Employ a Cost-Effective Charging Schedule with Load Shifting

Charging your battery from the grid can cost you more during some times than others. Load shifting involves strategically using grid energy considering time-of-use rates to reduce and manage electricity expenses.

Sparkion’s SparkCore™ energy management system automatically optimizes your battery use based on varying utility rates, renewable production, changing loads and available capacity. Our intelligent algorithm is built around your personal business needs and provides peace of mind by continuously working toward your goals.

Load shifting can lower your operational costs

Charging your battery storage system at times when electricity costs less from the grid, or when sources like solar or wind are generating excess energy, can lower your operational costs.

Load shifting allows you to take advantage of charging during off-peak hours and discharging energy storage during peak hours to support electric vehicle fueling stations or exporting energy to the grid.

Sparkion’s SparkCore™ EMS automatically optimizes your charging and discharging, shifting loads to ensure reliable, cost-effective operation of all your site assets based on dynamic prices, renewable energy production and varying capacity and loads.

Sparkion enables load shifting for lower operational EV site costs

Increased value improves BESS economics

Storing grid or renewable energy in a battery energy storage system (BESS) greatly increases site flexibility. A good EMS is key to getting the most value from your storage system by enabling a number of benefits and opportunities.

Sparkion’s EMS automatically considers changing energy prices to maximize savings, while ensuring that the battery state of charge is adequate to support additional use cases such as Power Assist, Peak Demand Charge Mitigation and Ancillary Services. The more services you stack, the greater the value of your energy storage investment.

Sparkion's software enables load shifting in response to energy prices
This “Trends” screen of Sparkion EMS software demonstrates load shifting. The battery line in yellow responds to grid pricing that is six times higher than the tariff during battery charging. Sparkion’s energy shifting algorithm reacts according to user pricing configurations and ensures the battery state of charge is adequate to support additional services as defined by the customer.

Benefits of Sparkion’s load shifting include:

  • Lowered operational costs
  • Optimized charging and discharging
  • Automatic load management
  • Improved BESS economics
  • Cost-effective, reliable operation

FAQs

What is load shifting?

Load shifting involves using stored energy from a battery charged during periods of low demand, and lower prices, later when loads need power during periods of peak demand when prices are higher. This load shift of energy consumption from one time period to another optimizes energy usage and minimizes costs.

How does load shifting work with peak shaving to lower operating expenses?

Load shifting helps EV site owners balance energy supply and demand and use cheaper off-peak electricity rates to charge their batteries. Peak shaving reduces peak electricity demand spikes by lowering electricity consumption during peak hours when energy prices are higher by using stored battery energy instead.

Why choose Sparkion’s EMS for load shifting?

Sparkion is an expert in energy storage, with roots in battery hardware. Our vast experience with and deep understanding of electrical infrastructure allowed us to design the SparkCore™, a better EMS including software and controller. Our product provides the most value when a battery is onsite, ensuring that all site assets work together optimally with the grid for 100% system uptime and maximum revenue.

Additional Resources:

The power of adding a BESS to your EV charging site

Orchestrating EV Sites with Smart Energy Management Software

Maximize Investments and Minimize Environmental Impacts with Second-Life EV Batteries