Energy Storage Systems (or ESS) include a wide range of technologies that aim to accumulate energy and deliver it when needed. These technologies can be either mechanical or chemical. The most common mechanical energy storage systems are pump hydro storage or flywheels, which are usually used to store energy from big power plants.
Mechanical Storage: Pumped hydro storage, Flywheels
Chemical Storage: Lead-acid batteries, Lithium-ion batteries
Renewable energy contributes increasingly to the total energy supply every year. With renewable energy resources such as solar and wind energy becoming globally widespread, chemical energy storage is also getting more popular.
Chemical-based ESS offer higher energy efficiency and energy density compared to mechanical-based ESS. As renewable energy becomes available to more people, a small but powerful and compact ESS becomes a viable solution that overcomes renewable energy drawbacks like intermittency.
An energy storage system is an expensive component; therefore, many factors must be carefully considered if you decide to use one. For residential applications, an energy storage system is more suitable:
Furthermore, the ESS system can provide flexibility to optimize the PV system because energy consumption varies on:
On the illustration from storage-lab, we can verify which technologies are being used in each system size as shown below. We can clearly see that lead-acid batteries are dominant in all sectors due to technological maturity, wider usage, and low prices. Soon though, lithium-ion batteries will catch up and replace lead-acid batteries.
A short comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of different types of batteries helps indicate when each technology can be used at its best.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LPF): used for energy storage due to their safety and lower cost than NMC by manufacturers such as BYD, Pylontech, Solax Triplepower, Sonnen…
Safety First: As always, safety for installers, their clients and the system are the priorities.
Transportation: Batteries and especially Lithium-ion batteries may be listed as hazardous goods that require special transportation methods. Installers should check carefully with distributors or manufacturers about these conditions in advance. Read more.
Care about the end of life process: Batteries generally have a shorter lifetime than other components of the system, which means that the installer must find out what to do with them after decommissioning. Chemical-based batteries may contain hazardous or toxic substances. Work with manufacturers to get instructions on how to dispose of batteries safely.
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