- When additional DNO upgrades are required on site which could prove costly and cause lengthy delays.
If you do not have spare capacity available from your grid connection, you will be asked to pay your distribution network operator (DNO) to upgrade it. This can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds and take many months as there is already a long waiting list – you’re not the only facilities manager looking to increase their electricity use. A BESS is a much more affordable alternative than a DNO upgrade.
- When solar panels are producing more energy than the site requires.
Some sites might find their solar arrays are producing energy when they can’t use it but also do not have enough energy to meet peak demand. For example, if your building is operational from 8 am to 6 pm, then in spring and summer your rooftop PV is generating energy before and after that time period – and that energy might be going to waste. A battery energy storage system enables you to store that energy for later use. Another great example is for premises where electric vehicles return to base at the end of the day. A BESS enables you to use that spare energy to recharge those EVs overnight.
- When there is an export capacity limit on site.
In the same way that your building has a maximum import capacity for how much energy you can draw down from the grid, most sites also have a maximum export capacity for how much energy you can sell back to the grid. If your on-site solar generates more surplus energy than your export capacity can handle, that energy will go to waste. Again, if there is available export capacity available, you can pay for an expensive DNO upgrade, but a BESS is a more affordable option with a better return on investment.
- When a site is on a variable tariff with a significant deferential between peak and off-peak costs.
If you’re on a variable tariff, and there is a big difference between what you pay during peak and off-peak periods, a BESS can help reduce your energy costs. The battery energy storage system can charge using electricity during the off-peak tariff period and store it and provide electricity to the site for use during peak tariff periods.
- When cutting carbon emissions is your priority
Even if you don’t have solar on-site, you can still use a BESS to cut your carbon footprint. There are certain times when energy from the grid has lower emissions as there is more renewable generation in the mix. A battery energy storage system has the intelligence to wait for these periods and fill up its batteries with this greener energy, for use during periods when grid electricity has a higher carbon cost.
- When additional resilience is required.
If a continuous energy supply is mission-critical to your business, BESS can provide a reliable backup.
Calculating the benefits
At Connected Energy, we calculate the potential benefits of BESS for your site up front, thanks to our feasibility study and our expert modelling team.
We can model current and future energy data, and then use it to calculate both the financial and carbon benefits of a battery energy storage system specifically for your use case. We can even show what would happen if you were to increase renewable energy on-site or how it could work with different mixes of EV chargers and heat pumps.
This enables you to build the internal business case with decision-makers in your organisation, ensuring everyone understands the potential benefits before the project begins.
Talk to us
Talk to us to find out more about a feasibility study for your site. For more information on BESS for facilities managers, download our free guide.
