In many small and medium-sized businesses, machines, cooling systems, and charging stations operate at fixed times, regardless of current energy prices. That costs money. And with dynamic rates, that cost only goes up.
Load Shifting turns that logic on its head.
How does Load Shifting work in practice?
You shift your energy consumption over time, from peak hours to off-peak hours. You turn on your largest energy-consuming appliances at times when demand—and therefore the price—is low.
So you manage your consumption based on price, availability, or your own production. For example:
- turn on your cooling systems or machines during off-peak hours;
- charge your battery with inexpensive solar power;
- wait to turn on your charging stations until the price drops;
- Temporarily pause non-critical processes during peak hours.
The result: a lower energy bill and less strain on the grid—without reducing your output.
How does this benefit your company?
Applying Load Shifting to your business processes creates a striking competitive advantage:
- Lower energy costs. You use electricity during off-peak hours, so your bill goes down.
- Lower peak consumption. You avoid costly peaks and reduce the load on the grid, which is becoming increasingly important now that grid congestion in Flanders is on the rise.
- Get more out of your own production. You get the most out of the solar or wind energy you generate yourself.
- A company that’s ready for tomorrow. Dynamic pricing and CO₂ targets are no longer a thing of the future. Load shifting helps you stay agile.
Manually? No one can keep that up.
Load shifting only really works if you automate it. No one manually turns machines on and off every day based on the price of electricity.
That’s why our PowerBee team developed a platform that takes care of this for you. It analyzes your energy prices, production, consumption, and battery status in real time. Based on that information, it determines the best time to use energy and automatically controls your systems. You don’t have to do anything. The system uses power when it’s cost-effective.
PowerBee connects with, among other things:
- battery storage system (BESS)
- solar panels
- charging stations and HVAC systems
- Energy Management System (EMS)
- electric water heaters
