Home battery can help solve power grid issues, says grid operator after test in Zeeland

Home batteries are much less taxing on the power grid when they are used during peak times. This was reported by the grid operator Stedin and Fractal Energy, who deliver batteries, after a test was conducted at 20 homes in Serooskerke, Zeeland. The power grid is full in many areas of the Netherlands, and a lot of power being supplied to a certain region at times when a lot is also consumed can lead to the grid becoming overloaded.

During the test, the batteries were charged at the moment of the day when the most solar energy was being supplied back to the grid. Power was then taken out of the batteries during moments when the energy usage was expected to hit a peak. This resulted in peaks in return supply decreasing by an average of one-eighth and peaks in energy consumption decreasing by an average of one-fifth, according to Stedin and Fractal Energy.

A digital test was also conducted in which companies looked at what would happen if 140 homes would use a home battery in this way. The results of this test showed that the peaks would become even smaller, according to Stein and Fractal Energy. Return peaks will then be more than half as large, and consumption peaks will almost disappear.

In addition, the companies emphasized that the test took place during the summertime, which meant that the peaks in the return supply were often high and the consumption peaks were low. The peak moments are often between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., according to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets(ACM).

Batteries that do not take the peak moments into account could make the power grid issues worse, Stedin and Fractal Energy reported. That is why they are calling for better regulation of home batteries and only allowing them onto the grid if they reduce peak moments.