Smart support services - you get really good value for money

The concept of ancillary services may sound a bit misleading, because it is not about any extra services you buy for your solar installation. On the contrary - you are enabling ancillary services that help the grid, and you get paid for it. This involves smoothing out disturbances in the grid, commonly known as FFR (Fast Frequency Reserve) and FCR-D (Frequency Containment Reserve - Disturbance).

When your battery is connected to the grid, it acts as a buffer, part of a virtual network of batteries across the country. At times of the day when the load on the grid is highest, electricity is drawn from your battery, to be sent back when the power demand is lower - it's all done automatically and you are compensated handsomely for the inconvenience - the bigger the battery, the more you can get. The exact amount varies over the years, but it can be thousands of dollars each month - enough to make your battery investment pay for itself in just a few years.

Electricity arbitrage, the automatic trading of electricity that adjusts to current hourly prices, also allows you to charge your battery when electricity is cheapest - not just when the sun is shining - and sell it back when it's most expensive.

Cut peak power - reduce your electricity bills

Another benefit of battery storage is that you can even out your own consumption throughout the day. Almost all electricity companies now use power billing, which is based on your highest power consumption during the month. By using stored self-generated electricity when you consume the most, you reduce the peak power and can thus significantly reduce your electricity bill.

The amount of power that can be withdrawn at any given time depends on the property's main fuse. If you get an electric car, the main fuse may have to be upgraded to provide enough power - resulting in more expensive subscriptions. But with a battery, you can even out the power requirement and avoid this additional cost, and without raising the monthly power.

With a battery, you can also use more of your own generated electricity. Instead of selling the surplus during the day when no one is at home, you can save it for the evening when it is more needed - but here the savings opportunities are usually not so great.

Coping with power cuts

With a battery storage system, it is also possible to cope with even longer power outages of up to 24 hours with so-called island operation, where the property's needs are covered by the battery until the power is restored. Of course, the stored energy does not cover everything - if you want to run the electric heater in the heat pump, fast charge the electric car, bake pizza in the oven and brew coffee at the same time, it can be tricky, but with a little thought, it is enough for the essentials - such as lighting, broadband router, computer and TV.

More possibilities with battery storage

In some areas, there are so-called flex markets for the local grid. Instead of expanding the grid, the grid can be relieved by using privately owned batteries nearby - for which you are compensated by the grid owner.