How Home Battery Backup Systems Optimize Time-of-Use (TOU) Electricity Rates for Savings
If your heart drops every time you get a new electricity bill, you're not alone.
Unlike many other household essentials, like groceries, residential electricity rates in cents per kilowatt-hour have remained relatively stable in the last few years, steadily increasing at about 2-3% annually.
However, increasing demand for utility grid power due to extreme heat and cold, the proliferation of ever more smart home devices and consumer electronics, and explosive data center growth from AI and cloud applications have led many electricity suppliers to increase their time-of-use (ToU) rates.
Thankfully, there’s a money-saving solution that doesn’t require turning off all your appliances, air conditioners, and heating systems when electricity is charged at on-peak hourly rates.
Home battery systems can not only provide backup during power outages, but also help you slash electricity bills by storing off-peak electricity and using it during peak demand hours when the rates go way up.
Learn how home batteries and innovative TOU strategies can maximize energy bill savings and keep your family safe and comfortable during blackouts.
The Role of Home Batteries in Modern Energy Solutions
Aging infrastructure, higher frequency of extreme weather events and natural disasters, and skyrocketing demand for electricity are putting a severe strain on the utility grid.
As blackouts and extended power outages become more frequent, many people are turning to whole-home backup power solutions to provide a safety net when the lights go out.
Fortunately, there are many reasons to embrace home battery solutions besides emergency preparedness.
Growing demand for high-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and backup applications has driven unprecedented innovation and significantly lowered costs.
Newer battery chemistries like lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4/LFP) can provide over a decade of daily use before needing to be replaced, and they’re maintenance-free.
Modular portable power stations from EcoFlow can power almost any home with a continuous AC output of up to 21.6 kilowatts and 90kWh of LFP battery storage.
EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra also offers multiple charging options in addition to grid power, including solar panels, gas generators, and EV chargers.
Depending on the number and type of PV modules you install and peak sun hours at your location, EcoFlow DELTA Series home batteries can double as a home solar system and save you even more money on electricity bills.
Understanding Time-of-Use Electricity Rates
Time-of-use rates are a billing mechanism that utility providers use to charge a higher price per kilowatt-hour for electricity during peak demand hours.
TOU rates vary from provider to provider and from state to state, but are typically charged during peak demand hours for electricity.
One reason utilities offer a TOU billing structure is to reduce demand during times of day when homes and businesses consume the most power, straining the grid.
When demand overwhelms the grid’s capacity to supply electricity, it can result in brownouts and blackouts, or worse.
Not all residential electricity customers are on TOU plans — many people nationwide still pay a standard ¢/kWh, regardless of the time of day.
However, that’s not necessarily a good thing, especially once you learn how to take advantage of off-peak electricity pricing with a smart home battery strategy.
The Economics of Using Home Batteries with TOU Rates
Time-of-use pricing isn’t available from all utility providers or in every location across the US.
But it’s increasingly an option from power companies and even mandated in states like California.
If you’re considering installing a home battery backup system for emergency preparedness, you should absolutely investigate whether TOU pricing plans are available where you live.
Beyond reducing demand on the grid during peak hours, TOU pricing plans align you more closely with the utility’s actual costs of storing and generating electricity, which vary during the day.
In a very limited sense, TOU pricing makes you a “partner” with your power company.
The cost of generating, storing, and delivering electricity fluctuates. By signing up for TOU rates, you pay less for power when the utility does during off-peak hours and marginally reduce strain on the grid.
By installing a home battery backup system with intelligent energy management like EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3, you can take full advantage of your power companies off-peak power hours and minimize or eliminate the higher costs of on-peak rates.
You can acheive even more energy savings by integrating your portable power station with your home circuit board and wiring with EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2.
Installing Home Batteries: An Overview
Depending on the manufacturer, installing a home battery system can be a complicated process or as easy as plug-and-play.
EcoFlow’s portable power stations function as standalone units and you can plug your devices and appliances in directly.
However, to maximize savings on TOU rates and provide seamless home backup, integration with your household wiring is required.
It’s a simple job for a professional electrician, but because it involves working with high voltage power, you should never attempt to do it yourself.
Not only can it be a deadly mistake, you’ll likely be violating multiple building codes or the law depending on where you live.
Typical transfer switch or EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2 installation time for an electrician is one hour or less.
Home Batteries vs. Generators: A Comparative Analysis
Many basic home battery and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) systems only charge using a direct connection to on-grid power.
That may not be an issue for short blackouts, but once your batteries die, you’re out of luck until utility power is restored.
Traditional standby, gas, propane, and inverter generators can keep running as long as you have a fuel supply, but because they emit deadly carbon monoxide, toxic fumes, and deafening noise they must be operated at least 20 feet away from your home, often more.
Hybrid generators like EcoFlow’s portable power station home battery systems like DELTA Pro 3 can recharge with grid electricity, solar panels, vehicle alternator charging, gas generators, and more.
EcoFlow’s RIVER and DELTA Series portable power stations are whisper quiet and safe for indoor use — even where you sleep.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to innovative home battery technology and rapidly falling prices, there’s never been a better time to invest in backup power that can save you a significant amount of money on electricity bills for many years.
EcoFlow offers the best portable power stations and whole home backup battery systems to optimize Time-of-Use rate savings and keep your family safe and comfortable during extended power outages.
Check out our selection today.