Emaldo Power Store review: what does it change in a real home?

The short answer, from a homeowner who has one: less to think about, and a payment from the grid each month. Lars Hillgren lives in Ängelholm in southern Sweden, in a house he and his wife built. He already had solar panels when he added an Emaldo® Power Store and signed up for Emaldo® Grid Rewards. He now leaves the system to run itself.

"The earnings from Emaldo cover 40% of the electricity costs we had before," he says.

That is his result, in his house, under his conditions. Read and learn more about what a Power Store could do in yours.

Contents

• Who is Lars, and what did he have before?

• What actually changed day to day?

• How does storing energy lower a bill?

• How can a battery also earn money?

• What has it added up to for Lars?

• What does this mean if you are considering a battery?

• Questions homeowners ask first

Who is Lars, and what did he have before?

A house already built for low energy use, with solar panels already on the roof, and no wish to start over again. Lars added storage to what he had rather than replacing it, which is the situation most solar owners are in when they start looking at batteries.

What mattered to him was that the battery would not force him to rebuild the rest. "We already had solar panels from before, and I was looking for a system that was completely standalone," he says. Power Store is designed for exactly that: it is compatible with existing solar systems, so the panels and inverter already on the roof stay where they are.

His reseller made the choice straightforward. When Lars asked, the answer was immediate: "Emaldo is the one you should choose."

His system is a Power Store with three 5.12 kWh battery modules, giving roughly 15 kWh of storage capacity.

What actually changed day to day?

Very little, which is the point. Lars does not follow hourly electricity prices, does not decide when the battery charges, and has not rearranged when the household runs the washing machine. The system decides, using price data, and it does so without being asked.

This is the concern most people raise before buying. Hourly electricity pricing rewards people who shift their consumption, but nobody wants to plan their evening around a price curve. Power Store has built-in intelligence that optimises energy use automatically, storing solar energy during the day and drawing on it when grid electricity is more expensive.

However, Lars does look at the app, though not out of necessity. "You do become a bit of a nerd when you install systems like this," he says. He checks how much the house is using, whether the power is coming from the battery or the grid, and whether the panels are charging the house. That is curiosity rather than management. The system runs the same either way.

What he describes as the real change is a feeling of peace of mind and predictability rather than a change in daily habits. “ I think Emaldo has worked extremely well,” he continues, “The system simply runs and runs. It’s worry free.”

How does storing energy lower a bill?

In two ways. A battery lets a household use more of its own solar production instead of exporting it, and it lets the household buy grid electricity during cheap hours and use it during expensive ones. Both reduce how much is bought at the most expensive moment of the day.

The first is self-consumption. Solar produces most at midday, when a house typically uses least. Without storage, the surplus goes to the grid and is bought back later at a higher price. With storage, it stays home.

The second matters more than people expect, particularly in southern Sweden. Ängelholm, where Lars lives, sits in the SE4 bidding zone, which has the country's highest and most variable prices because it is closely linked to continental European markets. Within a single day the gap between the cheapest overnight hours and the evening peak can be several times over. A battery charged in the cheap hours and discharged in the expensive ones captures that difference. Lars notes that having a battery means the household can keep using electricity even when prices are higher, without paying those higher prices.

Together, these are why his summers look the way they do. "From April until September or October, we have almost no electricity bills," he says. During that stretch, the house runs on its own solar production and the battery.

How much any household saves depends on its own consumption pattern, its solar output, its electricity contract and its price zone.

Read more about the system Lars installed on the Emaldo Power Store product page.

How can a battery also earn money?

Through Grid Rewards, which pays system owners for letting spare battery capacity help balance the electricity grid. This is revenue rather than a saving: it is money coming in, separate from a lower bill. Lars signed up as soon as his system was installed.

Grid operators need fast-acting reserves to keep supply and demand matched second by second. These are called ancillary services. Rather than paying power plants to sit idle waiting for a shortfall, operators pay for flexible assets that can respond quickly, and a home battery is one of them.

Emaldo handles the market side. It registers the battery with the grid operator and bids the available capacity into the ancillary services market. When the grid needs support, the battery either releases stored energy or pauses charging. These activations typically last around 15 to 20 minutes. Operators pay to have the capacity on standby and pay again when they use it, and Emaldo shares that revenue with the system owner as Grid Rewards.

You can estimate potential Grid Rewards earnings for your own battery size, or read how the Grid Rewards programme works.

What has it added up to for Lars?

For Lars, Grid Rewards has added another layer of value to the system. Alongside the savings from using more of his own energy, the additional earnings have helped reduce the household’s overall electricity costs and made the investment feel even more worthwhile.

Looking at the bigger picture, he sees the combination of lower energy costs and Grid Rewards as an important part of the return on his investment. “I think it’s a very, very good investment from that perspective,” he says.

And when asked whether he would recommend it to others, his answer is simple: “I would definitely recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity.”

An important qualification. Lars's savings, earnings and payback reflect his house, his solar system, his battery capacity, his electricity contract, his price zone and the market conditions during his ownership. Grid Rewards earnings move with the ancillary services market. Another household with a different consumption pattern, a different supplier or a different market would see different results.

What does this mean if you are considering a battery?

Three things from Lars's experience transfer reasonably well, and one does not. Retrofitting to existing solar is genuinely possible. Automation genuinely removes the daily management. Storage opens a second income stream. The specific numbers do not transfer at all.

If you already have solar, the question is not whether to start over but what storage adds to what you have. If you do not have solar, a battery can still work on price differences alone, buying cheap and using expensive, although the summer picture Lars describes depends on his panels.

The honest way to find out is to have someone look at your actual consumption, your contract and your price zone, rather than applying somebody else's percentages to your own house. That is what an installer does.

Find out what a battery could do in your home. Find an Emaldo installer near you, or get in touch with us if you would rather talk it through first.

Questions homeowners ask first

Do I need solar panels to benefit from a home battery?
No. Solar increases what a battery can do, because it gives you free energy to store. Without panels, a battery still works on price differences across the day and can still take part in Grid Rewards. The balance of value simply shifts from self-consumption towards price optimisation and grid revenue.

Do I have to monitor electricity prices myself?
No. Power Store optimises automatically. Lars checks his app because he finds it interesting, not because the system needs input.

Can Power Store be added to solar panels I already have?
Yes. It is compatible with existing solar systems and can be retrofitted, which is why Lars chose it. Your installer will confirm compatibility with your specific setup.

Does my electricity supplier affect what I earn from Grid Rewards?
In Sweden, Denmark and Finland, yes, because suppliers work with different Balance Responsible Parties, which determine which grid services can be accessed. In the Czech Republic and the Netherlands it does not currently make a difference.

How soon do Grid Rewards start?
After you have registered there is a three-month enrolment period, counted from the date you sign up in the Emaldo app rather than from installation.