News: Energy storage
Hybrid water heating system with PV battery storage
s part of a reference project in
Borken, Germany, my-PV GmbH
has integrated its electric hot
water preparation system into an
existing photovoltaic battery system created
by SMA Solar Technology AG.
Installing the AC ELWA-E system resulted
in a system with a hybrid storage that can
increase self-consumption of self-generated
electricity by up to 100%. AC ELWA-E is the
newest member of my-PV’s ELWA product line
and is available with immediate effect.
Austria-based my-PV has developed
the alternating current model AC ELWA-E
specially for smart home systems with
integrated battery storage. The heating
element is infinitely variable from 0 to 3,000
watts, adjusts its output to the power surplus
once a second, and thus reacts very quickly.
AC ELWA-E is integrated into the facility
management system via Ethernet and has a
standby consumption of less than 1.5 watts.
SMA-employee Manuel März was the
beta-tester for this particularly flexible energy
supply for one-family homes. A grid-connected
photovoltaic unit with connected battery
storage has been supplying his house in
Borken with power since 2014. The building
is heated using an air-to-water heat pump.
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In spring 2016 März upgraded the system to
include an AC ELWA-E developed by my-PV.
The complex system is controlled by an
SMA Sunny Home Manager. The photovoltaic
plant first covers the current own power
requirement and then charges the battery. The
rest of the solar power then heats water for
the heating system via the AC ELWA-E. Now
that the photovoltaic unit not only supplies the
house with electricity but also with heat, the
heat pump is only used to generate energy as
a last resort.
“Thanks to the AC ELWA-E I was able to
deactivate my heat pump completely during
the summer months. That means a longer
service life for such sensitive technology,”
März said of the advantages of the system.
Dr Gerhard Rimpler, CEO of my-PV
GmbH, sees the advantage of AC ELWA-E over
an auxiliary battery storage especially in terms
of price. “The cost of AC ELWA-E as additional
storage capacity is n