Solar Battery Self-Consumption Optimizer — Find the Best Storage Use
Estimate how much a battery can increase on-site solar use by storing surplus daytime generation for later demand instead of exporting it.
Battery self-consumption inputs
How battery self-consumption is optimized
The useful battery charging opportunity is limited by three things: available surplus solar, battery storage capacity and the amount of energy that can be used later. Efficiency then reduces the energy that actually reaches the later load.
Useful stored energy = charging input × efficiency
Why battery size alone is not enough
A large battery does not automatically create high self-consumption. If daily surplus is small, the battery may rarely fill. If later demand is small, much of the stored energy may remain unused.
What the optimizer is really maximizing
The calculation maximizes modeled solar energy shifted into later site use. That is the portion that would otherwise tend to be exported in this simplified daily scenario.
Worked example
With 12 kWh of daily surplus, 9 kWh of later demand, a 10 kWh battery and 90% pathway efficiency, the battery can send up to 8.1 kWh/day to the later load when enough energy is available for charging.
Questions to check before installing storage
Measure when surplus energy occurs, how much energy is consumed later, how much export is currently occurring and whether the battery will be reserved for backup. A battery intended for backup may intentionally sacrifice some self-consumption optimization.
Can self-consumption reach 100%?
Only when the modeled solar energy can all be consumed directly or shifted into useful later demand. Real systems may still export energy because of timing and operating constraints.