Investing in a home battery is a brilliant step towards energy independence, reducing your carbon footprint, and saving on your energy bills. But did you know it can also be a smart way to make money? The trick lies in trading energy with the grid at the right times - buying and storing energy when prices are low and selling it back when prices peak.

Sounds straightforward? In theory, yes. But in practice, it requires a lot of work. Let’s break it down.

The DIY Approach to Battery Optimisation

If you’re up for the challenge of optimising your home battery yourself, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Predict Your Energy Consumption

You’ll need to estimate how much energy your household will use every half hour over the next few days. This means:

• Looking at historical energy usage to identify patterns, such as when the family is home for dinner or when morning showers spike demand.

• Factoring in any changes to your routine, like visitors, holidays, or work-from-home days.

2. Forecast Your Solar Production

Next, calculate how much energy your solar panels will generate in the same half-hour blocks. This involves:

• Checking weather forecasts, solar radiance data, and satellite reports.

• Factoring in the technical specifications of your solar panels.

3. Track Market Energy Prices

To maximise profit, you need to understand energy market prices:

• If you’re on a time-of-use tariff, track when prices are lower for importing and higher for exporting.

• Keep an eye on national energy production trends, such as when the UK’s wind and solar energy output increases, which can affect prices.

4. Calculate the Optimal Energy Flow

Now, with all that data, you need to plan how your battery should behave in each half-hour block to maximise your earnings. This means:

• Accounting for energy losses due to charging and discharging.

• Balancing optimal usage with protecting your battery’s health, to avoid degradation from over-cycling.

5. Program Your Battery

Once you’ve calculated the optimal energy flow, it’s time to configure your battery settings. For most systems, you’ll need to:

• Log into your inverter.

• Set specific commands, like “Charge to 80% using solar from 12:00 to 14:00” or “Export to the grid down to 40% from 18:30 to 19:00.”

6. Monitor and Adjust Constantly

Since energy prices, weather conditions, and your household’s energy usage can change rapidly, you’ll need to:

• Revisit steps 1 to 5 every half hour, 24/7, to stay ahead.

• Adjust your battery’s behaviour to reflect these changes in real-time.

The Easier Option: Let Loop Optimise Do It for You

Does that process sound overwhelming? It’s no surprise - it requires constant monitoring, advanced forecasting, and a lot of manual input. Fortunately, there’s a simpler way.

Loop Optimise takes all the heavy lifting off your hands. Our AI-powered, fully-automated home energy manager:

• Analyses your household’s energy usage patterns.

• Predicts solar energy production based on real-time weather data.

• Tracks energy market prices and identifies the best times to charge or discharge your battery.

• Automatically controls your battery to maximise your earnings while protecting its long-term health.

• Adjusts to changing conditions - whether it’s unexpected weather or a spontaneous holiday - without you lifting a finger.

With Loop Optimise, you can enjoy the benefits of trading energy with your home battery without the hassle of doing it yourself. You’ll save time, avoid stress, and make the most money possible - as much as £360* per year!

The Choice Is Yours

If you love the idea of becoming your own energy trader, the DIY route could be a rewarding challenge. But, do you have time to make all these manual changes each and every day?

If you’d rather leave the calculations, forecasts, and constant monitoring to an expert, Loop Optimise is here to help!