Energy Balance

Looking at production or consumption alone only tells part of the story. The balance between the two reveals whether energy is used locally, stored, exported to the grid, or imported from external sources.

A good balance is not necessarily about maximising production, but about aligning production with actual needs.

• Production > Consumption: surplus energy is available for storage or export.
• Production = Consumption: ideal instantaneous self-consumption.
• Production < Consumption: deficit covered by storage or grid import.

Self-consumption refers to the share of locally produced energy that is used on site. Autonomy describes how much of the total consumption is covered by local production.

These two indicators are related but not identical, and both are essential to evaluate the effectiveness of an installation.

Energy balance varies strongly over time. Daily, seasonal, and weather-related variations all influence the match between production and consumption.

Analysing balance over different time scales helps identify opportunities for demand shifting, storage sizing, and system optimisation.

Monitoring the energy balance typically involves combining production meters, consumption meters, and grid import/export measurements.

Clear visualisation of these flows makes system behaviour easier to understand and supports informed decisions.

Once the balance is known in real time, energy can be actively routed towards the most appropriate uses: storage, heating, appliances, or grid interaction.

Continue to Energy Routing & Storage