-
Will your battery operate effectively in hot weather?
Many people don’t understand the effect that ambient weather temperatures have on the life of their battery
and it’s a characteristic that isn’t often talked about. The optimum temperature for most batteries to operate at is around 25°C and this is the temperature all battery testing is performed at. When temperatures vary, either up or down their is an effect on the performance of most batteries.
When the temperature starts to fall below about 15°C, depending on the battery chemistry, the electro-chemistry of the battery becomes sluggish and doesn’t perform as well. In fact, very few batteries operate below 0°C. This is relevant in many countries in Europe, the USA or Canada but not as relevant in Australia.
Categories: Energy storage -
Is your battery recyclable?
One of the things that you should consider when putting battery storage on your home is whether or not the battery
will be recyclable at the end of its life.
Often, one of the reasons that people put solar panels on their house and put in battery storage to collect the excess usage is to protect the environment and reduce the need for coal powered power stations.
This can be counterproductive if you choose a battery that is made from toxic materials or has components that can’t be recycled.
The FIAMM SoNick battery is 100% recyclable and already has a recycling program in place. The battery materials are recycled to produce stainless steel, the nickel and iron go into alloys and the salt and ceramic are used for road beds.
Categories: Energy storage -
The FIAMM SoNick battery on display at Ian Southall’s Renewable Energy Demonstration trailer
One of the places you can sometimes see the FIAMM SoNick battery on display is at Ian Southall’s Renewable Energy
Demonstration trailer.
The REDT travels around Gippsland in Victoria to various festivals and other venues, including schools, to educate people about renewable energies, including school children, with specially designed school programs.
The Renewable Energy Demonstration trailer (REDT) is integrated with up-to-date technology which allows combinations of stand- alone, off-grid and energy storage options to drive a computer modelling system. This then promotes programs and teachings on sustainability and energy efficiencies to be displayed on the interactive screens installed in the trailer. You can “Boil the Billy” from solar PV, “Fan yourself” with power from the wind turbine, or “Light your Life” with LEDs using a bicycle to provide power. The Renewable Energy Demonstration trailer can store enough energy in the deep cell batteries “ON BOARD” – enough to power a house over night or even operate an event site during the day.
The Renewable Energy Demonstration trailer (REDT) is now promoting the FIAMM SoNick battery technology as the premium battery now available on the Australian market and when possible has an actual battery on display to encourage community engagement with this battery technology.
-
Energy storage forecast to grow tenfold within five years
The global market for grid-connected, photovoltaic (PV) solar installations, coupled with energy storage is predict
ed to grow tenfold to reach more than 900 megawatts (MW) in 2018, up from just 90 MW in 2014. Australia can, and should, be a key player in the global storage market.
Forecasts by leading analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance, predicts that Australia will have more than 50GW (50,000MW) of solar capacity by 2040, and more than half of all generation capacity will be “behind the meter” and located in households and businesses.
Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation’s biggest weakness has been its inability to supply power at the times it is most needed. This can be addressed with the installation of battery systems that allow households and businesses to store renewable energy for use in peak periods.
Categories: Energy storage -
Who is GridEdge?
GridEdge is a boutique renewable energy supplier that uses the FIAMM SoNick battery.
GridEdge delivers both off grid and on grid energy supply to all levels of consumer demand. We have the FIAMM SoNick battery and the GridEdge Quantum unit for residential and small business needs that can operate as a hybrid solution or a completely off grid installation. GridEdge also has container solutions, in various sizes, which can replace the need for expensive and noisy diesel generators or can provide power for a micro-grid or remote installation.
GridEdge is the Australian distributor for the FIAMM SoNick battery. FIAMM are the market leader for the Sodium Nickel Chloride technology (SoNick) and offers batteries and storage solutions, that are scalable for all sizes, ranging from residential 
or industrial through to national utility applications.
The SoNick technology is not a new untried technology and has been in use in many countries of the world for over 10 years and is just now becoming available in Australia.
Categories: Energy storage -
GridEdge News – what is it about
This blog will be about renewable energy and in particular energy storage.
Increasingly, in 2016, and beyond battery storage to add on to your solar panels will be an increasingly popular topic and is a very popular topic in the media. To a large extent this is due to Tesla and Elon Musk’s efforts to make Tesla’s Powerwall a household name in Australia. This has certainly raised the profile of battery storage and all it’s advantages for Australian households and businesses but many consumers are aware having the best advertising doesn’t necessarily mean you are producing the best product.
At the same time it is often difficult for people that are not involved in the renewable energy industry to be able to compare the different technologies that are available an make informed decisions on what is the best energy storage solution for them. For people that are involved it is hard enough with the changes that are happening every day.
Categories: Energy storage
Recent Posts
- Rural property using SoNick batteries for grid independence – Domestic Case Study
- The case for decentralised power proven after storm power outages
- The issue with new battery technologies
- Recycling costs to be added to purchase cost of renewable energy storage batteries – new Australian legislation coming.
- Protect yourself and prepare for power outages in coming bushfire season
Categories
- Battery degradation
- Battery fire
- Battery recycling
- Battery safety
- Battery Size
- Battery Storage
- Battery temperatures
- Bioenergy
- Case Study
- Climate change
- Electric bus
- Energy efficient building
- Energy storage
- ESG Battery
- Life Cycle Analysis – LCA
- non-flammable battery
- Off grid
- peak demand charges
- Portable energy storage
- Power security
- Renewable Energy
- Sustainability Trailer