Advances in technology combined with a growing emphasis on sustainability and renewable energy sources (RES) are turning battery storage systems into a popular companion of many companies. Have you decided to get one yet? Do you know what to do before actually choosing a storage system?
What is battery storage?
Battery storage, also known as a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), is technology that allows energy to be stored in its electrical form via batteries in order to use electricity more efficiently. Such a system is capable of storing electricity from a range of different sources such as solar panels, wind turbines or the power grid, and releasing it as needed.
Key features of battery storage include:
- Increasing the efficiency of RES: Enabling better use of energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind, as energy can be stored in times of surplus and utilised when demand is higher than production.
- Emergency back-up power: In the event of a power outage, battery storage can provide temporary electricity, ensuring the continued operation of critical systems.
- Energy cost optimization: Businesses can use battery storage to store energy during periods of low prices and use the stored energy during peak periods when prices are higher.
- Frequency regulation and grid support: Battery storage helps maintain power grid stability by responding quickly to changes in energy demand and supply.
These systems can use different battery types such as Li-ion, LiFePO₄, NCM or LiPo batteries, each type with specific characteristics such as capacity, size, lifetime, charge and discharge rates or cost.
Choosing battery storage
Before you dive into the actual selection of battery storage, it's important to have your expectations clearly defined.
Clearly defining expectations will help you avoid technical and financial risks, ensure compliance with regulatory and environmental standards, and support your company's long-term strategic goals for sustainability and energy management.
To make this step as easy as possible, here are some of the most common expectations companies may have of battery storage:
- Energy cost reduction: the most common demand of companies interested in battery storage is to help in reducing energy costs. Typically, these are companies that already have solar panels and want to increase the usability of the solar energy produced, lowering their grid power consumption. With this expectation, we recommend a detailed analysis of energy consumption and pricing models to determine the optimal storage size and energy use strategy.
We are happy to help you with the energy analysis. Leave us your contact details and we will explain everything clearly in a free consultation.
- Increasing energy self-sufficiency: companies that have solar panels can expect that battery storage will allow them to be more energy independent. By combining solar panels and battery storage, companies can generate and store their own energy, which reduces their reliance on the power grid, especially during peak periods, and can lead to greater energy independence.
- Battery as a back-up: companies operating in critical sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing or data centres need to ensure reliable and uninterrupted power for their operations. Battery storage can act as a backup power source for such businesses - providing an immediate response to outages, ensuring a stable and reliable power supply that can minimise disruption to business processes and reduce potential losses.
- Reducing carbon footprint: sustainability-focused businesses can expect battery storage to enable them to use renewable energy such as solar and wind more efficiently, helping them to reduce their carbon footprint. Companies may also have expectations that investing in battery storage will help them meet regulatory and environmental requirements related to emissions and energy use and improve ESG scores.
- Minimal management and service worries: with a complex device such as battery storage systems, companies naturally expect support from the supplier. However, not every vendor also provides maintenance and servicing of the battery storage after the equipment is installed. At the same time, for a battery storage system to perform at 100%, it must include a reliable Energy Management System (EMS). This ensures that the best possible results are achieved and a long life of the storage system.
FUERGY is the only full-service energy technology company in Slovakia. This means that if you decide to purchase a battery storage system from us, we will take care of the entire implementation process from energy analysis through installation to service and maintenance.
Convenient and sustainable solution
Remember that by defining your expectations, you will increase your chances of choosing the most suitable solution that will not only meet your company's current needs, but will also be economically viable and strategically sustainable in the long term.
Once you have clearly outlined your expectations, we can move on to the next step, which is determining the size and capacity of the storage and selecting the appropriate battery. We'll cover this in the next part of the series, Choosing a Battery Storage for Your Business.
Need help clarifying expectations? Let us know and take advantage of our free consultation. Our experts will get back to you and if you're interested, they'll prepare a customized solution for you.
New dimension of energy optimization
