How Solar, Storage, and EV Charging Work Together

PowerFlex
July 26, 2021

How Solar, Storage, and EV Charging Work Together - PowerFlex

Installing a solar photovoltaic system on your property can offset energy costs as well as mitigate your organization’s environmental impact. While solar is highly effective on its own, even more financial and environmental benefits can be unlocked when combined with battery storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and more. Here’s how these different technologies work together to positively impact your operations.

Hedging Utility Costs With Solar-Plus-Storage

An onsite solar system with battery storage installed creates more flexibility in terms of when you’re able to use the energy that’s generated. Under normal circumstances, solar production begins as the sun rises in the morning, peaks at midday, and tapers off toward the evening as the sun sets. With battery storage, any energy that’s generated in excess of what your facility consumes during the day can be banked and used to fulfil energy needs during times of lower solar production, thereby limiting or avoiding having to draw electricity from the grid. This practice is especially useful in hedging against time-of-use (TOU) utility charges, allowing you to use battery energy when electricity is most expensive. Storage also allows for “peak shaving,” or using battery energy to lower your facility’s monthly peak energy usage, which utilities often charge on a higher rate.

EV Charging and Load Management

Making EV charging available at your facility sends a clear message to your employees and patrons that your organization prioritizes sustainability and the adoption of climate-conscious technologies. And when you implement EV charging alongside solar-plus-storage, you can do so without incurring added energy costs. A solar-plus-storage system allows you to “flatten” your facility’s total electrical load, including the electricity needed to power EV chargers. What’s more, when you choose PowerFlex, we can build your system with scale in mind to ensure that you can keep pace with charging demand without breaking the bank. To that end, we employ a state-of-the-art software algorithm called Adaptive Load Management (ALM) that balances power usage between a large number of EV charging stations, reducing energy-related expenditures by as much as 60%.

Energy Resiliency Through Microgrids

When solar, storage, and EV charging technologies are tied together in a microgrid, your facility becomes resilient and self-sustaining in the face of utility disruptions such as power failures caused by bad weather or equipment breakdowns. A microgrid has the ability to isolate from the larger utility grid, and provides a facility with power using a combination of the solar array, stored battery energy, and a generator. When combining several components into a single renewable energy system, it’s important to monitor and optimize its output with an energy management system. That’s where PowerFlex’s Energy Solutions & Analytics Platform comes in. It ensures all parts of your system work in perfect harmony, and that energy is generated and consumed as efficiently and sustainably as possible. The platform tracks performance through real-time insights as well as historical data reporting, and consolidates information into a unified asset dashboard that provides at-a-glance visibility into the system.

Whether you’re considering a fully integrated renewable energy system or are interested in a standalone solar, storage, or EV solution, PowerFlex is a trusted developer you can count on. We’ve helped hundreds of clients as varied as Amazon, Target, and NASA turn their financial and sustainability goals into reality through clean energy technologies. Go ahead and contact us today for more information and a free consultation.