A battery energy storage system is very simply a series of batteries which can charge from the distribution network and release the power to your premises, when you want it to.

It is ideally suited to businesses who:
* Suffer from power outages (and want an emergency back-up supply to prevent downtime)
* Want to reduce their electricity bill (without reducing consumption)
* Need additional power, but it is not available on the local electricity network.

It connects into the existing Low Voltage (LV) installation for your site (such as an LV distribution board or panel). The entire installation is ‘behind your electricity meter’ meaning no work is required to the incoming supply to your premises. This makes it easy to retrofit.

It both charges and releases power to your premises through your LV distribution board.

If you generate electricity onsite, such as solar PhotoVoltaic (PV) panels, it can also store excess electricity instead of it being exported to the grid. Onsite generation is not needed for a battery energy storage system – it is an additional benefit if you do.

The capacity of the battery storage system is based upon your specific requirements. It is measured in terms of the rate of power discharge – termed the POWER OUTPUT (MW) – and the LENGTH OF TIME (hours) over which the power discharge should be maintained.

This results in the ENERGY STORAGE CAPACITY (MWh).

For example, a 1MWh system would release 1MW of power for 1 hour.
A 2MWh system could release 2MW for 1 hour, or 1MW for 2 hours.

To determine the optimum system capacity for your premises, we would consider:
*The size and duration of a back-up supply in case of a power outage
*The optimal capacity to reduce your import from the grid during the peak tariff period; or
*The additional capacity to boost your existing supply during peak production periods

The physical size of the battery energy storage system depends upon its capacity. A 1MWh system would have a footprint of around one car park space.