What is EMS?

An Energy Management System (EMS) is a system that monitors, controls, and optimizes the generation and consumption of energy in a home or business. The primary goal of an EMS is to help users reduce or eliminate energy bills in a sustainable way, perfectly aligned with our mission to achieve EUR0 energy bills.

An EMS works by integrating and coordinating various technologies and strategies. Depending on the system configuration, it may include one or more of the features described below.

EMS features

PV self-consumption

Maximize the value of your solar investment by using as much of your solar energy as possible. Excess solar energy can be stored in a battery and used during peak demand hours, reducing reliance on the grid.

Smart charging / price optimisation / arbitrage

Reduce energy costs by charging your battery when electricity prices are low and using stored energy when prices are high. This strategy is especially effective with dynamic pricing tariffs.

Negative price response (NPR)

Take advantage of periods when electricity prices are negative by maximizing grid export or even temporarily reducing solar production to avoid costs.

Peak shaving

Limit the amount of power drawn from the grid during peak consumption times by using battery storage. This helps avoid high capacity charges from your utility provider.

Demand response

Flexible loads, such as EV chargers or heat pumps, can be shifted to times when electricity is cheapest or solar generation is high, all while maintaining user comfort.

Local power boost

Enhance the available power capacity by using smart energy storage to cover temporary overloads, reducing or eliminating the need for costly grid upgrades.

Voltage support

Support grid stability by helping grid operators improve power quality through voltage balancing and reactive power compensation. This is particularly useful in areas with long or weak grid connections.

Grid services & flexibility markets

Monetize your battery's unused capacity by participating in ancillary service markets, such as frequency response or ramping services (e.g., FFR, FCR, FCAS).

Feature Insights & Limitations

PV self-consumption

• A battery alone increases self-consumption.

• EMS may sometimes reduce self-consumption to prioritize economic benefits, especially if export rates are high.

Smart charging / optimisation / arbitrage

• Varies in complexity depending on the data it uses.

• The most advanced systems factor in solar forecasts, consumption forecasts, and dynamic pricing.

Negative price response

• Doesn’t require a battery.

• Focuses on avoiding costs (vs. generating profits like arbitrage).

• Often included in advanced price optimization strategies.

Peak shaving

• Available in some hybrid inverter models without EMS.

• Limitations:

  • Cannot run simultaneously with other EMS features.

  • Only supports single-inverter systems.

  • Doesn’t forecast solar or consumption to manage battery reserves.

Demand response

• Currently not supported.

Local power boost

• Functionally similar to Peak shaving, but targeted at solving grid constraints.

Voltage support & grid services

• These are advanced grid-focused features.

• Our EMS doesn’t support them yet but lays the foundation for future integration.

• When we have larger-scale battery assets (e.g., 1MWh single or 3MWh portfolio), participation becomes viable.

Simplifying EMS Capabilities

You can think of EMS features in simplified categories:

Levels of smart charging capabilities

Basic (No EMS, self-use mode only)

• Battery charges with excess solar.

• Discharges when solar isn't enough.

• Simple time-based schedules may be set manually with static pricing.

With fixed price awareness

• Users manually set charge/discharge times to align with peak/off-peak rates.

• Still not true EMS, but a step toward optimization.

With dynamic price awareness

• EMS adjusts battery schedule in real-time based on changing energy prices.

With consumption forecast

• Avoid charging the battery unnecessarily when usage is expected to be low (e.g., holidays).

Full forecasting: solar + consumption + price

• Predicts when solar will be sufficient.

• Avoids unnecessary charging if free solar energy is expected.

• Charges more during poor solar forecasts.

Load control + solar + forecasts + price

• Schedules heavy loads like EV charging during optimal solar production windows.

Load control capabilities

Load control overlaps with smart charging but adds specific focus on:

• Scheduling loads based on accurate solar forecasts.

• Aligning energy use with production and pricing to maximize efficiency and comfort.

Evaluating EMS solutions

The EMS market is full of buzzwords: AI, machine learning, deep algorithms. These can obscure real performance. Here are a few critical questions to ask providers:

• How do you forecast solar production?
  What is your accuracy for the next 3 days?

• How do you manage peak shaving during unpredictable consumption spikes?
  What level of battery reserve is maintained, and how confident are you that peaks will be covered?

• How do you provide value in countries with flat-rate pricing (like the Netherlands)?

These questions help uncover real capabilities beneath the marketing.

Summary

A well-designed EMS is more than just a battery manager; it is a smart, adaptive system that helps you:

• Save money

• Increase energy independence

• Participate in energy markets

• Contribute to a greener grid

Whether you’re just starting with solar and storage or scaling up with large batteries and grid services, the right EMS can make a significant impact.