Your SKYSTOR system is eligible for ECO SHIFT

Efficiency NS launched a program in 2023 called “Eco Shift”, which has recently expanded to include batteries. And now, your SKYSTOR battery backup system is eligible to be part of it. So what is this about, and why would you want to participate?

During times of high energy demand (like cold snaps, showering in the morning or cooking in the evening), the demand for electricity spikes. Spikes require standby power; this is often in the form of dirty coal-fired or diesel generation. This is expensive to have sitting idle and produces excessive greenhouse gases.

Demand response is a way to balance electricity supply and demand. This is done by remotely adjusting enrolled smart devices when energy use is highest. As a participant, you can help support Nova Scotia’s transition to a cleaner and greener grid while earning financial incentives.

In the home, often it is not necessary for some items to operate during times of peak power consumption on the grid; for example, heating water takes a lot of power and often the homeowner does not notice if heating is deferred by a couple of hours to a time of lower power consumption. By doing so, peak energy demand is reduced and peaks in power consumption are smoothed. Many smart home devices, such as smart thermostats, hot water controllers, EV Chargers, and batteries can be controlled remotely making this an easy, hands-off participation process.

Get incentives for participating

The Eco Shift program to date has been about managing loads by shifting consumption through smart devices. Recently, Efficiency NS added battery storage to the Eco Shift program and this includes the Lux/Pytes combination (SKYSTOR) we have installed for you. You can enroll your SKYSTOR system in Eco Shift, where you will earn financial incentives for allowing your battery to be discharged during times of peak energy demand. Your battery will be discharged during demand response events until it reaches a preset state of charge (SOC). This is to protect the health of the battery and ensure you retain some backup power in case it’s needed.

Participation in Eco Shift is voluntary, both when signing up to the program and participating in individual demand response events. Your incentive is based on participation in all events. Participating in all events will maximize your incentive potential.

The Eco Shift program is operated by Efficiency Nova Scotia, it is not operated by Nova Scotia Power.

So, how does this work?

What you give

There will be up to 12 events per season, which runs from December 1st to February 28th.

During an Eco Shift event, your battery is discharged for the duration of the event, or until it reaches its minimum state of charge.

Discharge events will occur either between 7:00am and 11:00am or between 5:00pm and 9:00pm Monday to Friday. Homeowners would be notified by 4:00 pm the day before the event.

You will not need to do anything before a discharge event if you want to participate. You will just need to opt out if you do not wish to participate. You can opt out by emailing ecoshift@skylit.ca.

What you get

There is a $500 enrolment incentive paid at the time of acceptance in the Eco Shift program for enrolling your battery system. At the end of the demand response season, you are paid an incentive of $300 per kW based on your participation. This averaged across the duration of every demand response event for the season.

For example, if there are ten events over the season and you only participate in one, you would only receive a tenth of the potential performance incentive that you would have received by participating in all events.

Also, if you signed up for 7kW, but only made 7kWh available from your battery, you would only be able to participate 50% in a 2-hour event. That would require 7kW x 2 hours = 14kWh for full participation. Drawdown events last between 2 and 4 hours.

If you have a 10kWh battery system and subscribed 3.5kW and committed a maximum 7kWh to each drawdown event (leaving a usable 2.2kWh for your backup in your battery), we estimate your annual benefit would be about $525.

How to enroll

To enroll your SKYSTOR system for Eco Shift, fill out the form here. Learn more about the program on the Efficiency NS website. Please note, NS Power customers on time of day rates are not eligible for this program.