Peak Demand

The pattern of electricity consumption across a property over time — how much power is drawn by which loads, at which times of day and year. Load profiling is the foundation of microgrid design: battery sizing, generator sizing, and solar sizing all derive from the actual load profile of the specific property. Generic 'average home' sizing is inadequate for large estates with HVAC, EV charging, pools, and other high-draw systems.

The maximum rate at which a battery system can deliver power continuously, measured in kilowatts (kW). Distinct from storage capacity (kWh) — a battery can have large storage but limited output. A 5,000+ sq ft home in operation may draw 15–30 kW simultaneously. Consumer batteries (Powerwall 3: 11.5 kW) may not support the full load of a large estate.

The intelligence layer of a residential microgrid — a dedicated power management computer that monitors all energy sources and loads in real-time, optimizes battery state of charge, decides when to start/stop generators, manages power flow between sources, executes load shedding if needed, and enables remote monitoring. A microgrid controller is what distinguishes a true microgrid from a collection of independently operating devices. Consumer battery products use basic inverter logic, not a dedicated controller.