Battery and solar panel combo could make customers big savings

Customers could save an estimated 20 per cent on their electricity bills if battery storage is fitted within homes with no solar PV – and the savings are even greater when batteries are coupled with solar PV and used for self-consumption.

Flashback: the test equipment being installed at the Hereford depot by Fitter Michael Bambrough

Those are some of the findings from our LV Connect & Manage project, which was funded through the Network Innovation Allowance.

“The aim of the project was to trial a form of network asset management to help us protect the network in areas where there are high concentrations of low carbon technologies,” said Innovation and Low Carbon Network Engineer Steve Pinkerton-Clark.

“We expected that customers with solar PV would save money but the genuine business case that emerged from using a combination of storage and tariffs was a surprise.”

The success of the project means that a process to deploy LV Connect & Manage in areas with high concentrations of low carbon technologies (LCTs) has been created.
Customers in high LCT areas with peak demand constraints will be offered the opportunity of waiting for conventional network reinforcement to take place or, alternatively, the installation of a Domestic Load Controller (DLC) box. 

The DLC box communicates with the local substation and, in the event of an impending overload situation being detected, will temporarily limit the charging level of electric vehicles and the discharging level of solar and battery systems.

The equipment was initially tested at the Hereford depot before being trialled by customers in West Bridgford, near Nottingham, and Furzton, near Milton Keynes.