Best Hours to Sell Battery Energy
Select your country and season to see when electricity prices peak on the day-ahead market - and exactly when it pays to discharge your battery into the grid.
Best sell windows
Discharge battery - peak price hours
Best charge windows
Charge battery - cheapest hours
Arbitrage spread
Estimated sell − charge margin
Euro cents per kWh (EPEX SPOT)
Solar suppresses midday prices in summer - charge 11:00-14:00, sell in the 17:00-20:00 evening peak. Overnight wind can briefly push prices negative.
Indicative profiles based on typical day-ahead market patterns (EPEX SPOT, OMIE, CAISO, ERCOT, NEM/AEMO). Actual prices vary every 30 min - always verify with live market data before programming your battery schedule.
How battery arbitrage works
Charge during off-peak
Buy cheap electricity (or use excess solar) to fill your battery when prices are lowest - typically overnight or midday when solar generation is high.
Hold through neutral hours
Avoid selling or drawing from the grid during mid-range price periods to maximise the spread between your charge and sell price.
Sell at peak price
Export your stored energy when demand - and prices - are highest. Evening peaks (16:00-21:00) are the most consistent sell window in most markets.
Understanding the price profiles
The hourly profiles shown are indicative average patterns derived from typical day-ahead spot market behaviour for each region. They reflect the seasonal and diurnal price shape you can expect, not a specific historical day. Key forces shaping each profile:
- Solar generation - suppresses midday prices in high-PV markets (Germany, Spain, California, Australia)
- Wind generation - keeps overnight prices low in wind-heavy grids (Netherlands, Texas, UK)
- Heating demand - drives sharp winter morning and evening spikes (France, UK, Poland)
- Cooling demand - creates summer afternoon peaks (Spain, Italy, Texas, California)
What affects your actual arbitrage return?
The price spread shown is the gross opportunity. Your net return depends on:
- Round-trip efficiency - typical lithium batteries lose 10-15% in charge/discharge cycles
- Time-of-use tariff structure - retail export rates may differ from wholesale spot prices
- Grid connection fees - some utilities charge standing or export fees
- Battery cycle life - each charge/discharge cycle contributes to degradation cost
A spread of 10 ct/kWh with 85% round-trip efficiency and a 1 ct/kWh cycle cost gives a net margin of approximately 7.5 ct/kWh per stored kWh - a meaningful return on a 10 kWh battery in daily arbitrage use.