Effects of adding batteries in household installations: savings, eficiency and emissions

Abstract

Nowadays, common electrical household appliances are mostly being powered by means of alternate current (AC), although there are cases where direct current (DC) is used instead. In all cases, internal devices are supplied with DC, and this fact involves there are losses due to the need for AC/DC converters. At the same time, most electrical home consumption takes place during peak hours when electricity is more expensive in many electricity markets. The addition of a battery in these installations permits storing electrical energy during certain periods of the day with the aim of supplying it during other ones—when this operation is more efficient or convenient—simultaneously reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, a comparison is proposed between three possible home consumption scenarios, i.e., one consisting of a current AC system, one consisting of an AC system with a battery, and a third consisting of a hybrid AC/DC system with a battery.