How to Save Money on Your Electric Bill: Peak Shaving with the Anker F3800 & Home Power Panel
When it comes to portable power stations, one of the biggest hurdles for most people is the up-front cost. These units are undoubtedly really useful and offer plenty of important benefits, but the best options can seem a bit pricey.
Here at The Solar Lab firmly believe that everyone should have one, but not everyone does. Again, this is largely due to the fact that the upfront investment can be a bit steep.
If you’re already considering purchasing one, what if we told you there’s a way your purchase could actually save you money? No, this isn’t a gimmick or a get-rich-quick scheme - it’s just another one of the many benefits that a portable power station can offer.
Today, we’re explaining how by diving into a detailed explanation of how the Anker F3800 Portable Power Station when paired with the Anker Home Power Panel can be a smart investment that helps you save on your electricity bill through a technique called peak shaving.
While there are other units that you can achieve this with, the F3800 makes it incredibly easy, so it’s a good unit to use as today’s example.
Quick Overview: Anker F3800 and Home Power Panel
Since we’re going to be using the F3800 and Anker’s Home Power Panel throughout this article to explain peak shaving and how you can use it to save serious money, it makes sense to start out with a quick rundown of the two pieces of equipment:
The Anker F3800 Power Station:
This portable power station is a beast, boasting a 3,800Wh battery, a 6,000W inverter with impressive surge capabilities, and the ability to provide either 120V or 240V directly from the unit.
It is also rated to support up to 2,400W of solar input if you use Anker’s brand of solar panels. We’ve tested the F3800 extensively here at The Solar Lab, and it has consistently impressed us with its performance and overall quality.
The Anker Home Power Panel:
This smart panel is designed to integrate seamlessly with your home’s electrical system. It sits between your main panel and a subpanel, allowing you to connect the F3800 directly to your utility grid and even any existing solar power setup.
Unlike a manual transfer switch, which requires you to physically flip a switch during a power outage, the Home Power Panel can automatically switch between power sources in just 20 milliseconds—so fast you won’t even notice that the power went out.
But the real game-changer? The Home Power Panel allows you to set up time-of-use rules, which, as we’ll get into, is where the magic of peak shaving comes into play.
Where Does Peak Shaving Come into Play?
Most people buy a portable power station, charge it up, and then let it sit around collecting dust until the next power outage. But what many don’t realize is that they could be using that same power station on a daily basis to save money on their electricity bills through peak shaving.
So, What Exactly is Peak Shaving?
Basically, peak shaving is a technique where you strategically charge your power station during off-peak hours, which is when electricity rates are lower. You then use that stored, less expensive power during peak hours when rates are higher.
By doing this, you’re effectively "shaving" the difference between peak and off-peak rates, bringing your overall electricity costs down. As you probably know, utility providers offer differing rates throughout the day and week, which almost always corresponds with demand. When demand is at its highest, rates are at their most expensive. Conversely, when fewer people are drawing power from the grid, rates drop.
Let’s break it down further: Let’s say your utility provider charges 30 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) during off-peak hours and 60 cents per kWh during peak hours. By charging your power station at night when rates are low, and then using that stored energy during the day when rates are high, you can significantly reduce your electricity bill.
Essentially, you’re running your home on that cheaper electricity, even if you’re using electricity when utility rates are at their highest.
How Does the Anker Home Power Panel Facilitate Peak Shaving?
The Anker Home Power Panel makes peak shaving almost completely effortless. Through the Anker Smart App, you can set specific time-of-use rules that dictate when the Home Panel should draw AC power to charge your Anker F3800, and when it should switch over to drawing power for your home from the F3800’s internal battery.
For example, you could schedule the Home Power Panel to charge the F3800 during off-peak hours at night or early in the morning, and then automatically switch to using that cheaper stored power during peak hours, saving you from paying those higher rates.
This setup is practically hands-off, allowing you to continuously save money without having to lift a finger! Plus, the savings can be substantial. This is particularly true if you live in an area with significant differences between peak and off-peak rates. This is common in more populous areas, like cities and suburbs, as there is more demand on the grid than rural areas.
A Real-World Example: San Diego Gas & Electric
To show you just how legit this money-saving strategy can be, let’s look at an example using rate pricing taken from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE):
SDGE Peak Rate: 50 cents per kWh
SDGE Off-Peak Rate: 28 cents per kWh
Let’s say you have the Anker F3800 with one expansion battery, giving you a total storage capacity of 7.6kWh. If you were to use that 7.6kWh of power during peak hours, it would cost you $3.80. But if you used the same 7.6kWh worth of power during off-peak hours, it would only cost you $2.13. By charging the F3800 during off-peak hours and using that stored power during peak hours, you save $1.67 each day.
Now, $1.67 might not sound like much in isolation, but over the course of a month, that’s about $50 in savings. Over a year, you’re looking at saving around $610—and that’s just with one F3800 and one expansion battery!
Plus, you have to remember that saving money is just one of the many ways your F3800 could help you. Save money, have reliable backup power during blackouts, and enjoy the convenience of easily accessing free solar power.
The Benefits of Scaling Up: Bigger Systems = Bigger Savings
Now, let’s say you decide to go all-in and purchase two Anker F3800s and two expansion batteries, doubling your storage capacity to 15.3kWh. By applying the same peak shaving strategy, you could save around $3.38 per day, or $1,232.73 per year. At that rate, you would recoup the cost of the Home Power Panel in less than a year, and from that point forward, it’s all savings.
Once again, let’s also remember that the F3800 supports a solar input. If you’re able to charge the F3800 using completely free solar power instead of grid power, your savings skyrocket. Essentially, you could be powering your home for free during peak hours, reducing your electricity costs to almost nothing.
Is It Worth the Investment?
At the end of the day, the savings from peak shaving with the Anker F3800 and Home Power Panel might not blow your socks off right away, but they add up quickly. If you’re already planning to invest in a power station and an expansion battery, adding the Home Power Panel is a no-brainer. It pays for itself relatively quickly and integrates seamlessly into your home’s electrical system.
With the Home Power Panel, you gain a level of control and reliability that’s difficult to beat with any other type of plug-and-play system. While not everyone may fully understand the benefits of peak shaving right away, it’s a strategy that makes a lot of sense once you start crunching the numbers.
To make things even easier, both Anker and Shop Solar carry kits that bundle the F3800, Home Panel, Solar Panels, and more. It really is that easy to start slashing your electricity costs.
🛒 Shop the Anker F3800 & Home Power Panel:
Anker: https:https://shrsl.com/4ml0c
Shop Solar: https://shopsolarkits.com/collections...
Use Code THESOLARLAB for $101 Off Your Order