battery draw down capability

Off grid energy usage

 

There are many reasons why people live off the main electricity grid supply. They may live in remote areas where it is not economically feasible to connect to the electricity grid. Usually these communities have relied on diesel generators.

It may be a lifestyle choice where people want to be self-sufficient and take control of their own energy usage.

People that live at the end of electricity supply lines or Swer lines may have a lot of power outages and find it is actually more stable and economical to be off-grid or part of a local mini grid.

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Peak shaving to reduce peak demand charges

For many businesses it is important to look at using battery storage to reduce peak demand charges.  Often, even one large energy spike can greatly increase total energy bills with this drawdown increasing the energy charge for all power usage. If the peak demand needed can be reduced then the overall electricity charges can be reduced.

Peak demand usually occurs when several high energy using pieces of machinery come into use at the same time, particularly if this machinery has large initial starting energy draws.

Peak demand is usually calculated based on the highest 15 minute average usage over a given month, even if it only occurs once a month (some energy retailers actually use the maximum usage over a yearly period, again even if this maximum only occurs once a year).  These demand charges are also often charged on a tiered scale with higher charges the higher the peak is.

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Battery Drawdown Capabilities

 

Energy storage batteries come in a variety of different sizes and weights and each have different characteristics.  Here is a comparison of some different battery technologies currently available in Australia with an indication of the amount of power that can be drawn down.

You can see from this image that size is not necessarily a good indication of the power that is available to be used from a battery. Some batteries have much better energy density than others.

Another thing to consider is how much power you can actually draw from the battery at any point in time. Our SoNick battery can draw 150 amps for 4 hours continuously but some other batteries are very limited in the amount of power that can be used, maybe only with enough to boil a kettle and little more.

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