Buyer Guide
C&I Peak-Shaving BESS Sizing Notes: kW, kWh and the Bill Data You Need
For peak shaving, a battery is not sized from a neat capacity label. The first question is what part of the electricity bill you are trying to cut, when the peaks happen, and how long the battery must hold the load down. kW and kWh are separate jobs.
Start from the tariff and the peak window
Ask for the demand-charge rule, time-of-use periods, and at least one recent bill. If 15-minute or 30-minute interval data is available, send it. Monthly kWh alone tells energy use, but it does not show whether the site has one short morning spike, a long production plateau, or repeated EV charging peaks.
Separate battery power from battery energy
Battery power, measured in kW, is how much load the system can shave at one time. Battery energy, measured in kWh, is how long it can keep doing that. A site trying to cut 80 kW for 30 minutes is not the same as a site trying to cut 80 kW for three hours. Both may sound like the same peak problem in an email.
Use usable kWh, not only nameplate kWh
The LFP 16000 LV rack module is 16 kWh nominal, with about 14.4 kWh usable at 90% DoD. Ten modules give 160 kWh nominal and roughly 144 kWh usable before other design margins. That is enough for a first sizing conversation, but final sizing still needs discharge rate, PCS efficiency, temperature, reserve SOC, and operating strategy.
PCS and battery voltage decide what can actually be built
The same battery capacity can be paired with different PCS or inverter choices. Confirm whether the project needs a low-voltage rack system, a high-voltage rack system, or a container/cabinet architecture. Share the PCS battery voltage window, grid voltage, phase type, export limit, and whether backup operation is required. These details change the electrical design more than a small change in kWh.
If interval data is missing, send a site story
When the buyer cannot provide load curves yet, send peak demand, monthly kWh, operating hours, the equipment that creates spikes, expected shift schedule, planned PV size, and the target peak reduction. Add whether the battery may charge from PV only, from grid off-peak, or from both. It is less perfect than interval data, but it is much better than asking for a generic 100 kWh quote.
Room and maintenance access are not afterthoughts
For indoor rack batteries, share available floor area, ceiling height, ventilation, access aisles, cable path, fire-safety expectations, and whether the room already has HVAC. The LFP 16000 LV module is about 120 kg per unit, so lifting method and rack plan need to be known before shipment, not after pallets arrive.
Minimum RFQ inputs for peak-shaving BESS
Include destination market, grid voltage and phase type, demand-charge rule, interval data if available, target peak reduction in kW, expected discharge duration, target battery kWh, PCS/inverter voltage window, PV size if any, room constraints, certifications, Incoterms, quantity, and project timing.
Send peak-shaving data for a scoped BESS quote
Share interval data or recent bills, target peak reduction, battery kW/kWh target, PCS voltage window, grid type, room limits, and destination market. We will turn that into a practical storage recommendation.
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