Reducing climate costs with battery storage systems

Consumers in Germany are used to being able to buy potatoes all year round. However, the harvesting season for the sensitive tuber only lasts from June to October. To ensure the potatoes keep from harvest to the point of consumption and don’t germinate, they have to be stored cool and dry at a constant temperature of 4°C. So, on the Ehlens’ farm, the storage of the various potato varieties is ably assisted by a complex climate control system. With the aid of the outdoor temperature, the outside air is used for cooling from October to January; this is mechanically supported with ventilators until May, and during the warm months leading up to July a 26 kW cooling system is used for 800 tonnes of potatoes.

As a result of climate change and rising temperatures in winter especially, the need for cooling is steadily increasing. It’s not just the potatoes that require a controlled climate on the Ehlens’ farm; the pigs also need a comfortable ambient temperature and a steady supply of fresh air. In total, the farm’s annual consumption amounts to 160,000 kilowatt hours. A few years ago, the Ehlens installed a photovoltaic system to benefit from low-cost electricity that they themselves produce. Because the cooling and ventilation systems are required to operate at night, too, they needed an energy storage system to optimise self-consumption and spread the power across the day.

Requirements for a storage solution:

• High storage capacity with many guaranteed cycles for sustainable power delivery
• Straightforward installation and compatibility with the photovoltaic system