ENERGY STO­RAGE
IN HOUSE­HOLDS

The advan­cing decen­tra­liza­tion of the energy sys­tem puts indi­vi­dual house­holds and their gene­ra­tion faci­li­ties at the centre of the energy tran­si­tion. No lon­ger just the major energy pro­vi­ders, but pri­vate house­holds and com­mu­ni­ties, known as “Pro­sumers,” become key play­ers in the energy mar­ket. Pro­sumers simul­ta­neously pro­duce and con­sume a signi­fi­cant por­tion of their own energy needs.

With nearly 1,000,000 instal­led sys­tems, house­hold energy sto­rage alre­ady repres­ents the lar­gest seg­ment in the energy sto­rage mar­ket today.

Fle­xi­bi­lity, energy secu­rity, and cost effi­ci­ency drive the popu­la­rity of home sto­rage sys­tems. These energy sto­rage solu­ti­ons make house­holds lar­gely self-suf­fi­ci­ent, enab­ling round-the-clock rene­wa­ble elec­tri­city and heat sup­ply, fully uti­li­zing the poten­tial of PV sys­tems. There are various appli­ca­ti­ons of energy sto­rage in house­holds. Some examp­les include achie­ving energy auto­nomy levels of 80% or more.

The PV instal­la­tion will gene­rate energy during the day depen­ding on the solar radia­tion. Howe­ver, a great deal of the demand usually occurs in the mor­ning and evening hours when the family is home. An energy sto­rage sys­tem offers the ideal solu­tion here. It stores energy at the time of gene­ra­tion and makes it available as it is requi­red.

The use of energy sto­rage sys­tems enables house­holds to become more inde­pen­dent of the power grid. In the event of power outa­ges or other dis­rup­ti­ons to the grid, energy sto­rage sys­tems can also serve as a backup power sup­ply, kee­ping vital sys­tems and appli­ances run­ning. A pro­per home sto­rage sys­tem can not only pro­vide energy to the house­hold, but also offer addi­tio­nal ser­vices to the public power sys­tem. By using house­hold sto­rage in multi-use mode, vol­tage and fre­quency fluc­tua­tions can be balan­ced to ensure a sta­ble power sup­ply. Fur­ther­more, the dome­stic sto­rage sys­tem can buf­fer power peaks in con­sump­tion so these do not enter the public grid.

The incre­asing trend towards e‑mobility has prompted many house­holds to com­ple­ment their PV sys­tems with an energy sto­rage sys­tem and a wall box. This allows the elec­tric vehicle (EV) to be sus­tain­ably and afford­a­bly char­ged with self-gene­ra­ted solar power. With the emer­gence of bidi­rec­tional sys­tems, the pro­cess can also work in two direc­tions, mea­ning the EV bat­tery can serve as an addi­tio­nal energy sto­rage for the house­hold (vehicle-to-home).

The BVES, through its working groups on buil­dings and house­hold sto­rage, col­la­bo­ra­tes with its mem­bers to iden­tify and eli­mi­nate exis­ting legal and bureau­cra­tic obs­ta­cles for house­hold energy sto­rage sys­tems. Addi­tio­nally, the BVES works to streng­then Pro­sumers and energy com­mu­ni­ties through poli­ti­cal advo­cacy.

In the area of norms and stan­dards, BVES mem­bers strive to deve­lop qua­lity cri­te­ria for this still-emer­ging mar­ket, with a par­ti­cu­lar focus on pro­duct safety. They work towards advan­cing appro­priate stan­dards and norms.

The main goal of these efforts is to put house­holds and energy com­mu­ni­ties, the Pro­sumers, at the centre of the energy tran­si­tion and the future energy sys­tem, ensu­ring fair and fle­xi­ble access to all energy mar­kets.