HOMER Knowledge Base
Avoiding Excess Electricity
How can i get rid of excess energy?
Excess energy results whenever the surplus power production exceeds the capacity of the battery bank to absorb energy. You can sometimes make use of excess electricity with a deferrable load such as ice making or water pumping, or by resistive heating to serve a thermal load, or by electrolysis and storage of hydrogen. Any excess electricity that the system cannot use must be absorbed by a dump load such as a bank of light bulbs or a resistive heater. To avoid excess electricity you can install less renewable power capacity, or increase the size of the battery bank.