Financial and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Domestic PV-Battery Systems

This research explores the environmental and financial implications of domestic photovoltaic (PV) battery systems in the context of increasing adoption of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage. The study aims to assess how these systems affect sustainability, particularly focusing on the time-varying nature of grid CO2 emissions. A comprehensive model was developed based on real-time PV and load data to evaluate battery operation, considering degradation impacts and incorporating an innovative Emissions Arbitrage Algorithm for optimizing battery scheduling. The findings reveal that while PV-only systems provide the most favorable balance of economic and environmental performance, integrating a new battery, particularly by 2030, enhances profitability but diminishes net environmental benefits. In contrast, second-life batteries significantly alleviate several environmental impacts compared to new batteries, though they still fall short of outperforming PV-only systems in most metrics. This study highlights the importance of intelligent operational strategies and advances the understanding of second-life batteries, underlining their potential in reducing CO2 emissions and fossil fuel depletion when paired with optimal operational algorithms.