Techno-economical comparison of energy storage solutions for residential prosumers
Luoma, Ville (2026)
2026
Sähkötekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Electrical Engineering
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2026-06-18
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202606177681
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202606177681
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores the economic viability of residential use of energy storage in Finland. Inconsistent solar irradiance is an obstacle for widespread home solar power adoption in Finland and storage devices would be a solution for it, but their economic viability requires studying.
Various solar panel and battery storage combos are examined based on provided measurement data and available technical information. A model for solar power consumption and storing was constructed, and simulations were then run with many different input values and conditions to provide diverse estimates for profitability of the technologies. In comparing three different common heating methods it was found that the heating method of the house influenced compatibility somewhat, with direct electricity heating faring the best. The optimal size with 2024 data was found to be between 3–5 kWp of solar power. Batteries were found to be economically unviable at face value, but in a real-life scenario might still be required to reach the results due to the resolution of the data, in which case a small home battery would be enough. However, the battery cost increases the investment so much that even in best scenarios the payback times might fall outside of reasonable lifetime expectations. Due to this using an electric vehicle as a home battery was found to be a more viable option when it is not considered a part of the system investment and is assumed to be already owned in the household.
The economic viability was found to be heavily reliant on the price of electricity. Higher electricity prices such as the ones observed in 2022 make storage a much more attractive investment, with more than double the investment viability compared to 2024 and 2025 for example. Since it currently seems unlikely such high prices will happen again in the near future, things such as subsidies, policy changes, battery recycling, and technological advancements in battery manufacturing and operation technology are needed to boost interest and viability of solar power and energy storage in households.
Various solar panel and battery storage combos are examined based on provided measurement data and available technical information. A model for solar power consumption and storing was constructed, and simulations were then run with many different input values and conditions to provide diverse estimates for profitability of the technologies. In comparing three different common heating methods it was found that the heating method of the house influenced compatibility somewhat, with direct electricity heating faring the best. The optimal size with 2024 data was found to be between 3–5 kWp of solar power. Batteries were found to be economically unviable at face value, but in a real-life scenario might still be required to reach the results due to the resolution of the data, in which case a small home battery would be enough. However, the battery cost increases the investment so much that even in best scenarios the payback times might fall outside of reasonable lifetime expectations. Due to this using an electric vehicle as a home battery was found to be a more viable option when it is not considered a part of the system investment and is assumed to be already owned in the household.
The economic viability was found to be heavily reliant on the price of electricity. Higher electricity prices such as the ones observed in 2022 make storage a much more attractive investment, with more than double the investment viability compared to 2024 and 2025 for example. Since it currently seems unlikely such high prices will happen again in the near future, things such as subsidies, policy changes, battery recycling, and technological advancements in battery manufacturing and operation technology are needed to boost interest and viability of solar power and energy storage in households.