Recently, Germany-based global company Tesvolt GmbH has rolled out a new battery storage system, which for the first time has its own Energy Management System (EMS) and an Integrated Industrial Inverter. The TS-I HV 80 is designed to achieve exceptionally high power electricity cost savings through the use of intelligent functions. Its new power quality technology ensures high power quality that prolongs the lifespan of machines in commercial and industrial settings. The new storage system also provides reliable back-up power. The company also provides thorough training on operation of the device.
The transformation of the energy market has made long-term planning security for energy costs all but impossible. Yet every change also brings opportunities. Many have already taken advantage of the energy transition to tap into an attractive business with secure revenue streams with photovoltaic installations, biogas generation and wind power. Now battery storage systems offer the next big opportunity.
Self-consumption Optimisation
If the solar yield is greater than the current electricity consumption, the excess is fed into the battery storage system. If the solar yield dips below power requirements, the storage system kicks in and delivers the needed electricity. When it runs out, electricity is drawn from the utility grid. In this way, the self-consumption share can be boosted to 80% or more.
Potential users: Operations with a photovoltaic installation or a suitable roof, e.g., carriers, agriculture, workshops and factories.
Physical Peak Shaving
Consumers with load profile measurement primarily pay for the utilised power. Costs are based on the moments when power consumption is the highest, i.e., the peak loads. Battery storage systems can provide stored electricity during peak loads and reduce utility grid consumption. This reduces the connected load and can save thousands of rupees
per year.
Potential users: Operations with high power consumption and load profile measurement, e.g., quick charging stations, agriculture, workshops and manufacturing.
Multi-use Applications
Multi-use enables the combination of two operational management strategies: Self-Consumption Optimisation (SCO), Peak Shaving (physical or RLM) and Time of Use (ToU). A storage area can be defined for each of the selected applications depending on specific requirements, for maximum service life and economic efficiency.
Inexpensive Back-up Power
Battery storage systems help in ensuring a reliable power supply. The user can also optimise or completely replace a diesel generator with a battery storage system. In case of a power outage, the user’s battery storage system takes over the power supply and his/her operation keeps running without interruption.
Potential users: Operations that depend on a reliable power supply, e.g., livestock farming, cold stores.
Earn Money with Ancillary Services
TESVOLT battery storage systems can also provide so-called ancillary services. On behalf of the user’s distribution system operator, his/her battery storage system balances out fluctuations in the utility grid. In return, he/she is paid according to the type and scope of the available services.
Potential users: Operators of larger battery storage systems with a grid connection.
Reliable Power Supply without the Utility Grid
Suppose you need electricity, but there’s no grid connection available: In conjunction with a power source such as a photovoltaic installation and/or a CHP, battery storage systems enable the creation of an off-grid system. Battery storage systems can also optimise the consumption of diesel generators.
Potential users: Properties that need electricity but lack a grid connection.
Other Potential Applications with TS-I HV 80
Generation Control
To achieve optimal utilisation of power generation capacity, the storage system controls when power sources are switched on and off. It’s possible, for example, to start or stop combined heat and power units or diesel generators in addition to the renewable sources – depending on the state of charge of the battery. This ensures that only as much power as is needed at a given moment is generated, but also never too little. This, in turn, ensures that energy is neither wasted nor unnecessarily drawn from the utility grid.
Load Control
In simple terms, automatic load control means that loads are switched off when they are not needed at a given moment. For instance, unnecessary use of expensive utility grid electricity can be avoided in periods of increased power needs. Another example is power outages, when the entire system has to rely on emergency power from the battery storage system. In this case, the automatic shutdown of all unneeded loads ensures maximum utilisation of the stored electricity – or the renewable sources if the wind or PV installation is generating power at the time in question. This application can be used to control charging stations as well.
Forecast-based Charging
If more PV electricity is being produced than consumed at a given moment (e.g., on sunny days with a fully charged battery storage system), the surplus electricity can be fed into the public utility grid in exchange for payment. By law, however, the output of the PV installation must in some cases be curtailed, which results in curtailment losses: surplus solar energy is wasted. This is uneconomical. To avoid this, forecast-based charging is useful. The TESVOLT Energy Manager evaluates weather forecast data, battery capacity and the current state of charge. The algorithm determines a strategy for the control of the storage system, for example for the following 24 hours.
With physical Peak Shaving (PS), every consumption peak that occurs is simply covered by electricity from the battery storage system, while the system involved in registering Load Profile Measurement (RLM) works at 15-minute intervals to ensure greater accuracy and therefore also greater efficiency.
The maximum consumption peak tolerated by the supplier is circumvented because the amount of electricity consumed is registered over a period of 15 minutes to permit short peak loads. The TESVOLT Energy Manager only comes into play when the average consumption is in danger of exceeding the maximum tolerated peak value within the 15-minute interval.
What Characterises a Good Energy Storage System?
Rapid Discharge (1C)
It is essential for high power levels. If the C-rate is too low, the storage system has to be very large to provide the required power. This ultimately makes the storage system unnecessarily expensive.
High Efficiency and Low Stand-by Losses
Some energy is ‘lost’ in each storage process. The storage system efficiency indicates how much of the energy in the storage system can be taken out of it. This value should be well over 90%, while stand-by losses should be no greater than 5 watts.
Flexible Extension and Exchange
As a rule, batteries can only be exchanged or added in the first few months after commissioning. Systems in which batteries can be added or replaced at any time are better.
Highest Safety Standards
For storage systems, make sure the battery is monitored on the cell level as this is the only way to detect the need for maintenance at an early stage. The battery cells should also come from a reputable source. Established manufacturers offer cells that will not ignite even if damaged.
Intelligent Battery Management
Monitoring each individual battery cell is essential to ensure maximum performance, safety and durability. This ensures that all cells are optimally charged and discharged at all times and that potential errors are detected in good time.
High Cycle Stability and Lifespan
Battery storage systems are subjected to wear with each charge cycle. There is therefore a specified number of full charge cycles for a storage system – before it goes below a certain residual capacity. There is also a lifespan in calendar years that specifies the maximum lifetime in years.
What Does That Mean, Exactly?
DoD
Depth of Discharge (DoD) – indicates the maximum discharge depth of a storage system. Many storage systems cannot be fully discharged, which means that not all of the energy in the storage system is available for use. Good storage systems have a depth of discharge of 100%.
Full Cycle
A full cycle is a single instance of complete charging and discharging of a storage system. In practice, this involves totalling partial charges and discharges. One of the ways the lifespan of a storage system is specified is with a number of full cycles.
C-rate
This indicates how quickly a storage system can be charged or discharged. 1C means that a storage system can be fully charged or discharged within an hour. A storage system with 0.5C requires two hours for the same, while for 2C it takes just half an hour.
How Does Cell Balancing Work?
Cells age at different rates. These differences between the cells have a negative impact on the charging and discharging behaviour of the battery. Cell balancing attempts to minimise these differences as much
as possible.
In ‘passive balancing’, all cells are brought to the level of the weakest cell by having the stronger ones burn off energy. In ‘unidirectional balancing’, stronger cells charge any weaker subsequent cells. Thanks to the ‘Active Battery Optimizer’, balancing is carried out between all battery cells within the battery module and even between the different
battery modules.
Source: www.tesvolt.com
