exposure to higher electric rates &#; a process known as &#;load management.&#; But the actual amount of energy you save does depend to a large extent on your utility pricing structure. Let's take a closer look at the different ways that utilities charge customers and how this affects what you pay. 

1. Send power back to the grid 

Some 38 states have net metering programs for homeowners with solar, so any surplus power you produce can be sent back to the grid in return for credits to lower your future energy bills. But sometimes utilities only offer partial credits or no credits at all. This can mean you&#;re exporting your excess power to the grid for less than it costs to buy electricity back.  

In these cases, a home battery system can be beneficial. If your utility either doesn&#;t have net metering or doesn&#;t fully compensate you for your power, you can instead store your surplus solar electricity in a battery for later use. This enables you to fully maximize the benefits of solar by ensuring none of your free, clean energy is wasted, rather than feeding it into the grid for little to no benefit. 

2. Avoid high electricity prices 

Utilities across the U.S. are increasingly introducing innovative pricing structures that incentivize customers to use less energy when the costs of generating that energy are high. One way they are doing this is through time-of-use (TOU) or time-varying price plans. 

Under TOU models, customers are charged more for electricity when demand is high and less when demand is low. So, the amount you pay for power can change during a day, by seasons and on weekdays versus weekends and holidays. 

If you're on a TOU plan, you can use your battery to avoid peak power prices by charging it during the day, when grid prices are low, and then using your stored power in the evenings, when grid prices rise. With solar, you can save even more money by charging your battery from your free solar panel in the day and using this free energy at night. Here, you could enjoy savings of as much as $1,000 or more. 

The Panasonic EVERVOLT home battery system has a built-in TOU mode, and the battery automatically starts discharging its power when local utility rates rise. 

Are you interested in learning more about House Storage Battery Manufacturer? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

3. Lower demand charges

While most utilities charge homeowners based on the amount of energy their household uses every month, some are introducing demand charges. Under demand charging, the utility calculates the maximum amount of power you use in a one-hour or even 15-minute period in a given month. You are then charged for the whole month based on that single period. If you use a particularly high amount of power in a short time, for example, your bill for that month is higher. 

If you&#;re on a demand charge rate, you can switch to using your battery when you know your electricity usage is going to be particularly high. Let&#;s say you know you&#;re going to be using lots of appliances at once or it&#;s a hot day and you&#;ll need to ramp up your air conditioning. By using your battery during these times, you can ensure the maximum amount of power you draw from the grid is kept to a minimum, thereby avoiding high demand charges.   

Home battery systems give homeowners more control over their electricity bill payments by storing energy to avoid high grid electric rates. Panasonic&#;s new EVERVOT home battery system enables you to connect your battery, solar panels, and grid power and optimize your load management, all in one place. Learn more about how EVERVOLT can help you save money.

Government Grants for Battery Storage Systems

While the cost of solar panels and battery storage has decreased as the technology has improved, they are still a substantial investment. As the price has reduced, so has the number of years to break even, making them a more financially viable investment. This said, it is still a considerable cost for the average household. To combat this, various schemes can help people with grants to invest in greener energy solutions, such as solar battery storage. As with many government schemes, government grants for battery storage do change and have specific criteria for eligibility. It&#;s therefore wise to always check what is available when looking into solar panels and battery storage, as new government schemes may have been launched, and older schemes may have finished.

Understanding Home Battery Storage Systems

Solar panels are an incredible way to generate clean energy that can be used to power your home. However, the historic problem with solar panels is that they generate energy during daylight hours when the average household is away from home. The peak hours for energy usage are during the evening when it is dark. Solar battery technology has revolutionised this by providing an affordable and practical way for residential properties to store energy produced by their solar panels during the day so that they can be used during the evening when needed. While this battery storage system does require investment, it will also reduce energy bills and reliance on the national grid and improve your carbon footprint. If you are thinking of investing in solar panels, then a domestic battery will massively improve the efficiency of your residential energy system.

Government Grants for Home Battery Storage in the UK

Government grants are available, but it is essential to do your research thoroughly. Many grants target lower-income families, while some specifically target poor energy-rated houses. You may not be eligible for a grant. However, everyone can take advantage of the current 0% VAT rate on home battery storage, which is set to run until the 31st of March , after which it will revert to a 5% VAT rate. Whilst this may not strictly be a grant, it does represent a substantial saving for anyone looking to reduce their energy bills and improve their environmental impact.

Exploring Specific Grant Programs

  • Green Homes Grant Scheme&#;This excellent scheme helped householders invest in environmentally friendly methods of improving their homes, from increasing insulation to installing a heat pump. This government grant ended on March 31st, .
  • Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) -This government scheme was a payback scheme where you could receive payments for renewable energy that you produced. This grant ended on the 31st of March .
  • Energy Company Obligation (ECO)&#;This scheme targets lower-income households living in energy-inefficient homes. It places the onus for home improvements on the energy supplier and is designed to help upgrade homes and reduce their energy bills. This scheme aims to improve insulation in homes rather than energy storage, such as our home batteries.
  • Local authority grants and schemes &#; Solar Together is one of the best ongoing local authority schemes. You can register your interest in solar panel installation with your local authority, and they collectively bid for solar panels. This usually results in a far better rate due to securing a bulk deal, and you could see savings of 10% to 25%

Assessing Eligibility and Application Process

All government schemes have strict eligibility criteria. It is essential to see if you meet the requirements before applying, or you will save time. The best time to invest in a home battery storage setup for your home is now, while you can take advantage of the 0% VAT rate. The 0% VAT rate is for everyone and does represent a significant saving, while most grants are aimed at certain sections of the population.

Understanding the Benefits and Savings

Suppose you are considering battery storage through a grant scheme, thoroughly research. However, remember that if you buy your battery storage before the 31st of March , you will enjoy the 0% VAT on this. This represents a saving of 20% of the previous price for a battery. Investing in battery storage, either as a standalone or as part of a solar panel system, will save you money in the long run, and the VAT relief currently in place will considerably reduce the setup cost of your battery storage setup.

Considerations for Installation and Maintenance

As always, when you have work done in your home, such as installing solar panels or battery storage to optimise the system, ensure you get a few quotes from reputable tradesmen. Ensure they are registered and approved so your investment in your battery storage setup is carried out professionally. Home energy storage systems shouldn&#;t require maintenance. Your batteries should simply do their job, storing energy and powering your house, reducing your bills and environmental impact.

Enjoy VAT Relief on Your Solar Battery Storage

We believe in a greener future. Solar power is a simple and easy way to provide energy for residential properties. We are working to help create change towards cleaner energy with our solar battery storage systems. We have worked to design and develop a high-quality, long-lasting solar battery that can be retrofitted to existing solar panels, installed as part of a new solar energy setup, or as a standalone battery to save money when buying from the grid simply. With Duracell Energy products, you can be confident in the quality of our batteries and have peace of mind in our helpful and knowledgeable customer service team. To reduce your energy bills, improve your carbon footprint, and reduce your reliance on the grid, simply fill in our online quote calculator and enjoy a brighter and greener tomorrow.

For more information, please visit Microgrid Energy Storage.