Energy Storage at Home : Already Saved 120 EUR in 6 Months with my DIYESS :)

As I announced few weeks ago, after 6 months of logging Home Generation and Usage on the EnergyHive online platform through my Wattson unit and their Gateway, it mentions that I already saved 120 EUR :)

This online portal, free of use, is gathering my Generation from Solar Panels + Energy Storage System and Power Usage; The price per kWh purchased from the Utility company can be entered and is used to calculate the savings over time, for power not used from them, but replaced by Solar or Stored Energy

Since June 2014 I have been logging my Power (Generated & Used) every 3 seconds and being on vacation for 4 weeks during this period, my ESS turned off, it has been roughly 6 mois; So I can see that I saved almost 20 EUR per month, which is not bad with my small 1.2kWp Solar Install

Almost all the Energy produced by Solar and the ESS is used at Home, thanks to the automated ESS charging and discharging capability





As I am writing this post today, after few weeks, the total savings (of data logged, not before) is now up to nearly 137 EUR



and I recently updated the Utility price per kWh as it just increased as of January 1st

As Electricity price will continue to increase, it is a good thing to be able to save all along the way ....

More info on my DIY Energy Storage System here : http://www.diyesskit.com or http://www.storeyourenergy.com

Vacation in Marseille - EVs and Solar

Last week, we went down from Paris to Marseille, using TGV - French high speed train - at 300 km/h

We have been there several times and love it because the weather is warmer, and staying at the Vieux Port - old harbor - is pretty nice

We can do mostly everything in walking distance or using public transportation, sometimes electric, like this Solar powered free boat, going across the harbor

Two screens show the instant power Generated by Solar (around 3kW on the roof) and Used by the Motors (front and back, since it goes both directions)


The view of the harbor from it is great





Tramway, electric also and well designed


Also I saw some EVs here and there, even a famous shellfish delivers using small city EVs

Marseille City Water Service i-MiEV


A Renault Twizy parked with motorcycles here


A city small electric truck charging directly from the office outlet by the window :-)



A Smart ED, in black for once, with the a broken gas lid, did someone try to still gas here ? :-) no luck ...



New buses are Hybrid, still diesel, but at least their engine stops when they are not moving

Solar Charging everything at Home

The sun is back and here is an overview of solar charging going on at home : Rechargeable Batteries, iPhones, iPads, Energy Storage System, Go Motorboard 2000X, etc

SolarCity Expanding Asset-Backed Debt Offerings to Retail Investors

SolarCity Expanding Asset-Backed Debt Offerings to Retail Investors

New York -- SolarCity Corp., the first U.S. company to sell bonds backed by rooftop solar panels, plans to offer similar products to individual investors.

The company says it expects to introduce within six months an online system for retail investors to provide debt for SolarCity's rooftop power plants.

The system will provide one of the few opportunities for individuals to back renewable-energy projects, which generate steady revenue from selling electricity and may be less risky than equities. The arrangement also provides a new source of funding for San Mateo, California-based SolarCity, said Chief Executive Officer Lyndon Rive.

"The more sources of capital for solar investments, the more competition and hopefully it will lower financing costs," Rive said in an interview. He didn't provide details on the potential returns for investors.

The company is following Oakland, California-based Mosaic Inc. in offering retail investors a share of the revenue stream from financing solar-power systems. Mosaic was founded in April 2011 and has facilitated more than $5.6 million in funding.

"We expect billions of dollars of investment through this platform," Rive said. He declined to provide a more precise amount or time frame. The company will use the funds to refinance its portfolio of completed solar projects.

The lending technology was developed by Common Assets LLC, which SolarCity bought. The company's two employees have both joined the solar provider to manage the web-based investment system, according to the statement.

SolarCity installs rooftop solar systems for customers who typically pay little to nothing up front and sign long-term contracts to buy the power.

The company sold $54.4 million in bonds on Nov. 13 with a 4.8 percent interest rate, and is planning to offer as much as $200 million of additional notes. The company needs regular injections of capital to fund new solar plants.



Source: Renewable Energy World

ASD Sunstorage - ASD solar storage system awarded prize for innovation

ASD solar storage system awarded prize for innovation

Company solves technical challenges of energy storage

Berlin/Hamburg, Germany, November 15, 2013 – The company ASD Automatic Storage Device has received the German Renewables Award 2013 for its outstanding solar energy storage system “ASD Sonnenspeicher”, winning Innovative Product of the Year at the award ceremony in Hamburg yesterday. The sun storage system sets itself apart from conventional products thanks to its special operating principle which enabled ASD to overcome various technical challenges in the field of energy storage. The German Renewables Award was presented by the Renewable Energy Hamburg Cluster (EEHH), an industry network with around 180 members. The panel of judges consisted of high-profile representatives from science and industry.

Thanks to the manufacturer’s intelligent electronics, the storage system charges the batteries even in low insolation conditions when the photovoltaic system is producing as little as one watt of energy. The device is connected to all three phases and supplies solar power to the entire building. If the storage system is supplying enough solar energy, the entire building is disconnected from the power grid. It only takes one millisecond for the electronics to switch between the power grid and battery, making the system significantly quicker than any other device on the market. In the event of a power cut, all appliances in the building continue to function without interruption, instead of being turned off for seconds or minutes at a time. The ASD solar storage system differs from other lithium-ion storage systems thanks to its lithium iron phosphate battery technology, which provides ultimate levels of safety. The batteries can neither ignite nor explode.

“The ASD solar storage system sets new standards by storing solar energy much more efficiently. It eases the burden on the grid and uses intelligent power management to maximize on-site consumption. The system therefore has the potential to significantly help Germany and other countries reach their energy policy goals,” reasoned Prof. Dr. Andreas Reuter, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES, by way of explaining the judges’ decision.

“I developed the ASD solar storage system two years ago after I was unable to find anything on the market that met my requirements for my own home. I would never have guessed that it would turn into such a success story. Today, our storage system is extremely sought after. We have managed to solve various technical challenges that no one in the industry had previously been able to overcome. The award confirms to us that we are on the right path, and I am delighted to have received such recognition,” explained Wolfram Walter, Managing Director of ASD, graduate engineer and storage systems expert. He founded the company in May 2013 alongside the engineer Gerd Knoll, the founder and managing director of mechanical engineering company Knoll-Feinmechanik. ASD has already filed five patents applications for its storage system.
About ASD Automatic Storage Device

ASD Automatic Storage Device GmbH is located in Umkirch, near the German city of Freiburg. The company was founded in May 2013 by the engineers Wolfram Walter and Gerd Knoll. ASD produces an intelligent solar energy storage system that uses control electronics to enable households or commercial enterprises to be as self-sufficient as possible. The storage system is based on lithium ion phosphate battery technology and was developed by Wolfram Walter in 2011. The ASD solar storage system is manufactured in Germany.
Press contact

Vera Neuhäuser
Tel. + 49 (0) 30 – 72 62 96 465
Cell: + 49 (0) 178 – 53 68 425
neuhaeuser@sunbeam-communications.com


Spec Sheet PDF


Source: ASD SunStorage

DIY ESS - Solar & Energy Storage under Grey Sky ...

We always see pictures and videos of Solar panels under a great sunshine, but to tell the truth, it is not always like this ...

Here are Energy Monitors, Graphs, Pictures and Video of the bare reality of what happens when the sun is hiding

Sometimes the solar generation is rather low - with my 1000W solar install - but still something is coming out of it steadily during the day; Now fall is here, sun starts producing around 9AM instead of 7AM, but around 200-250W all day long when the sky is grey

Fo rnow, no heating is required yet, and the ESS I built is doing the job: Capturing any excess/surplus of power into the Battery pack for later use and always keep the Net Usage (= Usage - Generation) as close to 0W as possible

Whenever a washing machine water heating cycle comes on, the ESS stops charging the Battery pack and uses the Energy saved in it to push it back into our home grid, reducing the usage from the utility company. It is really a Peak Shaving device  

As you can see, the ESS keeps the Net Usage around 0W; That's the yellow line on these graphs

Here we can see that the early morning consumption is not covered by the ESS anymore like it used to be during summer : The Battery pack voltage is too low and no Power will be drawn from it until it reaches a certain level with Solar; Also, at night, the sun setting earlier, I often see the SMA inverter quit around 6PM now especially when grey, and the ESS quicks in right away to supply all the household Power for lights, TV, computer, etc ... until the Battery is back to low and the ESS then quits too - If sunny the whole evening usage can usually be covered - 

When Power is required, the ESS switches from Charge Mode to Grid Tie Inverter Mode to help supply this additional Watts to our home

This video shows an example of power pushed by the ESS into our home while cooking lunch

As we go deeper into fall and heating will soon be on during the day, I think I will use the Forced Charge Mode on the ESS to start charging during off peak hours (TOU), at night, and start the day with a Fully charged Battery pack, ready to crush it !  :-)

Self-Consumption of Solar Power with PowerRouter from Nedap

Presentation of the PowerRouter from Nedap to maximise self-consumption of solar at home