Does this calculator include battery degradation, backup value, or incentives?

No. It does not include outage backup value, battery degradation economics, replacement timing, tax, finance, installation incentives, or retailer-specific fees beyond your entered assumptions.

When does automation usually help most?

Automation usually helps most when price spreads are meaningful, worthwhile battery cycles happen regularly, and manual capture would otherwise miss a large share of those opportunities.

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Battery ROI Calculator

Q: What is this battery ROI calculator best for?

It is best for estimating timed-use operating value from charge and export timing, including the gap between manual and automated opportunity capture.

Q: Which inputs change the result most?

The biggest levers are usable battery capacity, cycle frequency, charge cost, later discharge value, round-trip efficiency, and the difference between manual and automated capture.

Estimate how much smarter charge and export timing could be worth over a year, then apply it in SoCrates with live automation and Tesla EV integration.

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No login required Use your own tariff assumptions Results update instantly Tesla EV integration in app

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Pick the closest starting scenario

Then adjust the numbers below.

Inputs

Tune your scenario

Change any assumption. Results update instantly.

Battery profile

Battery size, cycle frequency, and losses.

Usable battery capacity kWh you can actually move in a cycle (often ~90% of nameplate) Average cycles per week How often your battery gets a worthwhile timing opportunity Round-trip efficiency Accounts for storage losses across charge and discharge; real-world performance can be lower

Active months per year Use less than 12 if your battery strategy only matters seasonally

Price spread

Charge now versus value later.

Charge energy cost Off-peak import price or foregone feed-in tariff when charging

c/kWh

Later discharge value Peak import avoided or export revenue captured later

c/kWh

Capture assumptions

How much of the opportunity you catch manually vs automatically.

Manual capture rate Share of opportunities you would realistically catch without automation

Automation capture rate Share of opportunities a well-tuned automated setup could catch

Optional economics

Only needed for simple payback. Payback excludes annual software cost.

Annual software cost Optional: ongoing software or service cost to subtract from the uplift

Battery system cost Optional: use to estimate simple payback from modeled operating value only

Tip: Use a recurring spread, not a one-off spike. Conservative assumptions make this model more useful. Currency is shown in AUD.

Modeled result

Scenario summary

Live result from your current assumptions.

Annual timed-use value $0 Charging cost and battery losses included

Automation uplift $0 Extra annual value versus manual timing

Net uplift after software $0 Automation uplift minus annual software cost

Simple payback Add a battery cost Optional based on annual timed-use value (excludes software cost)

Manual capture 40%

Automation capture 82%

Value per successful cycle: $0
Annual shifted energy: 0 kWh
Modeled 10-year timed-use value: $0

Balanced spreads and regular cycling usually create the clearest case for automation.

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How it works

This is an operating-value model, not a full battery business case

Included in the model

Cycle value = (usable kWh x round-trip efficiency x later value) - (usable kWh x charge cost).

Usable battery capacity
Cycle frequency over the year
Charge cost versus later discharge value
Round-trip efficiency losses
Manual versus automated opportunity capture
Optional software cost drag

Not included

Backup value during outages
Battery degradation and replacement timing
Battery-specific warranty cycle or throughput limits
Retailer fees, VPP income, or network charges
Extra solar self-consumption that is unrelated to timing
Tax, finance, or installation incentives

Use the result properly

If the uplift is thin, a static schedule may capture most of the value. If cycle value is thin or negative, the tariff setup is the issue rather than automation. The 10-year view is timed-use value only, with a simple 2% annual capacity fade and no software cost deduction.

Calculator FAQ

Common questions about the ROI model

Use the calculator to estimate timed-use value, then pressure-test the assumptions before you move into live automation.

What is this battery ROI calculator best for?

It is best for estimating timed-use operating value: how much smarter charge and export timing could add over a year, and how much extra value automation may capture over manual intervention.

Which inputs change the result most?

The largest levers are usable battery capacity, cycle frequency, the gap between charge cost and later value, round-trip efficiency, and the difference between manual and automated opportunity capture.

Does this include degradation, backup value, or government incentives?

No. This model is intentionally narrow. It does not include outage backup value, degradation economics, replacement timing, finance, tax, installation incentives, or retailer-specific extras that sit outside your timing assumptions.

When does automation usually outperform manual battery management?

Usually when price spreads are meaningful, worthwhile cycles happen regularly, and you would otherwise miss a large share of those windows manually. That is exactly the gap the SoCrates automation uplift estimate is trying to quantify.

Next step

Want to move from estimate to live automation?

SoCrates lets you run the real thing: rule-based charge and export control around live pricing, forecasts, and battery conditions, plus Tesla EV integration for coordinated vehicle charging control.

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