The Storage page in Sales Mode allows you to add one or multiple batteries to your design and model for backup power or self-consumption.
Table of Contents:
- Adding Battery Storage in Sales Mode
- Calculating Backup Power
- Calculating Self-Consumption
- Pricing Batteries in Sales Mode
- Selecting Battery Options
Adding Battery Storage in Sales Mode
Within Sales Mode, select the desired battery model from the dropdown and enter the quantity. Aurora will then calculate the:
- Capacity (kWh): total energy stored in the battery or batteries
- Output (kW): the maximum kW that can be discharged continuously
- Cost ($): total cost of the battery or batteries
Calculating Backup Power
With the Operating Mode set to Backup, this assumes that their batteries will be kept charged for emergency scenarios only. Aurora will calculate the backup duration (in days) for:
- Essentials: Backup electrical fixtures and select outlets
- Appliances: Backup small appliances and essentials
- Whole Home: Backup major appliances and essentials
These numbers will automatically recalculate when adding or removing batteries. For more information on how these are calculated, see Backup Duration – Calculations.
Calculating Self-Consumption
With the Operating Mode set to Self-Consumption, this assumes that the homeowner will be consuming energy from their battery and recharging it with excess energy from their solar system.
To calculate self-consumption, Aurora models battery charge and drain based on:
- The homeowner’s energy consumption information
- The production of the system at a given hour of the day
- The specifications of the battery being used
See the flowchart below for more detail:
Utility Bill Savings
This will show the homeowners’ estimated average monthly utility bills for:
- Solar only
- Solar + battery
You can then click on the graph for each month to see the estimated utility bills throughout different times of the year.
Note: These bill estimations do not factor in the system cost or financing. You will need to navigate to the Bill Comparison page in Sales Mode to view the final bill estimations.
Daily Usage
This will show, for the selected month, the average percentage of electricity the homeowner will use from the grid for:
- Solar only
- Solar + battery
The chart below breaks down how the homeowners’ energy is consumed, produced, and stored during an average day within the selected month.
Consumption is the dashed line representing the energy required to power the home throughout each hour of the day. This energy is consumed from:
- Solar: energy produced by their solar system
- Battery: energy stored in their battery system
- Grid: energy purchased from the grid
Solar production is the dashed line representing the energy their solar system is producing throughout each hour of the day. This energy is used to power the home, and the excess is used for:
- Charging: charging their battery system, up to 100% state of charge
- Export to grid: once the battery is fully charged, their excess solar energy is exported to the grid
Click on the Hide battery toggle to show how their energy is produced and consumed without battery storage.
Backup Reserve
Backup reserve enables you to specify a backup percentage to reserve for use in case of outages. For example, setting the backup reserve to 20% will never drain the battery lower than 20%, and use the remaining 80% for self-consumption. This can give homeowners some of the financial benefits of self-consumption, with peace-of-mind that they will still have power in emergency scenarios.
Drag the slider to the desired percentage, and Aurora will automatically recalculate the appropriate values across the design.
Pricing Batteries in Sales Mode
Batteries are added as a line item on the Financing page in Sales Mode, using the price for that model as specified by the account admin.
Note: To apply a discount for multiple batteries, admins can configure pricing for each additional battery (see below).
Selecting Battery Options
In order for a battery model to appear in Sales Mode, it will need to be pre-selected by an account admin in the Database.
Within the Database, make sure that Specify component availability is turned on. Search for the battery model you would like to add, then toggle it on to make it available in Sales Mode.
The price for each battery in the Database will be set to $0 by default. To change the price of a specific battery, first select the model, then click Edit, enter in the appropriate price, and click Save.
To apply a different price for multiple batteries, click Add, then enter in the price for the additional battery or batteries.
