Peak shaving
Peak shaving in the SpeicherCampus context: the storage system reduces short-term grid demand peaks. Technically, the term is usually described as load peak reduction.
What does peak shaving mean?
Peak shaving reduces the highest power a business draws from the grid. The EMS monitors grid demand in real time; as it approaches a threshold, the storage system discharges and covers the difference. The peak still happens — but from the battery, not from the grid.
Economically, peak shaving targets the demand charge: commercial customers pay for the highest metered quarter-hour of the billing period. A single shaved peak can noticeably reduce the annual bill.
What matters in practice
- kW counts more than kWh: storage power must cover the height of the peak
- duration and frequency of the peaks determine the required capacity
- between peaks the system needs a charging window
- the threshold is set strategically — too ambitious and the system runs dry
Practical example
A business with an 80 kW base load produces 15-minute peaks up to 190 kW when production ramps up. A system with 105 kW of power shaves them to 110 kW; at 30 peaks per month, the demand-charge savings amortize a substantial share of the system.
The SpeicherCampus perspective
Alongside PV self-consumption, peak shaving is the strongest economic lever in the portfolio. SpeicherCampus calculates the optimal threshold directly from the 15-minute load profile.