The Home Battery Explained: Saving, Trading, and Power Security

Zero Meter Mode for Your Home Battery

This mode helps you keep as much solar energy as possible inside your home, minimizing how much you need to import from the grid—hence the term “zero-to-the-meter.” Excess energy is stored in the battery during the day and used when your home needs power but your solar panels aren’t producing enough. This also reduces feed-in costs.

In the evening, the battery powers things like your TV, lights, and heating system. For an average household without an electric car, a 5 kWh battery is usually sufficient. It’s important that the battery discharges as much as possible in the evening so it can be fully recharged the next day; otherwise, it’s less effective.

Suitable batteries: Enphase, SolarEdge, Sessy, AlphaESS, Sigenergy, Marstek and Dyness.

Trading with Dynamic Rates on the EPEX Market

You can switch your battery to “trading mode” to automatically profit from price fluctuations. The battery manages this independently, and you can reclaim the full VAT on your energy use. OptimaSolar can assist with this.

Energy suppliers buy and sell power on the EPEX market (European Power Exchange), also called the day-ahead market. Prices are set daily and vary by the hour based on supply and demand. Your battery’s management system (EMS) uses this data to charge when prices are low and discharge when prices are high, maximizing your returns.

To use this mode, you need a dynamic energy contract and a smart meter—both can be arranged through OptimaSolar. Note that energy from your solar panels is not stored in the battery in this mode; it goes directly to your home or the grid. Dynamic contracts have no feed-in fees.

Suitable batteries: Enphase, APsystems, SolarEdge, Sigenergy, Sessy, Growatt, AlphaESS en Dyness.  

Trading on the Imbalance Market

Besides dynamic rate trading, you can also trade on the imbalance market, where your battery is controlled by your energy supplier. In the Netherlands, the grid operator TenneT ensures balance between supply and demand. Because it’s hard to predict power needs and generation precisely, the grid sometimes becomes unbalanced.

When this happens, energy suppliers receive signals to help restore balance quickly. If the imbalance is resolved within 15 minutes, there are no penalties. Your battery might be used during these periods, and you’ll receive compensation for helping stabilize the grid. You can track this in your energy provider’s app.

Requirements for this mode include a smart meter and a dynamic energy contract, for example with our energy partners Frank Energie or Next Energy. OptimaSolar will help arrange a tailor-made contract.

You can also reclaim VAT when trading in this mode.

Suitable batteries from OptimaSolar for this mode: Enphase, SolarEdge, Sigenergy, Sessy, Growatt en AlphaESS.

Home Battery as Backup Power 

Some battery systems allow you to use them as emergency power supplies, such as APsystems, but often require an additional module to activate this feature. For example, Enphase, Sigenergy and SolarEdge need this extra equipment. Sessy cannot be used as backup. AlphaESS can power some critical devices, but if you want backup for your entire home, a backup box plus must be installed. Fortunately, power outages are rare in the Netherlands.

A Combination of Zero Meter Mode and Trading

Recently, energy suppliers Frank Energie and Next Energy both introduced a new mode: self-consumption plus. You can also see this as a hybrid mode. It takes into account both your consumption and the production from your solar panels, and it trades on the imbalance market at optimal moments. This mode also qualifies you to reclaim your VAT!