Battery Storage ROI Calculator
Enter capacity, cost, cycles and the peak/off-peak price gap.
Payback period
β
Enter values above
Annual saving
β
Net annual benefit
β
Return over the period
β
Total saving over the period
β
Usable energy per cycle
β
Worked example
With the default inputs shown below, this calculator returns the following results:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Battery capacity (kWh) | 10 |
| Installed cost ($) | 5000 |
| Cycles per year | 300 |
| Round-trip efficiency (%) | 90 |
| Peak vs off-peak spread ($/kWh) | 0.25 |
| Annual maintenance ($) | 50 |
| Years to evaluate | 10 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Payback period | 8 years |
| Annual saving | $675.00 |
| Net annual benefit | $625.00 |
| Return over the period | 25.00% |
| Total saving over the period | $6,750.00 |
| Usable energy per cycle | 9 kWh |
Values shown are produced by this page in your browser; change any input to update them.
How to use the Battery Storage ROI Calculator
- Battery capacity (kWh) β default 10
- Installed cost ($) β default 5000
- Cycles per year β default 300
- Round-trip efficiency (%) β default 90
- Peak vs off-peak spread ($/kWh) β default 0.25
- Annual maintenance ($) β default 50
- Years to evaluate β default 10
- Press Calculate to update the results instantly.
Frequently asked questions
You need a peak-to-off-peak spread of roughly $0.15β$0.30 per kWh for a battery to pay back inside its warranty period on arbitrage alone. Adding solar self-consumption improves the case significantly.
A 90% efficiency figure means you only get back 90% of the energy you put in, so always calculate savings on usable energy rather than nameplate capacity.
Yes. For commercial users on a demand tariff, batteries can shave peak demand charges, which often dwarfs energy arbitrage. This calculator models energy arbitrage only.