EDUCATION | BATTERY STORAGE
What you need to know about battery storage
With an electricity storage system like the CASCAESS, anyone can drive their private energy transition at home
forward. But why is a home storage system worthwhile at all? How independent will I become with it? And why
does casca consistently use lithium iron phosphate batteries? This knowledge article answers these and many
other fundamental questions on the subject.
What you need to know about battery storage
With an electricity storage system like the CASCAESS, anyone can drive their private energy transition at home
forward. But why is a home storage system worthwhile at all? How independent will I become with it? And why
does casca consistently use lithium iron phosphate batteries? This knowledge article answers these and many
other fundamental questions on the subject.
casca
Content Team
What is an electricity storage system?
Why is an electricity storage system worthwhile?
How does an electricity storage system work in the home?
What battery technologies are available for electricity storage?
Why does casca only work with lithium iron phosphate technology?
How economical is a storage system?
How long is the service life of an electricity storage system?
What is the difference between an AC and DC system?
How independent does a storage system make me?
What is an electricity storage system?
An electricity storage system stores surplus electricity for a short time for later use. For example, a battery storage system such
as the cascaESS stores the surplus electricity produced by a PV system on a sunny day for the evening and night hours when
energy is needed in the household, e.g. for cooking or for the washing machine, but the sun is no longer shining. In this way,
homeowners can consume more self-generated electricity. Additionally, a higher self-consumption reduces electricity costs.
Why is an electricity storage system worthwhile?
If you produce green energy on your own roof with a photovoltaic system, you are doing something good for the environment.
For many years, the system was always the same: either the electricity was consumed directly by the household itself, or it was
fed into the national energy grid. Feed-in tariffs provided a return for producing green energy.
The self-produced solar energy, however, can only be consumed by the household in the hours in which it is also produced by
the PV system - just in time, so to speak. This means that washing machines and refrigerators can only be supplied with free
electricity from the roof during set times. The rest of the electricity is fed into the grid. But these payments have been falling for years.
The solution to being able to use one‘s own solar power independently of time and thus increase one‘s own self-consumption is
called battery storage. This smart device stores the electricity generated by the PV system and keeps it available without loss until
it is needed. Only when the home storage unit is fully charged is the surplus electricity fed into the grid.
By keeping a certain amount for self-consumption, the owners of an electricity storage system noticeably optimise their electricity
costs, because, with ever lower acquisition costs and simultaneously rising electricity prices, self-supply is the most economical
solution. Every kilowatt hour that is generated by the owner does not have to be paid for.
How does an electricity storage unit in the housework?
In the case of the CascaESS, a battery storage unit is a compact, slim device about 1.80 m high that is placed in a suitable location
in the house, usually in a utility room or the garage. The energy storage unit is connected to the PV system, the household, the grid,
and the inverter. The cascaESS stores surplus energy from the PV system that cannot currently be consumed in the house. In return,
the battery storage system can also supply energy if the PV system is not able to provide enough energy to fulfil the demand in the
house. In this way, the storage system avoids the otherwise necessary need to draw power from the grid and saves electricity costs.
To control these processes, the battery storage unit needs an intelligent control system. With the cascaESS, this is the energy
manager. The energy manager recognises how much electricity the PV system generates, how much of it is consumed in the house
and how much energy the battery must provide. This intelligent control is designed to consume as much free in-house electricity as
possible and to keep grid consumption as low as possible, thus actively saving electricity costs. In addition, the energy manager can
specifically wait to charge the storage unit and only start doing so when PV production is at its highest. Since this behaviour relieves
the electricity grids, it is also referred to as grid-serving storage. Grid-serving because a lot of electricity is fed into the grid on sunny
days, which can overload the grid. The cascaESS counteracts this potential overload by storing solar energy.
Content Team
What is an electricity storage system?
Why is an electricity storage system worthwhile?
How does an electricity storage system work in the home?
What battery technologies are available for electricity storage?
Why does casca only work with lithium iron phosphate technology?
How economical is a storage system?
How long is the service life of an electricity storage system?
What is the difference between an AC and DC system?
How independent does a storage system make me?
What is an electricity storage system?
An electricity storage system stores surplus electricity for a short time for later use. For example, a battery storage system such
as the cascaESS stores the surplus electricity produced by a PV system on a sunny day for the evening and night hours when
energy is needed in the household, e.g. for cooking or for the washing machine, but the sun is no longer shining. In this way,
homeowners can consume more self-generated electricity. Additionally, a higher self-consumption reduces electricity costs.
Why is an electricity storage system worthwhile?
If you produce green energy on your own roof with a photovoltaic system, you are doing something good for the environment.
For many years, the system was always the same: either the electricity was consumed directly by the household itself, or it was
fed into the national energy grid. Feed-in tariffs provided a return for producing green energy.
The self-produced solar energy, however, can only be consumed by the household in the hours in which it is also produced by
the PV system - just in time, so to speak. This means that washing machines and refrigerators can only be supplied with free
electricity from the roof during set times. The rest of the electricity is fed into the grid. But these payments have been falling for years.
The solution to being able to use one‘s own solar power independently of time and thus increase one‘s own self-consumption is
called battery storage. This smart device stores the electricity generated by the PV system and keeps it available without loss until
it is needed. Only when the home storage unit is fully charged is the surplus electricity fed into the grid.
By keeping a certain amount for self-consumption, the owners of an electricity storage system noticeably optimise their electricity
costs, because, with ever lower acquisition costs and simultaneously rising electricity prices, self-supply is the most economical
solution. Every kilowatt hour that is generated by the owner does not have to be paid for.
How does an electricity storage unit in the housework?
In the case of the CascaESS, a battery storage unit is a compact, slim device about 1.80 m high that is placed in a suitable location
in the house, usually in a utility room or the garage. The energy storage unit is connected to the PV system, the household, the grid,
and the inverter. The cascaESS stores surplus energy from the PV system that cannot currently be consumed in the house. In return,
the battery storage system can also supply energy if the PV system is not able to provide enough energy to fulfil the demand in the
house. In this way, the storage system avoids the otherwise necessary need to draw power from the grid and saves electricity costs.
To control these processes, the battery storage unit needs an intelligent control system. With the cascaESS, this is the energy
manager. The energy manager recognises how much electricity the PV system generates, how much of it is consumed in the house
and how much energy the battery must provide. This intelligent control is designed to consume as much free in-house electricity as
possible and to keep grid consumption as low as possible, thus actively saving electricity costs. In addition, the energy manager can
specifically wait to charge the storage unit and only start doing so when PV production is at its highest. Since this behaviour relieves
the electricity grids, it is also referred to as grid-serving storage. Grid-serving because a lot of electricity is fed into the grid on sunny
days, which can overload the grid. The cascaESS counteracts this potential overload by storing solar energy.
