Commercial (C&I) Batteries

General

Commercial (C&I) batteries usually means battery energy storage systems designed specifically for commercial and industrial (C&I) sites – offices, warehouses, factories, data centres and similar – rather than homes.

C&I battery systems store electricity from the grid or on‑site generation (typically solar, sometimes wind) and then discharge it later to reduce costs or keep critical loads running. They are sized from roughly a few tens kWh up to MWh systems, with higher power ratings and duty cycles than typical residential batteries.

Typical hardware format

• High‑voltage lithium‑ion, mostly LiFePO₄ (LFP), configured as rack systems or indoor/outdoor cabinets/containers with integrated BMS.

• Cabinets or containers often include cooling, fire detection / suppression, DC protection and communication interfaces for site controllers and inverters.

Main use cases on C&I sites

• Peak shaving / demand charge reduction: charge off‑peak or from PV, discharge during high‑tariff or capacity‑charge periods.

• Backup / resilience: provide fast‑response backup for critical loads (IT, process, HVAC) during outages, sometimes in microgrid mode.

• PV self‑consumption and curtailment reduction: soak up surplus PV in the middle of the day and shift it to evenings or night‑shift operations.