Trading on the imbalance market with a home battery

Request a consultation

What is the imbalance market?

The imbalance market is a live marketplace where surpluses and shortages on the electricity grid are traded in real time. Forecasts are made of how much energy will be used and produced, but the unexpected, a change in the weather for instance, with more or less wind or sun than predicted, can throw those forecasts out. At such a moment the grid operator, TenneT in the Netherlands, steps in to keep the network in balance by paying to reduce the imbalance. That is where your home battery comes in.

How does trading on the imbalance market work?

To trade on the imbalance market you need a home battery fitted with our smart energy management system, and a contract with a supplier that supports trading on the energy market. Max, the face of our system, does the rest and steers your battery automatically on the basis of the imbalance. This is how it works:

1. Installing a home battery and the energy management system: our experts set up your battery and the system. Once it is running, it watches the energy rates and the balance on the grid continuously, and Max decides automatically when it pays to store energy or to sell it.
2. Storing energy: when prices are low, because there is plenty of sun or wind for instance, your battery charges automatically.
   When prices are negative you are even paid to draw power, which can happen when there is a lot of solar or wind energy about. So your battery can actually earn money.
3. Responding to the imbalance market: when there is a shortage of power on the grid, prices rise. Max then arranges for the energy stored in your battery to be sold at those higher prices.
4. Earning an income: by making clever use of the price swings on the imbalance market, your battery can pay for itself within four to seven years, and it may even become an extra source of income.

More about our home battery

Is trading on the imbalance market for you?

Trading on the imbalance market with a home battery brings both financial and environmental benefits. By responding cleverly to the energy market you not only earn your investment back faster, you also help keep the grid stable and clean. Want to know which home battery suits your situation? Get in touch for personal advice, with no obligation.

Worth knowing: if trading on the imbalance market does not suit you, there is no need to worry. You can always use the battery for your own consumption instead.