If your energy storage is powered by solar panels, you are eligible for 26% federal tax credit. Many states and utilities provide rebates for homes and businesses with energy storage systems, aiming for grid resilience.
Peak shaving also employs stored energy to reduce or eliminate additional fees associated with peak power demand, which can be quite substantial based on the utility rate structure. By deploying stored energy to supplement grid power, with or without PV, PHI batteries can provide substantial energy cost savings by ‘shaving-off’ your peak usage.
Energy arbitrage means storing excess energy produced by your PV system during the day in batteries so it can be deployed later in the evening and night time when your electrical loads can be higher, solar production has waned or ceased and utility rates for electricity increase in cost. This can be especially valuable for customers who are subject to time of use rates (TOU).
There are many different applications and use cases for energy storage. Batteries have traditionally been used in off-grid scenarios to store and provide power from solar, wind or diesel generators in remote locations 24/7 long after the sun goes down or the wind stops blowing or your diesel runs out. However, there are a number of advantages to including energy storage in grid connected systems: energy arbitrage, peak shaving, and back-up power in the case of grid failure.