Peak voltage

What is peak voltage?

Peak voltage is when the voltage on the power grid is higher than normal, due to more power being supplied at certain peak times than the grid can handle. This occurs when many solar panels generate and feed energy at the same time, which is increasingly common as more and more households and businesses have solar panels.

Cause of peak voltage

The main cause of peak voltage is the increase in the number of connections that feed power back into the grid. With more and more households and businesses generating solar power, as well as wind turbines and other sources of renewable energy solutions releasing their power to the grid at the same times, the voltage can rise faster. Particularly during sunny days, you see as a result that the supply of renewable energy can spike tremendously in a short period of time, which in some cases can even lead to curtailment of production.

How does peak voltage occur?

Peak voltage occurs when the voltage on the power grid is higher than the voltage at your inverter. This happens, for example, on sunny afternoons, when many solar panels produce at the same time and send the generated power massively into the grid.

The inverter is then unable to discharge this energy, causing the voltage to rise further and the inverter to shut itself off for safety reasons - something that is especially noticeable in areas with many low-voltage connections. You then generate power, but temporarily cannot use it or feed it back.

What can we do to prevent peak voltage?

To reduce peak voltage, it is important to use as much generated energy as possible yourself at the time it is available. For example, you can turn on the washing machine or dishwasher earlier when the sun is at its highest, or charge an electric car when the panels are producing plenty of power. On a larger scale, energy hubs can help better align local production and consumption. Shifting your consumption to these peak times reduces the pressure on the grid.

In addition, it can help to check whether your installation is still optimally adjusted and to have regular maintenance performed. Should the voltage still be too high, it is advisable to inform the grid operator. This helps them get a better understanding of where the bottlenecks are, so they can address future expansions and adjustments to the network in a targeted way.

Is there a solution to peak voltage?

Grid operators can expand grid capacity, but this will not provide a permanent solution as long as the number of solar panel systems continues to grow. A more sustainable approach is to store generated energy at times of overproduction so it can be used at a later time.

As a homeowner, you can think about a large home battery to become self-sufficient at times when the grid is more stressed. For industrial applications and larger projects, there are specialized energy storage systems from Frax, which in combination with innovative solutions such as a virtual power plant or sustainable salt batteries can efficiently and safely capture and deploy renewable energy.

This form of storage not only reduces the risk of peak voltage, but also allows for smarter use of the energy generated, allowing you to take full advantage of the investment in renewable resources.