See battery performance alongside site demand
Bring state of charge, battery power, availability and alarms together with site import, export and generation. Use the same view to investigate why the battery missed a dispatch window.
Existing battery energy storage
BESS retrofit and optimisation for UK industrial sites
ArcGrid EMS connects to the battery energy storage system (BESS) you already run. Start with monitoring, then add dispatch control where your equipment and connection allow it. ArcGrid can coordinate the battery with existing solar, site demand, electricity tariffs and grid export limits.
What ArcGrid can do with your existing battery
Schedule charging and discharging
Use time-of-use tariffs, site load and solar forecasts to plan dispatch. Keep headroom for surplus solar, reserve charge for expensive periods or limit demand peaks, depending on the site's priorities.
Work within site and battery limits
Set dispatch bounds using the battery's operating limits and the site's agreed import and export capacity. The existing battery management and protection systems retain their safety functions.
What to verify before enabling dispatch
The retrofit scope depends on what the battery controller exposes and how the site already operates.
Check the read-only signals first
Compare state of charge, measured battery power and available charge and discharge limits with the OEM interface. Confirm which grid meter is at the connection point, which direction counts as export and how stale data is flagged.
Confirm who can send commands
Identify whether the EMS can send active-power setpoints to the existing controller and which controls have priority. Check for a current optimiser, manual overrides and warranty limits before handing over any dispatch authority.
Agree what happens if data or control is lost
Document what the site should do if a meter stops updating, communications drop or the controller rejects a command. Agree the fallback with the operator and verify it during commissioning alongside the existing protections.
What we need to assess a retrofit
- Battery and inverter make, model, usable capacity in kWh and power rating in kW.
- Available communications interfaces and whether the existing controller permits external setpoints.
- Half-hourly import and export data, tariff schedules and solar generation data where available.
- Site single-line diagram, grid connection limits, existing export controls and relevant OEM constraints.
Related solutions
2.1 MWh battery and export-limited solar
See how battery dispatch fits around an existing solar installation and an agreed export limit.
Industrial energy management software
Explore the wider ArcGrid EMS platform for batteries, solar, CHP and multi-site operations.
Compare Monitoring, Control and AI
Choose the package that fits the level of visibility and dispatch control you need.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I keep my existing battery and inverter?
- A retrofit starts with the equipment already installed. ArcGrid checks the available interfaces and OEM requirements to confirm what can be monitored and controlled.
- Can we start with monitoring?
- Yes. Monitoring can show when the battery charges and discharges and how that lines up with site load and tariffs. Dispatch control can follow after the integration and operating limits have been assessed.
Discuss your battery retrofit
Send your battery and inverter models, a short description of the site and what you want to improve. We can use that to scope the integration and demo.
Send an enquiry