Battery Optimization

Utilities often charge big commercial customers a "demand charge" — a fee based on your single highest spike of power use in the month, not just total energy. A battery lets you cover that spike from stored energy so the grid never sees it, a trick called "peak shaving." This tool sizes the battery you would need and estimates whether the demand-charge savings pay it back.

When your electric bill has a separate demand charge ($/kW) — check your utility rate schedule — and you have short, predictable load peaks (e.g. lights and HVAC all running at once). Crop-agnostic. If your bill is energy-only with no demand charge, this tool does not apply. You need your peak kW, how long it lasts, and your demand-charge rate to use it.

Battery Size is the usable capacity needed to shave your chosen peak reduction (it includes a ~15% oversize buffer). Annual Demand Savings is the reduced kW times your demand charge over 12 months. The number that decides it is Payback Period — under ~5–7 years is usually attractive, and a payback near the battery's useful life (or the 99-year "never" flag) means it does not pencil out. This ignores round-trip losses, incentives, and any energy-arbitrage value, so it is a first-pass screen, not a bankable model.