DIY ESS - Already 2 Years of 24/7 Service with Solar at Home !

Yes, it's been 2 years yesterday, since I started producing & storing my Solar surplus at home for re-use whenever necessary, during the day, or in the evening when the sun goes down
http://www.myelifenow.com/2013/07/starting-first-full-day-of-solar.html



My Energy Storage System was actually working several months before that, and my Solar Panels where installed on the roof almost 9 months before too, but I was waiting for my solar contractor to complete the install with his own special inverter, which was too delayed in the end, so I asked him to installa regular one, and we agreed on an 3kW SMA unit

Once installed, I could finally generate my own solar electricity, and my ESS being ready and tested, it worked right away seamlessly :)
http://www.myelifenow.com/2013/07/uni-solar-pvl-sma-inverter-finished.html



That was two years ago, and it has been doing great over time: No breakdown, no Battery problem (I read so many things about sceptick folks on this), it has been working like a charm



With less solar generation during winter, I used the Forced Charge function to charge from low cost electricity at night, to help push low cost energy back into my home grid to help heating, lighting and cooking



As we can see on the Wattson / EnergyHive portal where my generation & usage data are collected in real time, it is saving around 250 EUR per year (over the last year), and since the price per kWh goes up all the time, it will save evne more in the future
http://wattson.energyhive.com/dashboard/diyesskit



My ESS has been registered on the DOE - Department Of Energy - Global Energy Storage Database back in July 2013, few days after, under PRojet Reference 720
http://www.energystorageexchange.org/projects/720


But wait, there's more ...

A second unit, called Mini ESS, based on 3 Nissan LEAF battery modules, installed in october, has helped store and save even more, at night during winter, and now from 11AM to 4PM, harvesting during the peak production period of sunny days



Also I am in the process of building and testing a second version of this DIY ESS, called DIY ESS V2 with Enphase, because it will use the famous Enphase Micro Inverters - M215 or M250 - for more efficiency
It's design & build should be simpler, but it is not ready yet ...



With the new Tesla PowerWall, Enphase AC Battery coming, it really shows everyone that Energy Storage is a serious business and a perfect complement to solar and/or wind installs, at the residential level !

To Celebrate this 2 years milestone, I decided tho slash the DIY ESS Kit price and remove 100 EUR from it, dropping from 249 to 149 EUR ! (Kit #2 is also reduced by the same amount of course)

Also the Kit Building Documentations are now available to anyone FOR FREE on the DIY ESS Kit website ! "All our Patents are belong to you" ;)
http://www.diyesskit.com/p/documentation.html   (look for the "=> Get the PDF File" links)



To have more info about the Kit and why not build your own, go to:

http://www.diyesskit.com
or
http://www.storeyourenergy.com


Now, you can start building your own DIY Energy Storage System for your Home !

Buidling a Mini Energy Storage System - ESS - to Store More Energy at Night during Winter

You probably followed my AESC / LEAF Battery Modules adventures since last March: Ordering them from Las Vegas, Bottom Balancing them, Wiring them in Series and Testing them for month in my bedroom with a 24V 10A LiFePO4 charger and a SUN 250G Grid Tie Inverter

Here is a link to all these previous posts on the same subject : http://www.myelifenow.com/search/label/AESC+ESS+leaf

In October I finally decided to pack of this "mess" into a compact Mini ESS - Energy Storage System - and below are the steps I went through, using a Bordeaux 6-bootle wooden crate - we are in France ;) -



This small unit is now upstairs in the living and used every day and every night, mostly to store as much Energy as we can at night when Electricity is half price during 8 hours with our TOU plan from EDF

This Mini AESC / LEAF Battery Modules ESS is storing 1.5 kWh of Energy at night and is pushing it back into our home grid during the day :)



So I started with these 3 LEAF battery modules, wired in series, and tested over 6 months



The idea was to find an enclosure that fit the modules almost perfectly and I thought about a 6-bottle wine crate to do the job


Warning: be extremely careful when using metallic tools with exposed battery connections !! a short could cause massive damage to you since the power output is HUGE !



So it fit almost but the tabs were sticking out a bit, an opening would be necessary anyways to access them to be able to check the voltage and access the connections when needed

Let's cut out this window


and pill up the 3 AESC modules


Now it is time to dismount the whole charge and discharge control system and install it inside the box, on top of the modules: it is made of a dual relay programmable voltmeter, and 2 Tyco Kilovac contactors - overkill for this system, but it's always better -



I did not want to put all these components directly on top of the modules so I added a small piece of wood, cut it to fit in length and did not cover the whole surface to let the modules breathe a little even if they do not heat up at all, they just get lukewarm towards the end of the charge around 4.1V per half modules



After came the fitment of all the rest: the 250W Grid Tie Inverter, same one used in my big DIY ESS upstairs, a 10A 24V - actually 29.2V - LiFePO4 charger and all the cables and wires
The 2 Kilovacs will face each other taking minimum space like this


Then we need to rewire the modules in series, but this time with connections using new 6mm lugs, add the main breaker in the middle of the pack for safety - and long time storage -


Soldering all the cables, using 2.5mm2 solid copper, too big for carrying 10A in both charge and discharge modes on short distances, but it is always better - and I can always double or triple the current later upgrading with other chargers and grid tie inverters -





First test after rewiring everything : it works, good !



At this point I brought the Mini ESS upstairs and put it next to the big one


I quickly protected exposed connections with a plastic cover, switched on the charger and it completed its first night charge - using half price electricity -


I forgot to talk about the main switch which simply allows, OFF in the center, Charger ON upper position, and Discharge through the Grid Tie Inverter in lower position
Bot Charge and Discharge modes are cut off automatically when the upper and lower Pack voltage limits are reached : 24.9V for full down to 21.6V for empty (6 half modules with voltage from 4.15V down to 3.6V)

The next week end I looked for a way to cover the whole unit and found a plastic box cover that fit perfectly


Tall wood screws will be perfect to hold it in place leaving some space to let the warm air from both charger and GTI get out


I screwed the small plastic box cover on the connections and this should be fine to protect - small holes will be drilled to be able to check the modules voltage, even if this is not moving at all, as I learned during the last 6 months test period -
The main DC breaker here is used to break the pack in two if unusual high current is reached in case of a short circuit for example, and to avoid any drain of the voltmeter if the Mini ESS is not used for long periods of time - holidays for example -


Now it remains here in the living room, next to the other ESS which has been running for a year and a half now with solar


Here is the UStream channel where I can watch both Generation and Net Usage at home anytime remotly (link on the upper right)




and screenshots of the Wattson Anywhere portal providing graphs (link on the upper right too)






So this little unit is helping the big one by adding an extra 1.5kWh of storage at home


and they both try to keep our NEt Usage as close to 0W as possible ;)

Energy Storage Will Soon Be in Every Home

As solar energy becomes more common we may need energy storage to help stabilize the grid. Image source: SolarCity


Within the next 25 years every home will not only be connected to the electric grid, they'll have their own energy storage system that will keep the lights on in a power outage and help make energy more efficient for everyone to use.

That may seem like a wild concept but some of the most forward thinking companies in energy predict that energy storage will soon be accompanied with every solar energy system in the U.S. With as fast as the residential solar industry is growing it's only a matter of time before a battery box may be hanging in your basement.

Storage solutions are here
Companies have been testing storage solutions for years but they're finally starting to see the light of day in the consumer market. SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY ) has launched an energy storage solution for the home and a commercial offering with the help of Tesla Motors(NASDAQ: TSLA ) . The system isn't meant to be a way to go off-grid but it'll keep the refrigerator working and the lights on in a power outage.

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR ) has introduced a similar small storage system and is offering it in new homes built by KB Home (NYSE: KB ) . Like SolarCity, the goal isn't to allow homeowners to go off-grid, but storage will instead be used for backup power in case of emergencies.



Inverter maker Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH ) jumped into the game this week with an AC battery that's meant to be an easy to install addition to residential and commercial solar projects. Enphase is making the product modular so more than one battery can be put in a home, and it's supposed to allow for smarter energy storage for nighttime or high consumption usage instead of just drawing energy from the grid.

SolarCity's commercial energy storage solution, built by Tesla Motors

Why energy storage is the future of energy
These energy storage solutions may seem like small steps but they're part of a much larger move into making distributed energy production smarter and more efficient. Right now, homes and businesses that have solar systems are pushing power to the grid or drawing from the grid at unpredictable times, forcing utilities to run spinning reserves and putting strain on the local distribution network. If built properly, even small energy storage systems can smooth out the load on the grid and make the entire network more efficient.

As the cost of solar power comes down the industry will grow to nearly every home and I think these energy storage solutions will become a standard offering as part of a solar system. As that critical mass is reached, storage will become even more important as a way to stabilize the grid, even with small storage systems. That's why I think it's only a matter of time before we all have energy storage systems.

Where to make money in energy storage
Companies are rushing to get into energy storage but the winners may not be who you think. Batteries are already a commodity product around the world and most energy storage systems are using lithium ion batteries that are essentially plug and play in the market.

Instead, the companies integrating batteries and solar systems will be the big winners long term. For example, SunPower's energy storage solution is also the solar system's inverter, turning DC solar electricity into AC power we use in the home. This full solution is where the value is added, not just in the batteries.

SolarCity is doing something similar, although it isn't yet an inverter manufacturer. But as Tesla Motors builds out its Gigafactory and batteries become a more common offering I would be surprised if they didn't start making inverters with energy storage included.

This is also the strategy Enphase Energy is taking, being the point of contact for the grid, energy storage, and the solar system.

Energy storage will be another important tool in the kit for solar companies in the future and those who can integrate it effectively will be a step ahead of competitors. As SunPower and SolarCity add energy storage look for them to continue to be big winners in this space but keep an eye on Enphase Energy. It is moving into more of an energy management role and that's a better way to add value to this space than just supplying a commodity product like inverters to the market.

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Source: The Motley Fool

DIY ESS Kit 1 Price Lowered to 249 EUR only !

I recently decided to lower the price of my DIY ESS Kit #1 and #2

It is now starting at 249 EUR only ...   ==>  http://www.DIYESSKit.com

Start building your own Energy Storage System and use your own Energy !

DIY ESS Kit - General Presentation

After a year of successful Energy Storage at home, here is my very first Presentation of the system I designed from ground up ...



Here are the slide I made and commented for this video:















Visit my dedicated website here: http://www.diyesskit.com