Using a solar battery calculator to optimize BESS sizing

Whether you’re a largen energy consumer looking for energy shifting to reduce costs or arge energy consumers and a solar energy provider wanting to increases the price of your energy salesfor time-of-use billing management, demand charge reduction, or increased PV self-consumption or you are an ISO/RTO in need of energy arbitrage, frequency regulation, or voltage support, battery storage offers significant opportunity and value. However, there are some considerable big challenges into achieving getting the full value out of your battery energy storage system (BESS). While an optimized battery management system (BMS) is a key factor during the battery lifetime, the first step is correctly sizing your battery for relevant incentive programs and battery specs in order to maximize the lifetime value of the battery.

There are multiple factors that need to be taken into account to properly calculate the correct battery size. It is crucial to correctly properly balance between maximizing returns over the asset lifetime with optimizing battery lifespan by accounting for critical battery specs and degradation parameters, such as depth of discharge (DoD), round-trip efficiency (RTE), and charge and discharge cycles. Plus, the incentive programs and battery value staking opportunities are becoming increasingly complex. 

If your battery is over or undersized or used outside of its specs, it could significantly decrease the lifetime value of your BESS. Some of the other financial challenges in correctly deploying a battery include:

• High initial capital costs

• Uncertain return on investment

• Variable incentives and subsidies

• Energy price volatility

• Demand charge management

• Production and consumption profiles

• Investment and production tax credits

Typically, BESS system design and engineering services are completed manually, making the process particularly resource intensive. This severely limits the industry’s ability to quickly deploy batteries as the market is poised for fast growth. That’s just one reason why the design process needs to be automated and economies of scale need to be applied to battery deployment.

Besides providing instantaneous recommendations, BESS calculators have additional benefits. For instance, they are able to provide decision making insights with straightforward visualizations of energy and cash flows. Plus critical Certain variables can be easily changed in order to display how they impact the lifetime value of the battery. 

Cash Flow Visualizations

An additional benefit of using a calculator is that when it is paired with a related battery management system and optimization platform, the battery can further benefit from advanced AI monitoring and management technology to realize its full value.

Want to learn more about the enSights BESS calculator? Fill out the form below to download the Storage Calculator whitepaper .