Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Module 2: BESS Use Cases & System Design

Module 2 title slide with a battery and lightning-bolt icon. — Module 2 — BESS Use Cases & System Design

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Whole Home vs. Partial Home Backup

Submodule 1: Whole Home vs. Partial Home Backup.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Whole Home vs. Partial Home Backup

A battery can back up your whole home or just the essentials.

Night scene where one home stays lit during an outage while others are dark. — Backup power keeps the lights on when the grid goes down.

The right choice depends on battery size, budget, and energy needs.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Whole-Home Backup

A whole-home system powers every appliance during an outage.

Single-line diagram linking solar, battery, gateway, main panel, and all home loads with backup. — Solar and battery feed the main panel, backing up the entire home.

Full backup needs a larger, costlier battery — best for high energy needs or long outages.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Partial-Home Backup

A partial system powers only critical loads to stretch battery life.

Single-line diagram with a sub panel splitting backed-up loads from non-backed-up loads. — A sub panel keeps key loads running and leaves the rest off backup.

Covers lights, fridge, heating or cooling, medical gear, and Wi-Fi or phones with a smaller, cheaper battery.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Whole-Home vs. Partial-Home

Here is how the two backup options compare.

Choose based on budget, energy priorities, and typical outage length.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Sizing a Battery for Critical Loads

Add up what your critical appliances use, then size the battery to match.

Five-factor battery sizing method with a worked example totaling 1.9 kWh per day. — Sizing depends on load, backup hours, depth of discharge, temperature, and voltage.

In cold weather, oversize the battery by 10-40% to make up for lost performance.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Pairing BESS with Solar PV

Solar charges the battery by day so you have power at night.

House with rooftop solar connected to a battery, inverter, panel, and the grid. — Panels charge the battery; the battery powers the home after dark or during outages.

Solar plus storage means more independence, lower bills, and longer backup.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Fuel Backup Generators with BESS

A generator can recharge the battery when solar runs short.

A standby generator beside a house and a row of wall-mounted battery units. — The generator runs only when the battery is depleted, cutting fuel use.

Best for remote homes with limited sun or long outages a battery alone can't cover.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Off-Grid Homes

A well-designed BESS cuts diesel use and improves energy security.

Off-grid cabins fitted with rooftop and ground-mounted solar panels. — Solar plus storage delivers free daytime energy and shared community power.

Lithium batteries struggle in winter — keep them in a heated, temperature-regulated space.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

BESS for On-Grid Homes

Grid-connected communities can still gain from a battery.

Aerial view of a suburban neighbourhood, with notes on BESS options for grid-tied homes. — On-grid homes use BESS for outage backup, lower peak costs, and energy independence.

Helps most where the grid is unstable or power costs spike at peak hours.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Community-Scale Energy Storage

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

What Community-Scale Storage Does

One shared battery can power many homes, businesses, and services.

Row of white containerized BESS units installed outdoors on a gravel pad. — Community-scale BESS stores solar and wind energy for local use.

Cuts diesel use, lowers costs, and builds energy security for remote communities.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Energy Sovereignty

Communities own, control, and manage their own power.

Forest landscape background with bullets on community energy control. — Locally owned power means lower costs, local jobs, and stronger economies.

First Nations running their own microgrids is energy sovereignty in action.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Case Study: Lac des Mille Lacs

A fully off-grid renewable system powers this community's cultural buildings.

Aerial photo of a solar PV array in a forest clearing at Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation. — 100 kW solar plus 250 kWh battery storage delivers 100% off-grid power.

Eliminates diesel and supports cultural activities and energy independence.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Case Study: Gull Bay

Canada's first fully integrated renewable energy microgrid.

Worker in hard hat and hi-vis gear near battery and electrical equipment at Gull Bay. — 360 kW solar and 350 kWh battery storage cut diesel use by about 25% a year.

The community owns and operates the system, reinforcing energy sovereignty.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Revenue from Grid Services

A battery can earn income by helping keep the grid stable.

High-voltage transmission towers and power lines, with notes on grid services. — BESS can provide frequency regulation, voltage support, and fast backup power.

Selling these services to the grid offsets energy costs and funds clean energy.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Peak Shaving

Store cheap energy, then use it when demand and prices are high.

Stacked area chart showing Global Adjustment growing to 60-70% of total electricity costs. — Solar charges the battery by day; the battery discharges at evening peak instead of drawing from the grid.

Lowers peak demand charges, cutting electricity costs for the whole community.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Demand Response

Communities get paid to cut power use at peak times.

It is a win-win: the grid stays stable and the community earns incentives.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

BESS Use Cases & System Design

Chapter divider slide for Commercial and Industrial Battery Energy Storage Systems. — Submodule 3: BESS for businesses, band offices, and community buildings.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

BESS for Businesses & Buildings

Batteries help businesses, band offices, and community buildings too.

Outdoor commercial BESS installation: rows of grey battery cabinets in a fenced industrial yard. — Commercial battery storage at a larger site.

Main wins: lower bills, backup power, and cleaner energy.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Why Businesses Need BESS

Commercial bills charge for both energy used and peak demand.

Large solar array with a white battery container in the foreground, beside a list of common business energy challenges. — Solar plus storage tackles common business energy challenges.

Big costs come from peak demand charges and grid outages.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Demand Charge Management

Demand charges are based on your highest power spike in the billing period.

Diagram and steps showing how a BESS reduces demand charges, with a table of top system peak hours. — The battery discharges at peak times to cap demand.

Example: a 100 kW spike capped at 60 kW cuts costly demand fees.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Load Shifting

Store energy when it's cheap, use it when prices are high.

Time-of-use price card showing on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak rates with daily timeline bars. — Charge overnight at low rates, discharge during pricey peaks.

Works best where time-of-use (TOU) rates change through the day.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Backup Power for Operations

A BESS keeps essential operations running when the grid goes down.

A residential standby generator beside a house and a row of three wall-mounted battery storage units. — Batteries switch over instantly, with no fuel or noise.

Keeps clinics, stores, and comms online in remote communities.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Backup or Load Shifting?

One battery can't fully serve both backup and load shifting at once.

If the battery is drained during peak hours and the power goes out at night, there is nothing left for backup. The fix is to reserve extra capacity just for backup, or run two systems.

Example: 10 kWh for backup plus 5 kWh for load shifting. Size for the worst case.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

Financing & Ownership Models

Several models make a BESS more affordable to own.

Comparison table of Direct Purchase, Power Purchase Agreement, Leasing, and Community Ownership against how each works and who it suits. — Buy, PPA, lease, or own it together as a community.

The right model depends on budget, goals, and incentives.

Module 2 · BESS Use Cases & System Design

The Business Case for BESS

BESS brings savings, reliability, and cleaner energy to communities.

Aerial photo of the Six Nations battery storage project, rows of containerized BESS units near a substation. — Demand savings, load shifting, backup, solar, and flexible financing.

For Indigenous communities, BESS means lower costs, local jobs, and energy sovereignty.