Self-sufficiency rate
Self-sufficiency rate in the SpeicherCampus context: not always the primary economic goal. Technically, the term is usually described as the share of consumption covered by own generation.
What does self-sufficiency rate mean?
The self-sufficiency rate is the share of electricity consumption covered by own generation. Unlike the self-consumption rate, it looks from the consumption side: 60 % self-sufficiency means only 40 % of demand still comes from the grid.
Emotionally, self-sufficiency is a strong motive; economically it is rarely the best target: the last percentage points require large capacities that barely fill in winter.
What matters in practice
- keep self-sufficiency rate and self-consumption rate cleanly apart
- accept the seasonal limit: winter weeks cap realistic self-sufficiency
- the grid connection remains valuable for power peaks and redundancy
- true full autonomy is an island project — different technology, different costs
Practical example
A business reaches 65 % self-sufficiency with PV and storage. Jumping to 85 % would have demanded four times the storage capacity plus more PV — for the December weeks. The investment went into charging points that use the PV power directly instead.
The SpeicherCampus perspective
SpeicherCampus reports the self-sufficiency rate transparently but optimizes for economics — self-sufficiency is a result of good planning, not an end in itself.