Can a home battery crush bills!

Will installing a battery completely eliminate electricity bills? The short answer is not entirely, let me explain.

How Solar Batteries Work

Essentially the Battery uses a measuring devices (CT) to check your grid usage and solar production. The accuracy of these devices are essential to the battery operation, not all battery measuring devices are born equal. Electrical noise from other electrical services and unshielded data cables create inconsistencies for your battery; proper installation is essential but rarely undertaken by your installer.

Problem 1 (Measuring CT)

Why is this important? Your battery needs to know how much power you're using so it can push out enough energy to compensate, the speed at which this happens is critical because if it is too slow you essentially import grid power for a few seconds each time you turn on an appliance within your home, this slight inconsistency means your left paying for the slow reaction time of your battery.

Problem 2 (Meter Charges)

Your supply authority, these are the people who look after the poles and wires outside your home on the public network, keeping the lights on every day. There is usually a set charge to pay for this reliability of power, this is an essential service for when your battery and solar are completely empty.

Solution 1 (Battery choice)

Choose a battery solution that better suits your needs, if you want a battery that measures accurately and responds faster reducting grid power usage and increasing solar power usage, purchase a battery that does this well, such as Victron, Powerwall 3 etc.

Solution 2 (Virtual Power Plant)

This can be an option to support the grid when it needs power when load increases in the morning and afternoons when people use the most power.

Pro

• You get a high feed-in tariff as compensation for the energy you provide the network

Con

• Virtual Power Plant (VPP) operator makes more from the transaction than you do as they get paid on a large scale and to provide you with this service, no free lunches, more awareness than concern.

• Virtual Power Plant operator can reserve some of your battery preventing you from using all of it until it just in case it needs the energy to export to the grid, best read the terms and conditions before signing.

Solution 3 (Know your Battery)

Understand what battery solution fits your needs, this is essential you have the right consulation at the start as change of mind or being sold a one-size-fits-all solution can result in disappointment and ongoing costs.

Conclusion

Batteries will save you alot of money, being clear about your expectations upfront to your installer is essential before purchase.

I hope this information helps.