Swiss timber processor Leimholz Haag AG plans to install two commercial battery storage systems alongside its existing 520.76kWp rooftop solar array at Steinach. The SolarEdge CSS-OD 197 units are rated at 197kWh each, giving the planned installation 394kWh of nominal capacity. The company intends to store more of the electricity generated on site and reduce peaks in power drawn from the grid when production machinery is running.
The photovoltaic array was commissioned in June 2025 and now supplies around 54 per cent of the business’s electricity needs, according to the company. Leimholz Haag estimates that the installation saves approximately CHF 35,000 a year in energy costs and avoids around 235 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The battery project builds on those existing solar results, with installation planned during autumn 2026.
Timber processing creates a changing electricity load as machinery, handling equipment and building services operate at different times. Solar generation follows daylight and weather conditions, so electricity output will not always coincide with the periods when demand is greatest. Batteries can capture surplus generation and release it later in the working day, changing when the site draws power from its array or from the public network.
The company expects storage to lift the proportion of its own solar generation consumed on site to 72 per cent. That figure measures self-consumption of photovoltaic output. It differs from the existing estimate that solar electricity meets 54 per cent of total site demand, which uses the factory’s electricity consumption as its denominator. The two measures describe separate aspects of the energy balance and must be tracked independently when the batteries are commissioned.
The combined nominal capacity of 394kWh determines how much energy the two cabinets are designed to hold, while their available discharge power determines how quickly energy can be delivered. To reduce a short period of high grid demand, the controls must have enough stored electricity available and sufficient output capability at the time of the peak. Load duration, charging opportunities and operating limits will influence the amount of demand that can be shifted using the new equipment.
SolarEdge ONE for commercial and industrial installations will manage the battery operation alongside the existing photovoltaic system. The energy management platform monitors solar generation, building and machinery consumption, and battery performance to coordinate charging and discharging. It can direct stored solar electricity towards periods of greater site demand and support peak shaving, which reduces brief high-power imports that may affect energy charges.
The roof installation already has to contend with irregular shading. Panels occupy buildings of differing heights and orientations, while a 25-metre storage tower casts moving shadows onto lower roofs. Installer CE Concept Energy AG specified SolarEdge DC-optimised inverters with power optimisers mounted beneath pairs of panels. This configuration allows affected pairs to operate without forcing the output of an entire string down to the level of its most shaded section.
Fire prevention is a major design consideration at a site handling and storing large quantities of timber. The solar installation includes arc-fault protection to identify and interrupt dangerous electrical arcing, together with a SafeDC function intended to reduce DC voltage when the inverter or grid is shut down. Leimholz Haag also produces nitrogen on site as part of its fire-protection arrangements, adding to the facility’s electricity demand.
The planned battery installation introduces additional integration and safety work. Engineers must connect the storage cabinets to the existing electrical distribution and monitoring arrangements, establish suitable charging and discharge controls, and account for the site’s production and protective systems. Battery operation should be coordinated with the hours and loads of the processing plant so that reducing grid peaks does not conflict with other operating priorities.
The existing photovoltaic system spans east- and west-facing roof surfaces, spreading generation across different periods of the day. Combining that production with storage will give site managers more control over when solar energy is used. The extent of any additional financial savings will depend on actual solar surplus, the timing of machinery demand and the tariff applied to imported electricity; the figures reported for the rooftop array remain the baseline against which battery operation can be measured.
Leimholz Haag and its installer will be able to assess the storage project through measured battery cycling, grid import peaks and the share of photovoltaic output consumed within the works. Once the two cabinets are connected and commissioned, those operating records will show how closely the installation follows the intended 72 per cent self-consumption target while supporting the processing site’s electrical demand.
