Without a doubt, businesses in California are embracing solar energy as a long-term energy solution for their business needs. And with today’s technological advancements, decreased utility bills, preservation of our planet and energy independence are within reach.
One of the drawbacks of solar energy projects is that the sun doesn’t shine on the project all 24-hours. When it does provide energy, demand charges are still substantial since it likely isn’t affected by a solar project. The demand charge is the highest spike of power (kW) that your business consumes during any 15-minute period each month. Importantly, that highest spike sets the bill for the entire month.
Over time, this could increase expenses for businesses while hindering their ability to become energy independent. So how can businesses achieve energy peace of mind that demonstrates cost savings, reliability and operational efficiency? The answer is simple. By investing in reliable energy storage solutions. There is a paradigm shift within the solar industry and Solar Optimum is leading the way. Storage projects typically realize an additional 30% to 50% greater overall savings due to the demand side savings storage can provide. In addition to money-saving applications, storage systems can be configured to provide emergency backup.
Let’s take a look at three different applications of energy storage solutions:
Firstly, for many businesses, their bottom line is greatly affected by peak demand charges that can make up 50% or more of their monthly electricity bill. As demand charges for your building begin to spike, the presence of an energy storage solution will intelligently dispatch power to discharge the battery instantaneously and offset the spike. This is called peak-shaving.
Secondly, solar panels and inverters don’t work at night. Load-shifting refers to storing your solar energy in a battery if it’s produced during the lower-cost periods, and releasing that energy when its value is greatest. That’s what we call ‘putting the sun’s power to good use’.
Thirdly, backup or microgrid energy solutions provide backup power and also make the overall grid more reliable, mitigating blackout or brownout situations. Let’s consider the risk during a power outage for manufacturing facilities with critical functions, potentially costing the organization up to millions of dollars due to loss of production.
In simplest terms, solar offers green energy; solar energy storage solutions offer green energy plus electric reliability. Combining battery storage with a solar PV system can save businesses both energy and demand charges – reducing your total energy costs by as much as 80% for the life of the system, and creating a long-term hedge against increasing utility costs. So yes, solar power is worth it.
Our VP of Commercial Development at Solar Optimum, states: “Businesses have a fairly good understanding of solar energy and understand its benefits for their utility bills. However, the battery storage conversation is new to clients and even to most solar companies in California. Our four plus years of experience with installations of state-of-the art battery storage systems is what sets Solar Optimum apart from other solar panel companies. We started combining solar with energy storage solutions much earlier than other solar companies, and we are the only company in Southern California who has implemented all three applications in the commercial industry space.”
Indeed, Solar Optimum’s experience and countless numbers of satisfied clients throughout California demonstrate the company’s commitment to energy excellence and premium customer service.
In conclusion: “Our clients trust us because we operate more efficiently than the competition, and optimize their energy systems by assessing our proposed systems and their energy usage on a granular level while sizing the system for utmost value, not size. Our energy storage solutions are comprised of technology from the most trusted brands in the energy industry. As an energy storage specialty contractor, Solar Optimum is technology agnostic and our team of dedicated experts provide support throughout every step of the process to help evaluate which vendor is best for our clients’ applications.”
