You may notice your system importing or exporting energy to the grid. This is completely normal. If your Solar is not producing enough energy to cover the load consumption in your home and your battery cannot cover the load in full, your system will import energy from the grid. Most systems we install have a charge/discharge rate of 3kWh, meaning that the maximum amount of energy your battery can provide at any given time would be 3kWh.
Charge & Discharge at 3kWh
Now as your system can only provide 3kWh at any given time, the same goes for the rate at which it can charge, either from surplus solar or from the grid. Power can be sent to the battery at a maximum rate of 3kWh.
ALL systems Pure Energy install offer the ability to charge your battery system from the grid. Why would I do this? If you are on a variable tariff with your electricity provider, you will buy energy from the grid for a lower rate during a specific timeframe. Typically, most utility providers set this time somewhere between 23:30 and 07:00. As of Q1 2023, an average daytime unit rate is 0.45p, with the nighttime rate at 0.12p.
Price Differences
With the vast difference in price, customers may choose to charge their battery from the grid during the autumn and winter months. With lower production from your Solar array, your battery or batteries may not charge fully whilst also providing power to your home. Setting the system to charge from the grid during the nighttime rate will result in a full battery or batteries when you wake up, powering the home before your Solar starts to produce.
To maximise longevity of each battery cell and the batteries controller, the system regulates the voltage by importing or exporting small amounts of energy, at any given time. This is done by importing or exporting up to or less than 100w. Your system will do this periodically.
If you notice that your system is importing or exporting above 100w, please contact us on 08000 501412. As with all modern technology that uses software to control and maintain its procedures, software updates are sometimes needed. These updates are not done automatically but 90% of the time, an import or export above 100w is resolved by carrying out a system update.
