Magellan Power’s DCSS: Australian-made, small-scale energy storage for solar power systems

Power equipment developer & manufacturer Magellan Power (creators of the Solar Smoother) have introduced a small-scale energy storage system (the DCSS) for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. With a 22-year history of in the power conversion & storage industries, the DCSS is one of the most recent additions to Magellan’s portfolio of energy storage solutions–most of which are focused mainly on larger-scale and grid applications. The DCSS will allow homes with solar panels to self-consume a greater proportion of the solar electricity that they produce.

Advantages of energy storage

Energy storage technology is becoming an increasingly sought-after solution for home & businesses looking to save money on their power bills. Especially now that state-based solar feed-in tariff schemes have almost all closed to new applicants, solar households & businesses need to do everything possible to consume as much of the electricity that their panels produce (self-consumption) as possible in order to extract the most benefit from them. Energy storage technology is widely seen as the key to making this happen, and the next step for the distributed solar industry.

DCSS: Product overview

Magellan DCSS energy storage unit

Magellan power’s DCSS (DC Solar Storage) device is designed to work in conjunction with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for homes and small businesses. The DCSS can be integrated into new-build solar systems or retrofitted into existing ones without changing the system inverter.

The DCSS operates alongside the panel array on the DC side of a solar PV system. Excess electricity from the solar panels is used to charge the lithium iron phosphate battery bank so that the energy can be used even when the sun is not shining–thus allowing the household to reduce the amount of electricity they need to purchase from the grid during expensive peak times. If the batteries are full, the power from the panels go to the local electricity load (any appliances that happen to be on) and only the excess from this is exported to the power grid. Solar system owners in most states will receive credits on their power bill to the tune of approximately 8c per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for this excess power.

DCSS units are available in 2.4 kilowatt-hour (kWh), 4.8kWh, and 7.2kWh capacities.

DCSS benefits & points of difference

-A ‘behind the inverter’ solution, the DCSS stores energy from solar panels for later use

Can be retrofitted into existing solar PV systems

‘Solar smoothing’ function reduces the impact of fluctuations in system output due to passing clouds or other intermittent shading. Solar smoothing function also has benefits for the electricity grid, and may be a required feature in regions where the grid is ‘thin’ (such as northwestern Western Australia on the Horizon grid).

-Uses cost-effective lithium batteries have high cycle life (after 2000 cycles of 100% discharge @25C, 70% capacity remains)

Can be programmed to schedule for ‘self-consumption’ or export of stored energy at desired time

-Quality technology from an award-winning Australian company with a 22-year history in power equipment

Other energy storage solutions from Magellan

In addition to the DCSS, Magellan Power designs & manufactures a range of energy storage and grid support systems for commercial & industrial applications. See the Magellan catalogue (PDF).

About Magellan Power

Company headquarters: Bibra Lake, Western Australia

History in the industry: Magellan Power has been designing and manufacturing power equipment for on and off-grid energy systems since 1992.

Contact information: Phone: +61 (08) 9434 6621 – Email: sales@magellan-power.com.au – Web: www.magellanpower.com.au

© 2013 Solar Choice Pty Ltd

Comments

  1. I have 12 x 250 panels and a 3 kw SMA inverter. How much would it cost to install Magellan Power’s DCSS: Australian-made, small-scale energy storage for solar power systems ? My system is producing up to 18.5 on a real nice clear day and down to 6 on a very terrible cold rainy day.
    My bill before pv was around $360 quarterly I use about 10 kw daily.

    Thanks
    Rita

    1. Hi Rita,

      Thanks for your comment. At this point in time it would be best if you got in touch directly with Magellan Power. Their contact details are at the bottom of the article above.

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