A distributed energy storage and power optimisation system

Abstract

Distributed energy storage systems and / or power optimisation systems and devices are disclosed. A distributed energy storage and / or power optimisation system comprises: at least one power source connected to an local grid; an local grid capable of transmitting electricity; at least one power connector connected to the local grid and the input switching element inside the energy storage device; at least one energy storage device comprising: an input switching element connected to control and enable power input to the battery charger from the power source; a battery charger connected to the input switching element and the battery cells; at least one battery cell connected to the battery charger and output switching element; an output switching element connected to enable power output from the device to the local grid; a controller capable of controlling the input switching element for charging and output switching element for discharging the energy storage device.

Description

A DISTRIBUTED ENERGY AND POWER OPTIMISATION SYSTEM Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a distributed energy storage and / or power optimisation system. Background

[0002] In recent years there has been a significant uptake in the use of renewable energy sources as a means of electrical power generation. This uptake is partly due to the desire to mitigate emissions exhausted from burning fossil fuels which currently provide most of the power as well as baseload or consistent power. The increase in uptake of renewable energy is also due to the significant cost reductions to install and operate renewable power stations and micro power stations, such as solar installations, on domestic dwellings. While this increase in power from renewable resources has helped reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, it does not have the consistency of baseload fossil fuel power stations, and those power stations are still required to provide baseload power. Renewable energy sources add to the overall energy makeup of the grid, but the supply is not usually well-matched to the demand from consumers.

[0003] There have been improvements in energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro and batteries, however they have disadvantages such as being very costly to install, may have significant environmental consequences, may not scale up to very large sizes or may only store energy for a limited amount of time. Therefore, to store the energy from renewable resources and provide consistent supply typically doubles or triples the cost of power generation. This may make the whole system unviable and reduce its uptake.

[0004] Renewable energy power generation is an established method to reduce emissions and address climate change. Any method to increase the uptake and utilisation of renewable energy generation is expected to significantly reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels. Current renewable energy systems at small, medium and large scale do not have attractive economics when energy storage is required. The storage requirements to make renewable energy consistent are not employed on a mass scaleto provide baseload electricity. A more cost-effective method to store energy and / or better match the supply to the demand consumers will improve the relevance of solar power and renewable energy and improve its uptake.

[0005] Electricity prices have increased in recent years partly due to the planned reduction of fossil fuel usage and the rise of renewable energy. The energy landscape has also changed with fossil fuel prices increasing and a lack of baseload or peak power when it is required. Energy storage is a preferred method to supply the required baseload and peak power by storing power in times of plenty, such as midday, and supplying that during peak times, such as at dusk. Unfortunately, the cost of this storage is high with availability low and currently not helping much to reduce electricity prices.

[0006] Large scale or utility-scale batteries are comprised of millions of tiny battery cells. Each cell requires wiring up to other cells in a mixture of parallel or series and most importantly each cell should have a balanced charge when it is recharged or discharged. If the cells are not balanced, then the lifespan and energy storage capacity of the battery will be significantly reduced. If the cells are overcharged, then they may heat up excessively and cause safety concerns or catch fire. If the cells are undercharged, then the battery is not being utilised to its full potential. In either of these cases, there is significant cost and time overhead associated with monitoring and controlling the operation of large-scale batteries so that they can operate efficiently and within safety limits.

[0007] Balancing cells of e.g. a lithium-ion battery using a battery management system is a very challenging problem due to the complexity of the mathematical models required to represent the complex characteristics of a lithium-based battery. These characteristics include power fade, capacity fade, temperature effects on parameters, aging, hysteresis and relaxation effects. The problem is only exacerbated when millions of cells are incorporated into a battery and the level of complexity and control effectively increases exponentially. This additional complexity adds to the cost of the battery far outweighing any economies of scale that could be obtained. The result is a large battery hampered by complexity with excessive monitoring and a tendency not to perform to specification since it is typically under-utilised and will not operate for the length of its design life.

[0008] Large-scale chemical battery such as lithium based batteries typically exhibit rapid heat generation, which is to dissipate in tightly packed systems, high cost due to the complexity of their wiring and geometric setup, heat exchangers and complex battery management systems which struggle to balance their cells and are prone to under-charging and under-discharging which significantly reduces their energy storage capacity and lifespan.

[0009] Due to the intermittent nature of most renewable energy generation systems, they typically supply variable or somewhat unstable power to the external electrical grid (referred to simply as “the grid” throughout this specification) or a building. The reduction in synchronous generation assets, such as coal or gas power stations, reduces the inertia on the grid such that introducing large amounts of unstable power creates grid stability issues. There are ways to accommodate this using frequency and voltage ancillary services, but they are very expensive, and the grid stability issue steadily worsens as more baseload generators come offline. Grid instability creates issues for consumers, particularly for supply frequency and voltage, and these issues carry into a building too. Large power-hungry buildings, such as data centres, have uninterrupted power supplies to supply backup power for power outages but generally do not perform power stabilisation functions on a continual basis.

[0010] An area that has gained little attention in the renewable energy industry to date is solar farm and large solar installation optimisation. Solar farms, or other large solar installations, typically have many solar panels wired in series to form a string, for example 24 solar panels wired in series to comprise a high voltage string. The solar farms may have many such strings wired in parallel to generate and transmit power back to a central inverter for transforming to AC power ready for the grid or building consumption. When a solar panel is shaded by clouds, is dirty, has debris on it or even a small orientation mismatch, then that panel will generate less power. Correspondingly, it’s current will drop and, by virtue of Kirchoff’s current law, all other panels in that string will drop to that lowest current and significant amounts of power will be wasted. That power will be sent to the lowest performing panels and wasted as heat in their cells. This creates hot spots and can significantly degrade the panel. This issue only gets worse over time and is the main form of panel performance and lifespan degradation. Similarly, the panel strings wired in parallel drop their voltage to the lowest performing string and must contend with voltage drops in the cabling, whereby the strings furthestfrom the inverters continually face a drop than those installed closest to the inverters. All this imbalance reduces the power output of the solar farm such that the unbalanced panels within a string drop to perform at the lowest panel which then supplies unbalanced power to the cable network and the disparity between cable lengths also introduces unbalanced voltage drops. This all adds up to significant variations in voltages of the strings and they all drop to the lowest voltage of the lowest performing string that considerably reduces overall solar farm output.

[0011] Improvement of solar panels in recent years has been largely focussed on improving the “front side” of the panel. That is, the materials used in the solar cells and conductor bar materials amongst other aspects of the solar panel. Improvements in these aspects allow solar panels to perform well under Standard Test Conditions (STC) in a laboratory at 25oC as stated in manufacturer specifications. However, in a real- world installation, there are many factors that reduce solar panel performance such as shading, dirty panels, degradation or a small orientation mismatch. These factors may significantly reduce the output power from the panel and in some cases, the panel power output may drop to zero.

[0012] The inventor has realised that by employing power electronics on the “back side” of the panel in the electrical circuit after the output from the panel, a significant amount of power could be reclaimed rather than wasted both in shading conditions and especially in low light conditions at the start and end of the day which represents about 80% of the power generating conditions. Conversely, during the middle of the day, solar power generation may exceed demand in the external electrical grid. This so called “duck curve” is increasingly becoming a big issue and during this period, the price of electricity can go negative, such as -$44 / MWh, and solar farms as well as residential and commercial installations need to curtail their power to avoid being charged for power generation. The same power electronics as are used to balance and / or optimise the performance of the solar panels in low light and shading conditions can be employed to curtail the power of the solar panels. This may alleviate overheating and hotspots normally associated with open circuit solar panels and in turn increase the efficiency and lifespan of the solar panels. Summary of Invention

[0013] It is an object of this invention to ameliorate, mitigate or overcome, at least one disadvantage of the prior art, or will at least provide the public with a practical choice.

[0014] A distributed energy storage and optimisation system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention seeks to provide one or more of the following functions: energy storage to shift energy to a later time, stabilisation to provide higher quality power at a more consistent voltage and current, power balancing and / or power optimisation to maximise the output of unbalanced solar panels and strings and / or power output in low light conditions, and power curtailment to reduce power output in times of low demand.

[0015] A power optimisation system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention seeks to provide at least one of the following functions: power stabilisation to provide higher quality power at a more consistent voltage and current, power balancing and / or power optimisation to maximise the output of unbalanced solar cells, solar panels and strings and / or power output in low light conditions, and power curtailment to reduce power output in times of low demand.

[0016] Power balancing refers to balancing the power output of each solar panel in a string of solar panels to be substantially the same as each other. Kirchoff’s Current Law states that any components wired in series must have the same current. Accordingly, solar panels wired in series in a solar panel string will all drop to the lowest current and excess energy is sent to the lowest power producing panel and is wasted as heat. For example, if one solar panel in a string of solar panels arranged in series is in shade whilst the other panels are in sunlight, then the current and therefore power output of that solar panel may be less than the other panels. This will result in the power output of all panels in the series string being reduced to the lower power output of the shaded panel. In the context of the present invention, the energy storage devices and / or power optimisation systems can be used to balance the power of the panels in the series to increase the current of the shaded panel which then lifts the current of all panels in the string so that power output of the shaded panel is brought back up to the power output of the non-shaded solar panels such that the overall power output is at the higher level.

[0017] Power optimisation refers to increasing the power output of a solar panel string arranged in series in low light conditions. In such conditions, the power output of allpanels may be lower than it would be in light conditions. Using the power optimisation devices and systems of the invention, power is “injected” into each solar cell, panel and / or string to raise the voltage of each solar cell which reduces its resistance. This consequently increases its current and subsequently the power output of each panel in the series can be increased to a higher level.

[0018] Power curtailment refers to decreasing the power output of a solar panel string arranged in series in high light conditions, e.g. the middle of the day. Using the power optimisation devices and systems of the present invention, a lower voltage is “injected” into each solar cell, panel and / or string or, in some instances if a significant curtailment is required, subtracted from each solar cell, panel and / or string to reduce the voltage of each solar cell which increases its resistance. This consequently reduces its current and subsequently the power output of each panel in the series can be reduced to a higher level.

[0019] In one embodiment, the distributed energy storage and power balancing and / or power optimisation system uses many smaller energy storage devices comprised of low-cost batteries allowing the use of very simple wiring and battery management systems that can all communicate and work together to form a larger distributed battery. In one embodiment, each energy storage device has fewer than or equal to ninety cells and less than 2.5kW and 10kWh rating which makes wiring together, monitoring, utilisation of low-current components and controlling and balancing the cells a relatively simple and cost-effective process compared with current large grid scale batteries.

[0020] In a solar farm energy storage and power shifting application, the energy storage devices can be installed on each solar panel or group of solar panels, such as a group of 4 panels, as a plug-and-play installation, by simply disconnecting the standard solar connector, such as an MC4 connector, to store power that was generated during the day and provide that power at peak times later in the day, for the evening and morning peak or over a full day and night as baseload power. The stored power is fed back into the cabling from the solar panel and down the cabling to the inverters and this shared infrastructure may also reduce complexity and / or cost of a new or retrofit solar farm installation.

[0021] In a large-scale battery, if a cell or many cells fail or their lifespan is reduced, then it is too difficult to replace those cells and the entire battery may suffer from a shortoperating life and reduced energy storage Issues of short operating life and reduced energy storage capacity are in the distributed energy storage system of the present invention since if an energy storage device fails, it can simply be replaced without causing a significant disturbance to the distributed system and be completed at low cost. The heat generation is vastly reduced with fewer than ninety cells in the energy storage devices and generally do not require heat dissipation compared with millions of cells in a large-scale battery with complex heat exchangers and their associated cooling circuits and systems. The high cost of additional components such as high-current cabling, switches, electronics and chargers are significantly reduced at small scale. The battery management systems for ninety or fewer cells are proportionally many times less complex and costly at small scale. The complexity and cost savings from utilising many smaller energy storage devices connected to existing infrastructure outweighs any of the typical economies of scale that could be obtained from using a large-scale battery while adding redundancy to the system and increasing robustness and energy security.

[0022] In an energy storage and load shifting application, such as charging a battery during low priced electricity periods and using that power later during high priced electricity periods, such as for a home or commercial building, a small energy storage device can use a self-install plug-and-play installation by plugging the energy storage device into a standard electrical power socket or power point inside the building without requiring an electrician or qualified technician. In times of excess supply and / or low-cost electricity, such as off-peak times at night, the energy storage device can be charged ready to be discharged directly back into the power socket, back through the electrical switchboard and transmitted throughout the building at peak times and high prices. This will have benefits for the consumer paying lower prices. When many energy storage devices are operated together as a distributed energy storage system, it may provide benefits for power companies since the energy storage device discharge times and rates can be controlled remotely by the power companies, such as through the internet, to even out supply deficiencies and their associated price spikes, benefits in the possible resulting reduction in electricity prices and benefits for electricity distributors whereby significant amounts of onsite storage can delay having to upgrade electrical distribution infrastructure.

[0023] In a power optimisation of the present invention with power balancing and / or power optimisation and the power entering the power optimisation device may be unstable, such as from solar panels or the electricity grid, with varying voltage and current. Shading conditions may also significantly reduce the amount of power entering the device. The unstable power entering the power optimisation device is used to charge the battery which then decouples that power from the source and provides a steady voltage, current and power at the output. The power optimisation device may also boost the voltage from the battery, which reduces the resistance of any under-performing solar panels to increase the net overall power output from the solar panels. This is important for providing stable, high-quality power to the grid or to a building or other installation at optimal power levels. The more stable power may also increase the efficiency and lifespan of the inverter and downstream equipment.

[0024] In a power optimisation application of the present invention, such as in a solar farm, the power generated from each solar panel can be augmented with power from the energy storage device for a low performing solar panel and power deducted to add power to the energy storage device for a high performing solar panel, such that all the solar panels in that string provide an average amount of power. The panels provide the same amount of current rather than all the panels dropping to the lowest current in the string. The excess current from the higher performers is normally wasted as heat inside the cells of the lower performers and this creates hot spots and significant performance degradation including lowering the lifespan of the panels. The present invention aims to alleviate this degradation issue.

[0025] Preferably, the balanced current from the panels in the string is then fed into the parallel cable wiring to the inverters. The parallel wiring naturally drops all the voltages of each string to the lowest voltage. The string voltages are also affected by the uneven voltage drops in the cables with larger drops for longer cables installed at the far side of the farm. The energy storage devices balance the panels and subsequent string voltages to provide the same voltage from all strings to the inverter, which is the average of all string voltages plus the cable voltage drops. This increases the power output at the inverter and alleviates back currents entering the strings and further degrading the solar panels.

[0026] The energy storage device is of providing all four modes of operation (energy storage, power balancing and / or optimisation, stabilisation and curtailment) simultaneously. The power optimisation device is capable of providing power balancing and / or power optimisation, stabilisation and curtailment modes simultaneously.

[0027] In a first aspect, there is provided a distributed energy storage and power optimisation system comprising: a plurality of power source connected to an local grid configured to transmit electricity; a plurality of energy storage devices, wherein at least one of the energy storage devices is connected to a power source; a power connector connected to the local grid and an input switching element inside the plurality of energy storage devices; wherein the at least one energy storage device is wired in parallel with the at least one power source; wherein the input switching element is configured to connect to the at least one power source and provide power to a battery charger from the local grid; at least one power compensator configured to alter the input power to the battery charger and / or amount of output power from the energy storage device; an output switching element configured to enable power output from the energy storage device to the local grid; and a controller in the energy storage device capable of controlling the input switching element for charging and output switching element for discharging the energy storage device.

[0028] In another aspect, there is provided a distributed energy storage and power optimisation system comprising: at least one power source connected to a local grid inside an installation; wherein the local grid is configured to transmit electricity; at least one power connector connected to the local grid; and at least one energy storage device wired in parallel with the at least one power source, the energy storage device comprising: an input switching element, a battery charger and one or more battery cells; wherein the battery charger is electrically connected to the input switching element andthe one or more battery cells; wherein the switching element is configured to control and enable power input to the charger from the local grid; at least one power compensator configured for controlling and modifying an amount of input power to the battery charger and / or modifying an amount of output power from the energy storage device; an output switching element connected to the one or more battery cells to enable power output from the energy storage device to the local grid; at least one battery cell of the one or more battery cells electrically connected to the battery charger and the output switching element; and a controller capable of controlling the input switching element for charging and the output switching element for discharging the energy storage device.

[0029] In another embodiment, there is provided an energy storage and / or power optimisation system including power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation comprising: at least one first power source configured to transmit electricity; at least one second power source configured to transmit electricity; and at least one power optimisation device wired in parallel with the at least one first power source and the at least one second power source, the power optimisation device comprising: at least one input power connector electrically connected to the at least one first power source and the at least one second power source; at least one power compensator capable of controlling and modifying an amount of output power including voltage and / or current from the at least one second power source to at least one output connector of the power optimisation device; wherein the at least one second power source is electrically connected to the at least one power compensator; andwherein the at least one first source is electrically connected to the at least one output connector of the power device.

[0030] Preferably, the energy storage device comprises a plurality of battery cells.

[0031] Preferably, the power compensator is configured to balance current across the plurality of energy storage devices. Preferably, the power compensator is configured to balance the voltage across the plurality of energy storage devices.

[0032] Preferably, the power compensator is configured to balance the current across battery cells in the energy storage device. Preferably, the power compensator is configured to balance the voltage across battery cells in the energy storage device.

[0033] Preferably, a battery charger is connected to the energy storage device.

[0034] In an embodiment, the power source may comprise a solar panel.

[0035] In an embodiment, the power source may comprise an electrical power socket.

[0036] Preferably, the plurality of battery cells is connected to an inverter.

[0037] Preferably, the controller is configured to communicate with at least one power meter installed inside a building, installation or the like.

[0038] The controller may be connected to a local network. The distributed energy storage system may include a central controller connected to the local network and in communication with the controller. The central controller may be connected to a wide area network.

[0039] Preferably, the battery cells are configured to be controlled by a battery management system. The battery management system may be configured to ensure that current and voltage emitted from each cell in the energy storage device is balanced. The battery management system may be configured to ensure that current and voltage provided to each cell is balanced.

[0040] Preferably, the controller of the at least one energy storage device is electrically connected to a local network.

[0041] Preferably, in an embodiment, the local network is a robust mesh wireless network with each controller acting as a on the network as well as a wireless repeater and including error correction and automatic link connection and reconnection to the network.

[0042] Preferably, in another embodiment, the local network is a wired network, the wired network comprising ethernet, a wireless network with a central router or other form of data transmission network.

[0043] Preferably, a central controller is connected to the local network and in communication with the controller of each of the one or more energy storage devices to send instructions for controlling the charging and discharging times and rates of power transfer as well as passing data to report about the statuses of each energy storage device such as state of charge and state of health of the battery cells.

[0044] Preferably, the central controller comprises an energy storage device controller, which therefore functions as the central controller in addition, to its local storage device controller role.

[0045] Preferably, the central controller is connected to a global network to communicate with a cloud server. In this manner, a plurality of the distributed energy storage systems can be controlled and coordinated at a suburban, regional or other large-scale area for systematic power discharging and charging from an electrical grid or other electrical network.

[0046] Preferably, the battery cells inside the energy storage device are connected to a battery management system that performs a balancing function to ensure that all the cells are substantially balanced, as well as performing safety functions by preventing the cells from operating outside their safe area such as over-charging, over-discharging, over-current during charging, over-current during discharging and over-voltage during charging. The battery management system may also monitor voltage, temperature, current, state of health and state of balance of the cells. The battery management system may therefore provide a local battery management system to manage the cells inside the energy storage device.

[0047] Preferably, a plurality of the storage devices integrated into the local grid form a global battery management whereby each of the plurality of energy storage devices are managed by the central controller to ensure that they are all balanced and can charge and discharge at similar rates to maintain similar energy levels. This is analogous to the cells inside the energy storage device being managed by the local battery management system but operating on a much larger scale and power rating.

[0048] Preferably, the power source comprises at least one solar panel.

[0049] Preferably, the power source comprises the electrical grid that may be utilised to charge the energy storage devices in times of excess or low-cost power to act like a large grid or utility battery and feed power back to the grid in times of deficit or high-cost power. This can be achieved by importing power from the grid typically at times of low grid demand, to typically bypass the inverters and feed power to the energy storage devices, via the solar farm cabling, to charge the batteries.

[0050] Preferably, the power source comprises a type of renewable energy generation device other than a solar panel, for example a wind turbine.

[0051] Preferably, the power source comprises at least one electrical power socket inside a building drawing power from an electrical grid or other source of electrical power.

[0052] Preferably, when the energy storage device is connected to at least one solar panel, the power connector comprises a standard solar connector such as an MC4 branch connector, much like a double adapter, that enables plug-and-play installation and connection of the energy storage device to the local grid typically within a minute.

[0053] Preferably, when the energy storage device is installed in a building, the power connector comprises a standard electrical power plug to plug into a standard electrical power socket or power point, that enables plug-and-play installation and connection of the energy storage device to the local grid typically within a minute.

[0054] Preferably, in an embodiment, the input switching element comprises a relay configured to be instructed by the controller to enable or disable transmission of electrical power through it.

[0055] Preferably, another embodiment, the input switching element comprises a double-pole relay configured to be by the controller to completely enable or disable transmission of electrical power through it.

[0056] Preferably, a power compensator at the input side comprises a semiconductor- based switching element such as a MOSFET, whereby the controller can accurately control the amount of power allowed through the power compensator usually performed using a pulse-width-modulation signal from the controller to actuate high-speed switching of the MOSFET semiconductor device. A smoothing circuit, such as an inductor, capacitor, resistor or mixture thereof will usually be employed to provide a smooth power to the battery charger.

[0057] Preferably, a power compensator at the input side may include a DC-DC converter, voltage doubler, boost converter or buck-boost converter to change the voltage to a lower potential when charging the energy storage device for power shifting, stabilisation and power balancing and / or power optimisation applications. A diode might also be installed to block the power from exiting the energy storage device through the input.

[0058] Preferably, the power compensator at the input side is a variable power device.

[0059] Preferably, the variable power device comprises a potentiometer, thyristor power controller, voltage controller or rheostat configured to be instructed by the controller to enable, disable or control the transmission and amount of electrical power through it.

[0060] Preferably, the battery charger is configured to prevent the battery cells from operating outside their safe area. For example, the battery charger is configured to prevent over-charging, over-current during charging, and over-voltage during charging.

[0061] Preferably the battery cells are arranged and wired up in a mixture of series and parallel wiring to establish the desired voltage, current and energy storage rating of the energy storage device usually measured in volts (V) and amps (A) and with energy storage measured in amp-hours (Ah) and watt-hours (Wh).

[0062] Preferably, the energy storage device has a rating less than 1kW so that it is small, manageable, simple and quick to install and maintain. At such a rating,installation and / or maintenance may be carried out by unskilled labour or by the general public or consumer, and not subject to or standards in many jurisdictions.

[0063] Preferably, the one or more battery cells comprises ninety or fewer than ninety to enable simpler control and minimise heat dissipation requirements, requiring a less complex battery management system compared to a large grid scale battery with millions of battery cells.

[0064] Preferably, the output switching element comprises a relay configured to be instructed by the controller to enable or disable transmission of electrical power therethrough.

[0065] Preferably, the output switching element is a double-pole relay configured to be instructed by the controller to completely enable or disable transmission of electrical power therethrough.

[0066] Preferably, a power compensator at the output side is a semiconductor-based switching element such as a MOSFET, whereby the controller is configured to enable or disable the transmission of electrical power through it and control the amount of power allowed through the switching element usually performed using a pulse-width- modulation signal from the controller to actuate high-speed switching of the MOSFET semiconductor device. A smoothing circuit, such as an inductor, capacitor, resistor or mixture thereof will usually be employed to provide a smooth power to the battery charger.

[0067] Preferably, a power compensator at the output side may include a DC-DC converter, voltage doubler, boost converter or buck-boost converter to change the voltage to a higher potential when discharging from the energy storage device for power shifting, stabilisation and power balancing and / or power optimisation applications. A diode might also be installed to block the power from entering the energy storage device through the output.

[0068] Preferably, a power compensator at the output side is a variable power device.

[0069] Preferably, the variable power device comprises a potentiometer, thyristor power controller, voltage controller or rheostat configured to be instructed by thecontroller to enable, disable or control the transmission and amount of electrical power through it.

[0070] Preferably, at least some of the components the energy storage device are integrated into a printed circuit board (PCB).

[0071] Preferably, the controller or central controller is configured to access live electricity demand, supply and pricing data and, based on the data, to ascertain the best times and rates to charge and discharge the energy storage devices and instruct the controllers to do the same.

[0072] Preferably, the controller includes a clock and a calendar. Preferably, the controller is programmed with instructions for controlling the energy storage device charging and discharging times and rates based on the time of day and day of the year.

[0073] Preferably, the controller is programmed to store power at specified times and rates and to provide that power to the grid or other applications, via the solar farm cabling of the local grid, later at specified times and rates.

[0074] Preferably, the controller includes an electrical switchboard or power sensor in the building, configured to sense when the connection to the grid is disconnected or the grid has a blackout, and, in the event of a detected grid connection or blackout, to enable the energy storage device to discharge to provide backup power.

[0075] Preferably, when the power source is an electrical power socket inside a building, at least one power meter is connected to another electrical power socket in the building, usually in a busy room such as an office, kitchen or living room, to monitor the power usage in that room. This power usage amount is sent to the controller, usually wirelessly, to be extrapolated to estimate the total power consumption of the building to ensure that the energy storage device does not supply more power than is required to the building as it would not make sense to use grid power to charge the energy storage device only to have it export power back to the grid.

[0076] Preferably, when the energy storage device is used in a building, an inverter or micro-inverter is installed between the battery cells or output power compensator and the output switching element to invert the DC power from the battery cells to AC powerconfigured for connection to the electrical socket in the building and ready for consumption.

[0077] Preferably the inverter or micro-inverter is a grid-tie inverter that accurately matches voltage, frequency and phase of the grid sine wave AC waveform to provide a high-quality form of electricity ready for consumption in the building.

[0078] Preferably, when a solar farm, commercial, domestic or other type of installation wants to draw power from the electrical grid to utilise the local grid and associated distributed energy storage system to store electrical energy, the system bypasses the inverters, using AC and DC changeover switches, normally used to transform the DC power from the solar panels to AC power and utilises rectifiers to transform the AC power to DC power ready for distribution in the local grid and distributed energy storage system. This enables the system to operate as a standalone energy storage system, whether short-term storage to supply several hours of power to alleviate peak loads or medium-term storage to provide consistent baseload power. In either case, the distributed energy storage system utilises all the existing cabling, infrastructure, connection to the grid and current approvals for the installation thereby saving significant time and expense compared to installing a new grid-scale battery.

[0079] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an input power meter installed to measure the voltage, current and amount of power entering the energy storage device.

[0080] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an output power meter installed to measure the voltage, current and amount of power exiting the energy storage device.

[0081] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an input circuit breaker between the power connector and the input switching element to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0082] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an output circuit breaker between the output switching element and the power connector to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0083] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an input AC disconnect between the power connector and the input element to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0084] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an output AC disconnect between the output switching element and the power connector to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0085] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an input DC disconnect between the power connector and the input switching element to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0086] Preferably, the energy storage device includes an output DC disconnect between the output switching element and the power connector to safely isolate the energy storage device from the power source.

[0087] Preferably, the AC disconnect is a double-pole cut-off switch.

[0088] Preferably, the DC disconnect is a double-pole cut-off switch.

[0089] Preferably, the energy storage device includes temperature sensors on the battery cells, that are connected to the controller, to sense if battery cells are heating up beyond set limits, whereby the controller can disable charging or discharging of the energy storage device.

[0090] Preferably, the energy storage device includes at least two temperature sensors on the start and end of a string of battery cells, that are connected to the controller, to sense if those battery cells are heating up beyond safe limits, whereby the controller or main controller can interpolate, extrapolate or use artificial intelligence to estimate the temperature of the other battery cells in that string between the two temperature sensors, and if required, can disable charging or discharging of the energy storage device. Preferably, the energy storage device includes temperature sensors on the power compensators such as MOSFETs, that are connected to the controller, to sense if battery cells are heating up beyond safe limits, whereby the controller can disable charging or discharging of the energy storage device.

[0091] Preferably, the controller is connected to a display or touchscreen so that it can be easily configured and display and other information about the energy storage device.

[0092] According to a further aspect, there is provided a power optimisation device for connecting to at least one first power source configured to transmit electricity, the distributed energy storage and / or power optimisation device comprising: at least one second power source connected to a local grid and to the at least one first power source; at least one output connector connected to the at least one first power source and the at least one second power source and configured for outputting power; and at least one power compensator connectable to the at least one first power source and connected to the at least one second power source, the at least one power compensator configured to alter an amount of power to the at least one first power source or an amount of output power from the at least one second power source to the output connector.

[0093] In some embodiments, the at least one second power source may comprise at least one battery comprising a plurality of battery cells and a battery charger connected to the battery and capable of charging the battery to store energy and discharging the battery to supply energy to the device.

[0094] Preferably, the at least one power compensator is configured to balance the currents and / or voltages and / or power across one or more of the at least one first power source to increase their power output.

[0095] In some embodiments, the at least one power compensator may be integrated with the battery charger.

[0096] In some embodiments, the at least one second power source may comprise at least one inverter connectable to the at least one first power source and for converting DC power to AC power.

[0097] In some embodiments, the at least one second power source may comprise AC mains power.

[0098] The at least one second power source may comprise at least one inverter connectable to the at least one first and for converting DC power to AC power.

[0099] The at least one second power source may comprise AC mains power. [000100] The at least one power compensator may include one or more of a DC-DC converter, voltage doubler, boost converter, buck-boost converter, adjustable power supply or voltage regulator, configured to supply or subtract a set voltage to the device for power balancing and / or power optimisation functions. In some embodiments, the set voltage may decrease depending on lower sunlight irradiance and higher temperature. A diode may also be installed to block the power from entering the power optimisation device through the output power connector. [000101] Preferably, the device further comprises a controller connected to the local grid and capable of controlling an amount of power to be added into or subtracted from the at least one first power source. [000102] In some embodiments, the controller may be integral with the power compensator. [000103] In some embodiments, the controller may be integral with the battery charger. [000104] Preferably, the controller is configured to communicate with a power meter installed inside a building, installation or the like to measure a power demand for the building, installation or the like. The controller may use the power demand information received from the power meter to ensure that the battery is charged from the AC mains to supply power to the house, building or the like to meet its power demand, but to prevent the export of battery charged power to the grid. The controller may also use the power demand information received from the power meter to curtail the power output to the house, building or the like, in times of power oversupply to the grid, such that sufficient power is supplied to the building but not exported to the grid. [000105] Preferably, the at least one first power source comprises at least one solar panel.[000106] Preferably, the at least one first source comprises another type of renewable energy generation device, for a wind turbine. [000107] Preferably, the at least one first power source comprises at least one semiconductor electronic device such as central processing units (CPUs) or graphics processing units (GPUs) of the type used in mainstream or high-end computing. [000108] Preferably, at least one power connector is connectable to the at least one first power source and connected to the at least one second power source. The at least one input power connector may comprises a standard solar cabling connector such as an MC4 connector. [000109] Preferably the at least one input power connector is selected from a range of standard electrical connectors such as spade connectors or screw terminals. [000110] Preferably, the power compensator is a variable power device. [000111] Preferably, the variable power device comprises a MOSFET power device employing pulse-width-modulation, a potentiometer, thyristor power controller, voltage controller or rheostat configured to be instructed by the controller to enable, disable or control the transmission and amount of electrical power through it. [000112] Preferably the at least one output power connector comprises a standard solar cabling connector such as an MC4 connector. [000113] Preferably the at least one output power connector is selected from a range of standard electrical connectors such as spade connectors or screw terminals. [000114] Preferably, at least some of the components in the power optimisation device are integrated into a printed circuit board (PCB). [000115] According to a still further aspect, there is provided a power optimisation system, comprising the power optimisation device of the further embodiment and at least one first power source wired in parallel to the power optimisation device. [000116] Preferably, the at least one first power source comprises a solar panel. In some embodiments, the at least one first power source may comprise a plurality of the solar panels. In some embodiments, the plurality of solar panels may be arranged inseries to form a solar panel string. In some embodiments, a plurality of the solar panel strings may be connected in parallel to a solar farm. [000117] Preferably, the controller is configured to receive an indication of voltage and / or current measurements of the plurality of solar panels and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels and, based on the indication of voltage and / or current measurements and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels, determine an amount of power to be added to each solar panel of the plurality of solar panels or to each solar panel string of solar panels or to each solar farm near the central inverter to reduce their resistance and increase power output. [000118] Preferably, the controller is configured to receive an indication of voltage and / or current measurements of the plurality of solar panels and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels and, based on the indication of voltage and / or current measurements and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels, determine an amount of power to be added or subtracted to each solar panel of the plurality of solar panels or to each solar panel string of solar panels or to each solar farm near the central inverter to increase their resistance and reduce power output. [000119] For the energy storage and power shifting mode, the controller will instruct the input switching element to enable transmission of electricity into the energy storage device at times of excess or lower-cost power, or a desired time, to charge the energy storage device and then instruct the output switching element to enable transmission of electricity out of the energy storage device at times of deficit or high-cost power, or a desired time, to discharge the energy storage device effectively shifting the power from times of excess to times of deficit power. When many of the energy storage devices are connected via the local grid, all the energy storage devices work together with their power augmenting to form a large, distributed battery or distributed energy storage system. When a central controller or server is in communication with many energy storage devices via the local network, the entire system operates as a large, distributed and coordinated energy storage system. By adding the local and global battery management systems, the distributed energy storage system is more efficient whencharging and discharging by ensuring that all battery cells and energy storage devices are maintaining a similar state of charge. increases the storage capacity and lifespan of the energy storage system. The energy storage system will provide benefits for consumers with lower cost power, energy companies to more effectively meet demand and increase their profits, solar farm operators can increase their yield and profits, commercial operators can save more money on electricity bills, the government by alleviating or delaying significant increases in the cost of power and electrical infrastructure companies can delay the upgrade and cost of electrical grid infrastructure. When operating in the power stabilisation mode, the variable power from the power sources, such as solar panels, is fed into the string cables and the strings feed into the inverters with additional power from the energy storage devices, connected to each power source, to augment or diminish that power so that the power is stabilised at the output. Stabilised power feeding to the grid or inside a building is an important consideration and sometimes a basic requirement for power generators. [000120] When operating in the power balancing and / or power optimisation mode, the variable power from each power source, such as solar panels, is fed into the string cables and each energy storage device, connected to each power source or group of power sources augments or diminishes the power so that each power sources supply the same current, which may be the average of all power sources or greater current for discharging the energy storage system or less current for charging the energy storage system. This alleviates the issue of power loss in the string since unbalanced power sources all drop to the lowest current and power with the excess power being wasted as heat inside the cells of the lower performing solar panels which degrades the panel and shortens their life. The power from each energy storage device also raises the voltage of the solar panels, which reduces their resistance. This increases their output current and subsequently their power output. [000121] The power from the strings is then fed into the parallel cables feeding the inverter and the voltage of each string is controlled, using the energy storage devices in the strings, to ensure that they are equalised at the inverter while taking account of the different voltage drops in the cables, with the strings located furthest from the inverter having the largest voltage drops in their longer cables. This alleviates the unbalanced voltages from each string that would normally all drop to the lowest voltage which reduces the overall power output of the system and further degrades the panels sincethat excess power is wasted in the Central monitoring of at least voltage and current of all or some panels or strings central control of the energy storage devices to add or subtract power from their panels so that not only the panel currents in a string are balanced but also the string voltages are balanced at the inverter in a solar farm or other installation such as inside a building. This distributed energy storage system is a clever way to optimise the power output of the system. [000122] The energy storage system typically operates in all three modes simultaneously so that the requirements for energy storage and power shifting are met while controlling the energy storage devices for power stabilisation and power balancing and / or power optimisation. This may have large benefits for the grid with more stable renewable power on demand and provides opportunities for stable baseload renewable power. Similarly for buildings that require stable, high-quality and backup power, the energy storage devices work in unison as a large, distributed energy storage and optimisation system. When compared with a large energy storage system, the distributed energy storage and optimisation system has greater redundancy, simplicity, lower cost and the ability to optimise the power output of the system that is not possible with a large energy storage system. Brief Description of Drawings [000123] Further features of the present disclosure are more fully described in the following description of several non-limiting embodiments thereof. This description is included solely for the purposes of exemplifying the present invention. It should not be understood as a restriction on the broad summary, disclosure or description of the invention as set out above. The description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a further embodiment of the present invention;Figure 3 is a schematic view of the distributed energy storage system fed into a power grid; Figure 4 is a schematic view of an energy storage system in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic view of a plurality of solar farms with controlled feed into a power grid. Figure 6 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic view of solar panels in a prior art string installed at a solar farm. Figure 8 is a schematic view of solar panels in a string, each connected to energy storage devices in a power balancing and / or power optimisation arrangement. Figure 9 is a schematic view of solar panels in a prior art arrangement of strings and multiple strings. Figure 10 is a schematic view of solar panels in a string, each connected to energy storage devices, and multiple strings installed in a balanced current arrangement. Figure 11 provides a graph of power output from a solar farm using the energy storage system to provide power to service the evening peak. Figure 12 shows a graph of power output from a solar farm using energy storage system to provide power to service the evening peak and peak the next morning. Figure 13 shows a graph of power output from a solar farm with the energy storage system to effectively provide constant baseload power.Figure 14 shows a graph of variable power output from a solar farm with the energy storage system to provide a of power to the grid. Figure 15 shows a graph of variable power output from a solar farm with the energy storage system for power shifting at peak times. Figure 16 shows a graph of variable power output from a solar farm with the energy storage system to provide a stable supply of power to the grid and take power from the grid for power shifting. Figure 17 shows a graph of several solar panels in a prior art string installed in a solar farm. Figure 18 shows a graph of several solar panels in a string installed in a solar farm in a power equalising arrangement. Figure 19 shows a graph of several solar panels in a string installed in a solar farm using the energy storage devices to equalise current for power shifting at peak times. Figure 20 shows a graph of several solar panels in a string installed in a solar farm using the energy storage devices to equalise the current in the string but taking power from the grid for power shifting. Figure 21 shows a graph of several strings installed in a solar farm. Figure 22 shows a graph of several strings installed in a solar farm using the energy storage devices to equalise the voltages of the strings at an inverter. Figure 23 shows a graph of several strings installed in a solar farm using the energy storage devices to equalise the voltages of the strings at the inverter. Figure 24 shows a graph of several strings installed in a solar farm using the energy storage devices to equalise the voltages of the strings at the.Figure 25 shows a mathematical model of power balancing and / or power optimisation unbalanced currents and across solar panels in a solar farm using the distributed energy storage and optimisation system. Figure 26 shows a process diagram for controlling a solar farm using the distributed energy storage and optimisation system. Figure 27 is a schematic view of solar panels in a string, each connected to energy storage devices in a charging current arrangement. Figure 28 is a schematic view of solar panels in a string, each connected to energy storage devices in a discharging power balancing and / or power optimisation arrangement. Figure 29 is a current-voltage graph of an electrical diode including the slopes of the curve; Figure 30 is a current-voltage graph of a typical solar cell under shading conditions; Figure 31 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 32 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 33 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 34 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 35 is a schematic view of a distributed energy storage system according to a further embodiment of the present invention;Figure 36 is a schematic view of a optimisation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 37 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 38 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 40 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 41 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 42 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 43 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 44 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 45 shows a schematic of multiple strings of solar panels installed in a solar farm; Figure 46 shows a schematic of multiple strings of solar panels installed in a solar farm; Figure 47 shows a schematic of multiple strings of solar panels installed in a solar farm; Figure 48 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention;Figure 49 is a schematic view of a optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present Figure 50 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention; Figure 51 is a schematic view of a power optimisation device according to a further embodiment of the present invention. [000124] In the drawings like structures are referred to by like numerals. The drawings shown are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present invention. Description of Embodiments [000125] Figure 1 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage and optimisation system 100 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Solar panel 1 generates electricity during the day and, in typically sunny conditions, generates most power during the middle of the day when that the need for generated power is lowest and may earn a negative price and cost money to export it to the grid. Solar panel 1 feeds power through electricity cables as depicted by the arrow 2 and into the negative solar branch connector 3 and positive solar branch connector 4. The power then feeds into the energy storage device 33 as depicted by the arrows 5 where is splits into two branches and into the input switch 7 and output switch 14. [000126] When it is time to charge the energy storage device 33 of the distributed energy storage system 100, such as at midday, the controller 9 instructs the input switch 7 to close and enable power to flow into battery charger 10 which uses generated power from the solar panel 1 to charge the energy storage device 33 to store power for use at a later time. The battery charger 10 feeds power into the battery pack 13 which is comprised of a plurality of battery cells 12 usually wired up in a mixture of series and parallel wiring to meet the voltage, current and storage requirements of the energy storage device 33 and distributed energy storage system 100. When the desired amount of power has been taken from the solar panel 1 or the battery pack 13 is fullycharged, the controller instructs the input switch 7 to open and disable power flow into the battery charger 10. [000127] To perform stabilisation and / or power balancing and / or power optimisation during charging, a central controller (not shown) calculates the desired output of the solar farm and the corresponding power for each string and panel. The central controller broadcasts these values to each controller 9 so that they can instruct the input power compensator 231 to control the amount of power into the energy storage device 33. The controller 9 uses voltage and current feedback from the input power meter 232 to ensure that the voltage and power of the solar panel 1 and energy storage device 33 is substantially at the set point sent from the central controller. [000128] When it is time to discharge the energy storage device 33, such as during the peak electricity period in the evening, the controller 9 instructs the output switch 14 to close and enable power to flow from the battery pack 13 to the cable entering and exiting the energy storage device 33 as depicted by the arrows 15. The power from discharging the energy storage device 33 travels back through to the solar branch connectors 3 and 4 and is blocked from entering the solar panel 1 by diodes inside the solar panel junction box (not shown). The energy storage device 33 discharge power then travels through the solar branch connectors as depicted by the arrows 6 and down into the inverter 17 as depicted by the arrows 16. The inverter is used to invert the power from DC power to AC power ready for consumption in building 18. [000129] To perform stabilisation and / or power balancing and / or power optimisation during discharging, the central controller (not shown) calculates the desired output of the solar farm and the corresponding power for each string. The central controller broadcasts these values to each controller 9 so that they can instruct the output power compensator 229 to control the amount of power out of the energy storage device 33. The controller 9 uses voltage and current feedback from the output power meter 230 to ensure that the voltage and power of the solar panel 1 and energy storage device 33 is substantially at the set point sent from the central controller. [000130] To improve the storage capacity, health, efficiency and lifespan of the battery pack, a battery management system 46 is used to ensure that the battery cells 12 arebalanced, thereby alleviating under- or under-discharging of certain cells and increasing the overall energy storage In a further embodiment, the battery management system 46 performs safety functions by preventing the cells from operating outside their safe area; such as protecting against over-charging, over- discharging, over-current during charging, over-current during discharging and over- voltage during charging. The battery management system may also monitor voltage, temperature, current, state of health and state of balance of the cells. The battery management system is configured to communicate with the controller 9 to report on the state / condition of the battery pack 13 and its battery cells 12. [000131] The battery pack 13 includes the battery cells 12 arranged and wired up in a mixture of series and parallel wiring to establish the desired voltage, current and energy storage rating of the energy storage device 33, usually measured in volts (V), amps (A), with energy storage measured in amp-hours (Ah) or watt-hours (Wh). The battery pack 13 is rated at less than 1kW to keep its capacity low so that it is easy to install, manage and is less likely to be subjected to regulations or standards in most jurisdictions. The battery pack 13 contains less than ninety cells 12 to keep the battery management system 46 simple and effective at controlling the state of each cell 12. [000132] In an alternative embodiment, the battery pack 13 is rated at over 1kW. In one embodiment, the battery pack 13 includes more than ninety cells. [000133] The battery charger 10 incorporates safety functions by preventing the cells 12 from operating outside their safe parameters such as protecting against over- charging, over-current during charging and over-voltage during charging. The battery charger 10 is typically configured to communicate with the controller 9 to report on the state of the battery pack 13. [000134] The controller 9 is configured to communicate with a main controller (not shown) that sends commands for when to charge and discharge the energy storage device 33 of the distributed energy storage system 100. Alternatively, the controller 9 is programmable to control the charging and discharging of the energy storage device 33 based on time, electricity prices, environmental conditions or other factors. [000135] When a series of energy storage devices 33 are in communication with each other or a central main controller, the series of energy storage devices 33 integrate to form a distributed battery. The lower cost and complexity of each energy storage device33 compared with a large battery that contain millions of cells, provides large scale energy storage at a significantly lower complexity; especially for installation and maintenance whereby if an energy storage device 33 fails, it can simply be replaced in a few minutes with minimal disruption to the distributed energy storage system 100 and this provides significant system redundancy and robustness. [000136] The solar panel branch connectors 3 and 4, are industry-standard connectors such as MC4 connectors, that will enable plug-and-play installation, whereby installation of the each energy storage device 33 can be completed in a few minutes simply by disconnecting the existing solar panel connector and connecting to the solar panel branch connectors 3 and 4. There are no other power requirements or wires to run to the energy storage device 33 as it uses power from the solar panel 1 to charge its battery pack 13 and power its electronics and controller 9. [000137] The skilled addressee will recognise that alternative connectors for the solar panel branch connectors 3 and 4 can be used and fall within the scope of the present invention. [000138] To control the rate of charge or discharge of the energy storage device 33 is required, input power compensator 231 and output power compensator 229 control the power flow to and from the energy storage device 33 through the power compensator 231. [000139] The energy storage device 33 includes an input power meter 232 and output power meter 230 installed to measure the voltage, current and amount of power entering and exiting the energy storage device 33. [000140] The energy storage device 33 preferably includes input and output circuit breakers (not shown) or power disconnects (not shown) to electrically isolate the energy storage device 33 from the power solar panel 1. [000141] The energy storage device 33 preferably includes temperature sensors on the battery cells (not shown) and on the MOSFETs (not shown) that are connected to the controller to sense if battery cells 12 or the MOSFETs are heating up beyond safe limits,whereby the controller 9 can disable or discharging of the energy storage device 33. [000142] The controller 9 is configured to connect to a display or touchscreen (not shown) so that it can be configured and display performance and other information about the energy storage device 33. [000143] Figure 2 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 101 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 101 is shares like components with the distributed energy storage system 100 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a plurality of solar panels 1 are connected as an array of solar panels 102 with parallel wiring that represents a typical configuration in a solar farm. The array of solar panels 102 may be wired in series, parallel or a mixture thereof which is known as a string or set of strings. Each of the solar panels 1 in the array of solar panels 102 utilise an energy storage device 33 such that each solar panel 1 is capable of storing excess power during the day and supplying and shifting that power to a later time, such as the evening peak. [000144] The power stored in energy storage devices 33 is arranged to be fed through common cabling and infrastructure at the solar farm as part of the local grid 32 and fed into the DC changeover switch 34 that can select to export power to the grid 19 as depicted by the arrows 16 and arrow 21 or import power from the grid as depicted by the arrow 20. When exporting power to the grid 19, power from the local grid 32 enters via the main inverter 17. The sharing of infrastructure between the solar panels 1 array or solar panels 102 alleviates significant cost and complexity when compared with a large-scale utility-battery that must repeat the infrastructure, such as cabling and inverters, to function. The inverter 17 inverts the power from DC to AC power where it is then supplied to AC changeover switch 36, selected to export power to the electricity grid 19, or other power transmission systems such as a micro or island grid, as depicted by the arrow 21. Throughout this specification, reference to the local grid refers to the cabling, electrical equipment and connections to all components inside a solar farm, commercial building or home. The local grid may also be referred to as the internal grid.[000145] The distributed energy storage 101 is also configured to accept power from the grid, as depicted by the arrow the AC changeover switch 36, that is selected to import power, which will bypass the inverter 17 and enter the rectifier 35 to be rectified from AC to DC power to store excess power from the electricity grid 19 via the DC changeover switch 34, selected to import power, and into the distributed energy storage system 101 whereby it can store power in energy storage devices 33. This creates a distributed energy storage system 101 by efficiently utilising the existing infrastructure in the solar farm such that every solar farm could now be retrofitted to become a large-scale grid battery. [000146] Figure 3 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 103 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 103 shares like components with the distributed energy storage system 100 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, power from an electrical grid (not shown) feeds power to an electrical switchboard 23 in a house or building, and it feeds power into an electrical power socket 26, as depicted by the arrow 25. The power is then fed into the energy storage device 33 where it splits into two paths to connect to the input switch 7 and output switch 14. [000147] The battery pack 13 can be charged and discharged with the energy storage device 33 being supplied AC power from the electrical switchboard 23 and supplies AC power back to the electrical switchboard 23. To do this, the battery charger 10 is configured to operate on AC power to charge the battery pack 13 and when discharging the battery pack 13, it supplies DC power to the inverter or micro-inverter 22, that inverts the DC power to AC power ready for consumption in the house or building 18. The micro-inverter 22 may be a grid-tie inverter that accurately matches voltage, frequency and phase of the grid sine wave AC waveform to provide a high-quality form of electricity ready for consumption in the building. [000148] The AC power flowing through the output switch 14, as depicted by the arrow 15, flows back into the electrical power socket 26 where it continues to flow back into the electrical switchboard 23, as depicted by the arrows 27. The power then flows from the circuit that the electrical power socket 26 is connected to and then into all the other circuits via the electrical switchboard 23, as depicted by the arrows 24, which comprisesat least two separate electrical circuits for the house or building 18. This provides a method to install the energy storage 33, as a plug-and-play device, to store power and inject it back into and throughout the house or building 18 via a common electrical power socket 26. [000149] When the power input 8 from the energy storage device 33 is to be controlled, the input power compensator 233 can control the amount of power through it and the power meter 234 can provide feedback to the controller 9. When the output power 15 from the energy storage device 33 is to be controlled, the output power compensator 229 can control the amount of power through it and the power meter 234 can provide feedback to the controller 9. [000150] This arrangement can avoid the need for electricians or qualified technicians due to the legislative requirements and the power levels of the devices of the present invention, whereby a larger home or building battery are normally require installation by electricians and directly connected to the electrical switchboard 23. This saves significant time and cost for home or building energy storage and the occupants could perform a self-install much like an internet modem or other small appliance that is delivered. [000151] The power from the electrical switchboard then flows into other electrical circuits, as depicted by the arrows 28, and then into power meters 29 that are typically plug-and-play installed in a common electrical power socket to monitor the power passing through it. The power meters 29 are usually installed in busy power sockets that draw the most power in the house or building 18, such as a kitchen, living room or office, so that the power they measure is communicated to the controller 9, usually by wireless signal, as depicted by the arrows 30 so that the controller can extrapolate the measured power to estimate the total power consumption in the house or building 18. In doing so, the controller can check whether the total power consumption into the house or building 18 is always greater than the power discharge from the distributed energy storage system 103 ensuring that no net power is exported to the electrical grid. Exporting power to the grid would usually not make sense, since there will be net deficit of power exported back to the grid due to system losses, or may not be allowed incertain jurisdictions, except under certain the controller 9 might be instructed to do so by energy companies help support grid stability. [000152] Figure 4 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 104 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 104 includes like components to the distributed energy storage system 103 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a further energy storage device 38 is plug-and-play installed into further electrical power socket 31. The further electrical power socket 31 and further energy storage device 38 are fed power from the electrical switchboard 23 as depicted by the arrows 25 to charge the energy storage device 38 in a similar manner as the energy storage device 33 is charged in the distributed energy storage system 103. [000153] On discharge of the energy storage device 38, the power is fed back to the electrical power socket 31 and into the electrical switchboard 23, where it connects to the other electrical circuits in the house or building 18, as depicted by the arrows 24. The charging and discharging of the energy storage device 38 can operate simultaneously or in parallel with the charging and discharging of the other energy storage device 33. This enables the house or building to utilise multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 to augment the amount of energy storage available without increasing the number of cells in each device, and their associated extra cost and complexity, such as in a single larger battery. Any economies of scale for using a larger battery rather than using multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 are not likely to be achieved and in fact the simplicity of multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 are preferred since they should cost less and be easier to install and maintain. This also allows for the balancing of voltages and currents into and out of energy storage devices simply. Larger batteries greater than 1kW usually are generally regulated by stringent standards, require an electrician or qualified technician to install them, are more costly and pose a greater risk of fire. The distributed energy storage system 104 circumvents these issues and additional costs. [000154] When multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 are installed in a house or building 18, they can work together to synchronise whento charge and discharge or may even their operation. When multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy devices 38 are installed in a house or building 18, additional power meters 29 are usually installed to measure power consumption from more points in the house or building 18, to provide a more accurate estimate of the total power consumption in the house or building 18. When multiple energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 are installed in a house or building 18, typically one of controllers 9 of the energy storage devices 33 will become the central controller to accept the data from the power meters 29 and then instruct the further energy storage devices 38 and energy storage devices 33 when to charge and discharge. Alternatively, a dedicated central controller (not shown) could perform this task and may also be connected to the building management system. [000155] With each energy storage device 33 and further energy storage device 38 utilising a grid-tie micro-inverter, they will both synchronise and match the voltage, frequency and phase of the grid sine wave AC waveform to provide a stable, high- quality form of electricity ready for consumption in the building, meaning that several or even hundreds of energy storage devices 33 could be installed in a large building such as a factory or office building comprising a distributed energy storage system 104 rather than install a complex and costly single large battery. [000156] Figure 5 shows a high-level configuration of a distributed energy storage system 105 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 105 shares like components with the distributed energy storage system 102 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, two solar farms are encompassed in their local grids 32 and 39 and feed power to the electrical grid 41. The energy storage devices 33 inside their local grids 32 and 39 are controlled by central controllers 40 that are connected to the local network as depicted by the arrows 44. The energy storage devices 33 are also connected to the local network 44 and in communication with the central controllers 40 to instruct the energy storage devices 33 when to charge, discharge, perform other commands and send data about their storage devices. [000157] The central controllers 40 are also connected to a wide area network as depicted by the arrows 45, which is typically the internet, and a cloud server 43 is alsoconnected to the wide area network 45 and in communication with the central controllers 40 so that all distributed systems operating inside their local grids 32 and 39 can be centrally controlled at a regional level or over another large area. This is advantageous for increasing grid stability, injecting power where required for fixing grid frequency and voltage issues such as Frequency Control Ancillary Services, arbitraging pricing differences on a regional level and effectively monitoring every cell of every energy storage device of every distributed energy storage system installed around the world which is effectively creates a global battery management system with significant implications for efficient energy storage at regional and national level including improved energy security. [000158] Figure 6 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 106 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 106 is identical to the distributed energy storage system 100 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, power entering the energy storage device, as depicted by the arrows 8 passes through the input switching element 7, which, in one embodiment isa relay, and into a MOSFET switching element 48, whereby using pulse width modulation to trigger the MOSFET, allows fine control of the power entering the battery charger 9 and the energy storage device 33. The fine control assists in balancing the power entering the cells 12. [000159] When the power exits the energy storage device 33, it passes through another MOSFET switching element 47, whereby using pulse width modulation to trigger the MOSFET, allows fine control of the power exiting the energy storage device. The fine control assists in balancing the power exiting the cells 12. [000160] In one embodiment, the input and output switching elements can also act like DC disconnects to completely isolate the energy storage device from the local grid. [000161] Figure 7 shows a configuration of a prior art string solar farm 107 in series without installation of a distributed energy storage system 100, 102, 103, 104, 105 and 106 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are wired in series in a string. The output from each solar panel 49 may be unbalanced during different conditions, such as cloudcover. The current of each solar panel 1, will then drop to the minimum current 49 of all the panels in that string. This will cause drop in power 50 that is supplied to the inverter 17 as depicted by the arrow 51 which ultimately reduces the power output of the solar farm supplied to the grid 19. [000162] Figure 8 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 108 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are connected to an energy storage device 33 with parallel wiring and the solar panels 1 wired in series in a string 108. The unbalanced power 52 entering the string as depicted by the arrow 53 is supplemented with power 54 as depicted by the arrow 55 from the energy storage device 33. Each of the energy storage devices 33 contribute and add or withhold power from their connected solar panels so that the current in the string 56 is balanced at 11.5A. This avoids the current dropping to the lowest current in the string and their excess current that is wasted as heat in the solar panels is minimised when compared with the distributed energy storage system 107 in figure 7. The power exiting the string 56 is 3300W as compared to the power 50 in figure 7 that is 2938W is supplied to the inverter 17 and ultimately the grid 19. [000163] Figure 9 shows a prior art configuration of a series of strings 50, 52, 54 in a solar farm 109 without installation of a distributed energy storage system in a schematic view. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are wired in series in each string 50, 52, 54. Each string 50, 52, 54 is wired in parallel using cabling. The resistances of the cables 56 and 58 are represented by resistors 57 and 59 and the strings located furthest away from the inverter will experience the highest resistance and subsequent voltage drops. The current 49 from the first solar panel 1 is the lowest in string 50 and all the other solar panels drop to a current of 10.2A, as depicted by the arrow 51, while their excess power is expelled as heat in the other solar panels which degrades their cells and reduce their lifespan. [000164] Subsequently the current in the second string 52 drops to 10.4A, as depicted by the arrow 53, and the current in the third string 54 drops to 10.6A, as depicted by the arrow 55. The first string 50 experiences two voltage drops 56 and 58 which further drops its final voltage to 257.4V before the inverter 60. The second string experiencesone voltage drop 58 which further drops its final voltage to 267.6V before the inverter 60 and the third string maintains its voltage at before the inverter 60, considering that the short run of cable to the inverter is negligible, and subsequently its resistance, when compared to the large runs of cable throughout the farm. The first string could have cable length of 500m, the second string is one of many in the middle of the farm with cable length of 250m and the third string closest to the inverter with only a short run of cable. [000165] The power of strings 50, 56 and 54 then become unbalanced due to the voltage drops in the cables 56 and 58 to supply power before the inverter 60. Like current in a series connection, the voltages of a parallel connection will drop to the lowest voltage of the strings 60 which is 257.4V with the remainder of the power also wasted as heat in the solar panels. The inverter then is connected to the power from the three strings 50, 5254 in line 61 as depicted by the arrow 62 amounting to 257.4V with the sum of the string currents 30.6A to be fed 8,031W which is not optimal but a reality of current solar farms. Figure 10 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 110 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are connected to an energy storage device 33 with parallel wiring and the solar panels 1 wired in series in a string. Each string is wired in parallel using cabling. The resistances of cabling 56 and 58 are represented by resistors 57 and 59 and the strings located furthest away from the inverter will experience the highest resistance and subsequent voltage drops. There are three major requirements for power balancing and / or power optimisation this solar farm and they all must be satisfied simultaneously: namely the voltages of each string should be equalised at the inverter, the voltages of each string accounts for the voltage drops in the cables and the currents in the panels must be equalised. To ensure that the voltages at the inverter are equal, the voltages and currents of the furthest strings will need to be higher to account for the voltage drops in the cables. [000166] A range of power meters to measure voltages and currents are installed inside the energy storage devices 33 and voltmeters are installed before the inverter 60. An appropriate voltage for the relevant power system (for example 286V) is set before the inverter 60 and the power from each energy storage device 33 is calculated then set, to balance the voltages 60 before the inverters while considering the voltage drops in thecabling 56 and 58 and while balancing the current in the strings. The power in the first string is highest to take account of the lost in the cabling 56 and 58 but still balances the current in the string 50 to be 11.5A. The voltages before the inverter 60 are almost equivalent and acceptable at 286V although more iterations could make these equal. The power entering the inverter 61 as depicted by the arrow 62 is 9,867W compared with the power of the unbalanced solar farm from figure 9 which is 8,031W. [000167] The equations that govern the behaviour and power balancing and / or power optimisation of the solar panels and their energy storage devices arranged in strings and the strings arranged in a solar farm are: [000168] Let ^^ and ^^ be the string and panel numbers, respectively. [000169] Hence, the total power output from each string is given by the general equation: ^ ^^^= ^^^^+ + + ⋯ + ^^^^=^^^^^(1)[000170] The total power from each panel with power addition or reduction from energy storage device to balance each string is given by: ^^^^= ^^^^^^+ ^^ௌ^^^= ^^^^^^∙ ^^^^^^+ ^^ௌ^^^∙ ^^ௌ^^^(2)[000171] Let ^^^^current current ( ^^ௌ^^^^) from the energy storage device possible: ^^^^= ^^^^^భ+ ^^ௌ^^భ= ^^^^^మ+ ^^ௌ^^మ= ⋯ = ^^^^^^+ ^^ௌ^^^(3)And, ^^^^= ave^ ^^^^^భ, ^^^^^మ, … , ^^^^^^^ + ^^ௌ^^^^(4)[000172] Note that ^^^^can be determined from the average current generated from each panel in the string as in equation (4) or other set point as minimum or maximum. [000173] Sub (3) into (2), ^^^^= ൫ ^^^^− ^^ௌ^^^൯ ^^^^^^+ ^^ௌ^^^∙ ^^ௌ^^^− (5) [000174] Therefore, equation (1) can be written as: ^ ^ ^^^= ^ ^^^^= ^^ ^^^^∙ ^^^^^^+ − ^^^^^^൧ 6) Where,^ ^^ ^ ^^ − ^^ௌ^^^^ ∙ ^^^^^^ௌ^^^∙ ^^ 8)[000175] As shown in equation (8), output voltage from the string ( ^^ௌ^) is affected by the output voltage from each panel ( ^^^^^^) and the output voltage from each energy storage device ( ^^ௌ^^^).[000176] Since each string are joined in there will be a voltage drop ( ^^^^) between each string before all power is output to the The expected output voltage from each string with voltage drop is given by: ^^^= ^^ௌ^− ^^^^(9) Where, ^^^భ= 0 ^ ^ ^ ^^[000177] The balanced voltage output of the solar array, ^^^can be determined by calculating the average output voltage of each string: ^^^= ^^^, … , = 1 ^ ^^^ ^− ^^^^ (11)[000178] The output voltage from each string, ^^ௌ^can then be adjusted by varying the output voltage and current of the energy storage device ( ^^ௌ^^^, ^^ௌ^^^):Set ^^^= ^^^^ ^^ௌ^= ^^^+ ^^^^^ ^ − ^^ௌ^^^^ ∙ ^^ ^^ௌ^^^∙ = ^^^[000179] The data from voltage and current sensors throughout the solar farm is fed into the central controller, whereby it can iterate to find solutions to equation 12 above. It then instructs each energy storage device to set a new voltage and current level to balance the solar panels and strings in the solar farm and therefore optimise the power output of the solar farm. This process can be repeated on a desired sampling interval such as 1 second but more likely to be 20ms sothe energy storage and power balancing and / or optimisation system responds quickly to changing conditions such as cloud cover. [000180] Figure 11 shows a graph 111 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. This solar farm has a maximum output 71 of 300MW, as depicted by the curve 64. The power generated over a day is shown by the curve 69 and the energy generated is positive, as depicted by the shaded areas 63, when all generated power is supplied to the inverter and the grid, but negative, as depicted by the shaded area 70, when power is imported from the grid, by bypassing the inverter and rectifying that power from AC to DC, in times of low grid demand 76, as depicted by the curve 66, and low pricing 67, as depicted by the curve 65, that may even be negative pricing. [000181] When a distributed energy storage system in accordance with the present invention is installed at the farm, some of the energy from generation and some from importing power is used to charge the distributed energy storage system during the day. This storage effectively shifts the power to the evening peak time, by discharging the distributed energy storage system as depicted by the curve 67 and shaded area 68, when grid demand is highest 74 and the price for power is highest 75. In doing so, the maximum output of the solar farm drops from its maximum output 71 of 300MW down to a reduced output 72 of 280MW and can import and store significant amounts of the energy from the grid 73 of 150MW when the grid is trying to offload large amounts of solar power generation during the middle of the day. In doing so, the distributed energy storage system can better supply the grid to match demand by taking power during the day and supplying more power during the evening peak period. This stabilises the grid to help level out the peaks and troughs in demand and can be more profitable for the solar farm. [000182] Figure 12 shows a graph 112 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The graph 112 is identical to the distributed energy storage system 111 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the solar farm is set to supply the grid with electricity for the evening peak as well as the peak the next morning. To do so, more power must be supplied to the distributed energy storage system, and this reduces the maximumoutput of the solar farm 72 during the to 200MW. This enables the distributed energy storage system to supply the peak as depicted by the curve 67 and shaded area 68, when grid demand is highest 74 and the price for power is highest 75 as well as supply the peak the next morning, as depicted by the curve 78 and shaded area 79, when grid demand is high and the price for power is high. This stabilises the grid to help level out the peaks and troughs in demand and can be more profitable for the solar farm. [000183] Figure 13 shows a graph 113 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The graph 113 is identical to the distributed energy storage system 111 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the solar farm is set to supply the grid with consistent baseload power. To do so, more power must be supplied to the distributed energy storage system, and this reduces the maximum output of the solar farm 72 during the day to 100MW. This enables the distributed energy storage system to supply baseload power as depicted by the curve 81 and shaded area 80. This stabilises the grid to help level out the peaks and troughs in demand, can be very useful for micro or island grids and may be more profitable for the solar farm. [000184] Figure 14 shows a graph 114 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The average maximum power 86 of the solar farm is 300MW, however, the power output, as depicted by the curve 85 varies due to environmental factors at the farm such as cloud cover, dirty panels and panel degradation. When a distributed energy storage system in accordance with the present invention is installed at the farm, it can flatten out the peaks and troughs whereby it absorbs power, as depicted by the shaded area 82, and supplies power, as depicted by the shaded area 84, so that the solar farm can supply stable power to the grid, as depicted by the curve 83. This helps to stabilise the grid or other applications where the power is supplied to. [000185] Figure 15 shows a graph 115 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The graph 115 is identical to the graph 114 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the solar farm is set to supply the grid with stable power while adding power to the grid 86up to 350MW in times of high grid as depicted by the curve 83, by discharging the distributed energy storage system, as by the shaded area 82. This helps to stabilise the grid or other applications where the power is supplied to while simultaneously adding power to the grid. Figure 16 shows a graph 116 of power generated over a day at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The graph 116 is identical to the graph114 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the solar farm is set to supply the grid with stable power while subtracting power from the grid 86 down to 250MW in times of low grid demand, as depicted by the curve 83, by charging the distributed energy storage system, as depicted by the shaded area 84 and sometimes discharging the distributed energy storage system as depicted by the shaded area 83. This helps to stabilise the grid or other applications where the power is supplied to while simultaneously adding power to the grid. [000186] Figure 17 shows a graph 117 of power generated during the day from several solar panels wired in series in a string at a solar farm in accordance with prior art. The currents from the solar panels in the string, as depicted by the curves 89 and 91 are representative of all the solar panels in the string and how their generated currents vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. When wired in series, the currents from each panel drop to the lowest current, as depicted by the arrows 88 and 90 and the current that the string provides, as depicted by the curve 87, is consistently the lowest of all the solar panels. The average string current 93 of 11.5A drops to the minimum of the string current 92 of 10.2A and the excess currents and power are wasted as heat in the solar panels with the lowest current. This reduces the power output of the string and degrades the solar panels reducing their efficiency and lifespan. [000187] Figure 18 shows a graph 118 of power generated during the day from several solar panels wired in series in a string at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage and energy distribution system of the present invention is installed, the currents from the solar panels in the string, as depicted by the curves 98 and 99 are representative of all the solar panels in the string and how their generated currents vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The currents from each panel are all optimised by using the energy storage devices to add or subtract current from theirparallel wired connection with the solar such that any higher currents than the average 101, drop down to the average by the curve 94 and by the arrows 95 and 96, and any lower currents increase up to the average, as depicted by the arrows 97 and 151 and as described above. In doing so, the string current is now balanced at the average string current 101 of 11.5A and the string now outputs the optimal power given the power that is being generated. This increases the power output and efficiency from the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000188] Figure 19 shows a graph 119 of power generated during the day from several solar panels wired in series in a string at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage and power balancing and / or power optimisation system is installed and set to discharge additional power to the grid, at a higher current 157, the currents from the solar panels in the string, as depicted by the curves 153 and 154 are representative of all the solar panels in the string and how their generated currents vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The currents from each panel are all optimised by using the energy storage devices 33 to add current from their parallel wired connection with the solar panels such that any lower currents increase up to the higher current 157, as depicted by the curve 152 and arrows 155 and 156. In doing so, the string current is now balanced at the higher string current 157 of 12.5A, up from the average current 158 of 11.5A, and the string now outputs the optimal power. This increases the power output and efficiency from the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000189] Figure 20 shows a graph 120 of power generated during the day from several solar panels wired in series in a string at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage and power balancing and / or power optimisation system is installed and set to charge by taking generated power or importing power from the grid, at a lower current 165, the currents from the solar panels in the string, as depicted by the curves 161 and 162 are representative of all the solar panels in the string and how their generated currents vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The currents from each panel are all optimised by using the energy storage devices 33 to withdraw current fromtheir parallel wired connection with the solar panels such that any higher currents reduce down to the lower current 165, as by the curve 159 and arrows 160 and 163. In doing so, the string current is now balanced at the lower string current 165 of 10.5A, down from the average current 164 of 11.5A, and the string now outputs the optimal power. This increases the efficiency of from the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000190] Figure 21 shows a graph 121 of power generated during the day from several strings at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The voltages of the strings, as depicted by the curves 168 and 170 are representative of all the strings and how their generated voltages vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. When wired in parallel, the voltages from each string drop to the lowest voltage, as depicted by the arrows 167 and 169 and the voltage that the string provides, as depicted by the curve 166, is consistently the lowest of all the strings. The average string voltage 171 of 288V drops to the minimum of the string current 172 of 257V and the excess voltage and power are wasted as heat in the solar panels. This reduces the power output of the strings and degrades the solar panels reducing their efficiency and lifespan. [000191] Figure 22 shows a graph 122 of power generated during the day from several strings installed at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage and power balancing and / or power optimisation system is installed, the voltages from the strings, as depicted by the curves 177 and 178 are representative of all the strings and how their generated currents vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The voltages from each string are all optimised by using the energy storage devices to add or subtract power from their parallel wired connection with their solar panels such that any higher voltages than the average 180, drop down to the average as depicted by the curve 173 and by the arrows 174 and 175, and any lower voltages increase up to the average, as depicted by the arrows 176 and 179. In doing so, the string voltage is now balanced at the average string voltage 180 of 288V and the string now outputs the optimal power given the power that is being generated. This increases the power output and efficiency from the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels.[000192] Figure 23 shows a graph 123 of generated during the day from several strings at a solar farm in accordance with embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage system is installed and set to discharge additional power to the grid at a higher voltage 186, the voltages from the strings, as depicted by the curves 182 and 183 are representative of all the strings and how their generated voltages vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The voltages from each string are all optimised by using the energy storage devices to add power from their parallel wired connection with the solar panels such that any lower voltages increase up to the higher voltage 186, as depicted by the curve 181 and arrows 184 and 185. In doing so, the string voltage is now balanced at the higher string voltage 186 of 315V, up from the average current 187 of 288V, and the strings now output the optimal power to the inverter. This increases the power output and efficiency from the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000193] Figure 24 shows a graph 124 of power generated during the day from several solar panels wired in series in a string at a solar farm in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When a distributed energy storage system is installed and set to charge by taking generated power or importing power from the grid, at a lower voltage 194, the voltages of the strings, as depicted by the curves 190 and 191 are representative of all the strings and how their generated voltages vary over time due to environmental factors such as cloud cover. The voltages from each string are all optimised by using the energy storage devices to add power from their parallel wired connection with their solar panels such that any higher voltages reduce down to the lower voltage 194, as depicted by the curve 188 and arrows 189 and 192. In doing so, the string voltage is now balanced at the lower string voltage 194 of 270V, down from the average voltage 193 of 288V, and the strings now output the optimal power. This increases the efficiency of the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000194] Figure 25 shows a mathematical model of a solar farm that is optimised by at least one of the distributed energy storage systems 100, 102, 103, 105, 106 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and using the formulae from the description in this patent. It is a model that uses iteration to find the optimal values of current for the energy storage devices to provide so that the string currents 195, 196and 197 are balanced within a string, the voltages are balanced at the inverter 199 after taking into account the voltage in the cabling 201. In doing so, a prior art solar farm will generate less power 198 of 8,764.6W at the inverter, whereas the balanced solar farm using the distributed energy storage system of the present invention will generate more power 199 of 9,872.2W at the inverter. This represents a significant increase in power 200 of 12.72% and this increases the power output and efficiency of the solar farm, provides more stable power and reduces the degradation of the solar panels. [000195] Figure 26 shows a process diagram for controlling a solar farm whereby it can perform energy storage and supply, power stabilisation and solar panel power balancing and / or power optimisation functions simultaneously and in real-time in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy system 126 include a set of system set points such as would be used in a solar farm or commercial application. A solar farm is selling power so the set points 202 are biased for that system setup to generate and sell electricity, usually on a large grid, whereas commercial applications are buying power so they will have a bias towards saving power and money and therefore different set points such as shown below for a commercial application: [000196] Main System Set Points: Examples: Charge Time Start / End 12pm to 3pm and off-peak Discharge Time Start / End 5pm to 7pm Charge Price < 10c / kWh Discharge Price > 30c / kWh Stabilisation Limits + / - 5% [000197] These set points are used by the Central Controller 204 to execute functions for energy shifting, stabilisation and power balancing and / or power optimisation according to the set points or parameters 202 and the weather station and data feeds 206 input data. Real-time algorithms execute on the central controller 204 to calculate the power required by each energy storage and optimisation device (not shown) that is coupled to each solar panel (not shown) as the output of the stabilisation function 203.[000198] The algorithm in the central controller 204 controls the power shifting and power balancing and / or power functions firstly by checking for the time of day, current pricing and other data to see if set points for charging or discharging the energy storage devices are breached. On a discharge, the power stored in the energy storage devices 33 and further energy storage devices 38 is discharged to the load in a controlled manner. When charging the energy storage devices, the controller 207 will attempt to match the set point for power output from its connected solar panel, by drawing additional power into the energy storage devices to make them level with each other in each string and at a lower average level. When not charging the energy storage devices, the controller 207 will attempt to match the set point for power output from its connected solar panel, by adding power into the energy storage devices to make them level with each other in each string and at a higher average. [000199] Issues met during execution of the instructions sent to the controller 207 are captured by the reporting function 208 to signal the central controller 204 and used to re-optimise the distributed system by calculating and running simulations to find and send new set points to the controllers. A connected artificial intelligence server 205 to the central controller 204 could allow the system to run faster algorithms and would enable fine-tuning of the algorithms according to historical data and performance criteria. This will further enhance the savings of losses in the components of the energy storage, stabilisation and power balancing and / or power optimisation of the system. [000200] Figure 27 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 127 in a schematic view in accordance with a embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 127 is identical to the distributed energy storage system 101 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are connected to an energy storage device with parallel wiring and the solar panels 1 wired in series in a string 127. The unbalanced power of each panel 215 entering the string as depicted by the arrow 217 causes all the currents 214 from each solar panel to drop to the lowest current of 10.4A and the extra power 219 is drawn into each energy storage device so that each solar panel 1 and energy storage device is supplying a lower combined 400W of power 218 to the string. This configuration is currently in charge storage mode and the input switch 7 is enabled to let power to flow into the energy storage device.[000201] To do this, the central controller 235 calculates the amount of power required for the entire solar farm and then sets a amount of power for each string. Considering that the solar panels 1 are wired in series, their currents will always be equal, so that by measuring the current of the string 210 as depicted by the arrow 211 and amounting to 8A, the controller 9 can quickly calculate the required voltage of each energy storage device using the input voltmeter 223. The controller 9 will continually instruct the input power compensator 231 to alter its voltage to maintain the set point 221 required such as 50V before that power enters the battery charger 10. Considering that components wired in parallel will always have the same voltage, and all the solar panels 1 in this string have the same current, then by setting the same voltage 221 will set each of the solar panels 1 and their respective energy storage devices to be an equivalent power 218 of 400W, thereby optimising the power output of the string, providing more power output and less wasted energy. [000202] Figure 28 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 128 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 128 is identical to the distributed energy storage system 101 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a series of solar panels 1 are connected to an energy storage device with parallel wiring and the solar panels 1 wired in series in a string 128. The unbalanced power of each panel 215 entering the string as depicted by the arrow 218 causes all the currents 214 from each solar panel to drop to the lowest current of 7.4A and the extra power 219 is drawn from each energy storage device so that each solar panel 1 and energy storage device is supplying a higher combined 700W of power 218 to the string. This configuration is currently in discharge storage mode and the output switch 14 is enabled to let power to flow out of the energy storage device. [000203] To do this, the central controller calculates the amount of power required for the entire solar farm and then sets a required amount of power for each string. Considering that the solar panels 1 are wired in series, their currents will always be equal, so that by measuring the current of the string 210 as depicted by the arrow 211 and amounting to 10A, the controller 9 can quickly calculate the required voltage of each energy storage device using the output voltmeter 237. The controller 9 will continually instruct the output power compensator 229 to alter its voltage to maintain theset point 239 required such as 70V before that power exits the energy storage device. Considering that components wired in will always have the same voltage, and all the solar panels 1 in this string have the same current, then by setting the same voltage 239 will set each of the solar panels 1 and their respective energy storage devices to be an equivalent power 218 of 700W, thereby optimising the power output of the string, providing more power output and less wasted energy. [000204] Figure 29 shows a current-voltage graph 129 of an electrical diode. The vertical axis of the graph 301 is current and the horizontal axis 302 is voltage. The characteristic behaviour of the electrical diode is shown in the curve 303. The electrical diode is useful to explain how embodiments of the present invention operate. A solar cell is like a diode rolled out flat to transform sunlight into electricity. Both are semiconductors and highly non-linear. The important characteristic of both diodes and solar cells is that as voltage increases, their resistance decreases. That is, the slope of the curve at lower voltages as depicted by the line 304 is less than the slope of the curve at higher voltages as depicted by the line 305. With V = I x R and R = V / I, then the resistance of the diode and solar cell is the inverse of the slope of the curve. The line 305 has a higher slope of the curve meaning that is has a lower resistance. This invention utilises this characteristic of solar cells to supply power (and voltage) and move their operating point to their optimal operating point that has lower resistance which results in higher current and power output. [000205] Figure 30 shows a power-voltage graph 130 of a typical solar panel. The vertical axis of the graph 306 is power and the horizontal axis 307 is voltage. A series of curves 308 show the characteristic performance of the solar panel under different lighting conditions. When a solar panel is shaded from sunlight such as cloud cover or a tree, the output power drops down from its peak to a lower level as depicted by the arrow 309. A standard solar panel would stay operating at this lower level of power output under those conditions. Most solar panels available in the market are connected to Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) inverters or battery chargers that can electrically change the resistance of the solar panel and operate at a more optimal point as depicted by the arrow 311 and the increased power output as depicted by the arrow 312.[000206] The power balancing and / or optimisation method of the present invention takes MPPT a step further to “inject” power into the solar panel whereby it increases the voltage of the solar panel. This not only reduces the resistance of the solar panel but allows the panel to generate electricity at a more optimal operating point as depicted by the arrow 310. This operating point is close to the original operating point before the shading event occurred and the power output is significantly increased as depicted by the arrow 313. The amount of additional power output from the panel is typically 2x or 3x the power injected into the panel so there is usually a large overall net power output gain even when battery power and efficiency of components are deducted. [000207] Figure 31 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 131 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a solar panel 314 is connected to an energy storage device 330 typically via MC4 solar panel connectors (not shown). The electrical power from the solar panel 314 can then travel down towards a battery charger 328 as depicted by the arrow 329 or use a more direct path towards an output connector 320 as depicted by the arrow 315. When it is time to charge the battery 324, the charge switch 316 closes and solar power from the solar panel 314 enters the battery charger 328 which then charges the battery 324 as depicted by the arrow 325. A battery management system (BMS) 326 is installed on the battery 324 to perform several safety and battery cell balancing functions. This smaller energy storage system 131 provides an advantage in that the BMS 326 can manage every cell, such as cell balancing and stopping overcharging, in the battery 324 so that it operates most efficiently and safely when compared to large grid-scale batteries that usually only manage large groups of battery cells. [000208] When it is time to discharge the battery 324, the output switch 322 closes and the energy stored in the battery 324 can travel to the output connector 320 as depicted by the arrows 323 and 321. If power from the solar panel 314 is required at the output connector 320 then the bypass switch 318 closes and allows the solar power to directly flow to the output connector 320 as depicted by the arrows 315 and 319. In this wiring configuration, there are no limits or constraints as to what switches need to be open or closed such that mixed modes of power output are allowable and desirable. For example, the bypass switch 318 and output switch 322 could both be closed so thatpower directly from the solar panel 314 could mix with power from the battery 324 and supply power to the output connector [000209] The three switches 316, 318 and 322 are all controlled by a controller 317 according to particular requirements of the energy storage device 330. For example, the controller may be programmed to charge the battery 324 during the middle of the day and discharge the battery 324 at night during peak times. As above, there are mixed modes of power delivery and the controller 317 can change the input and output electrical power supply to meet demand. If the switches 316, 318, 322 are replaced with MOSFET or similar variable power switches, typically controlled using pulse-width- modulation (PWM), then the amounts of solar and battery power can be accurately mixed and controlled. The negative output connector 327 completes the circuit and both connectors could be connected directly to a load such as an inverter or connected to other solar panels 314 connected in series to form a solar panel string. [000210] Figure 32 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 132 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 132 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the output from the battery 324 can travel into the power compensator 332, which is typically a DC-DC boost converter, as depicted by the arrows 323 or travel into the battery switch 331. When the power from the battery 324 travels through the power compensator 332 as depicted by the arrow 333, the voltage is typically increased to a level just under the solar panel 314 voltage at maximum power (Vmp) such as a voltage of 98% x Vmp. When the solar panel 314 is shaded, its voltage drops below Vmp and the power compensator 332 supplies additional power to the output connector 320 as depicted by the arrow 321 at an associated higher voltage that reduces the resistance of the solar panel 314, thereby increasing its current and power output. The battery switch 331 is optional and useful to discharge the battery 324 at night at maximum efficiency, as depicted by the arrow 334, without travelling through the power compensator 332 with its inherent losses. [000211] Figure 33 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 133 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Thedistributed energy storage system 133 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are accordingly. In this embodiment, a string of four solar panels 335 is wired in series and connected to the energy storage device 330. This string of solar panels 335 quadruples the voltage entering the energy storage device 330 and internal components need to be resized accordingly. Apart from that, the energy storage device 330 operates in a similar manner whether it is connected to one solar panel or many. There is a small reduction in the effectiveness of the power balancing and / or power optimisation since injecting power into a string of solar panels 335 is not as targeted as injecting power into a single panel. The economics for producing the energy storage device 330 are more attractive for multiple panels and connecting to four panels is a sweet spot for lower cost versus benefit from power balancing and / or power optimisation. [000212] Figure 34 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 134 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 134 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a first string of two solar panels 336 is wired in series and connected to a first energy storage device 330. A second string of two solar panels 336 is wired in series and connected to a second energy storage device 330. The positive output connector 320 from the first energy storage device 330 is connected to the negative output connector 327 of the second energy storage device 330. This configuration shows that the energy storage devices 330 can be connected to solar panels in a string in the same manner as is currently done in installations. Any number of solar panels 336 can be wired in series or parallel and connected to an energy storage device 330 and any number of those arrangements can be connected in series or parallel or other solar panels 336 and their associated energy storage devices 330. As long as the energy storage device 330 is capable of accommodating the voltage and current transmitted from their connected solar panels 336, then there are virtually limitless configurations available to suit the application. [000213] Figure 35 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 135 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 135 is similar to the distributed energy storagesystem 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, an input circuit breaker 337 is installed in storage device 330 to isolate the device from the solar panel 314. The input circuit breaker 337 is not only a safety device that can trip off when maximum design current is exceeded, but also required for installation and maintenance. A battery circuit breaker 338 is installed at the input and output of the battery 324. This battery circuit breaker 338 isolates the battery from the rest of the energy storage device 330 and will also trip if maximum design current is exceeded. It is also required for installation and maintenance partially if a cell of the battery 324 needs replacing. When both the input circuit breaker 337 and battery circuit breaker 338 are switched off, the energy storage device is completely disabled, and no currents can flow inside the device. The circuit breakers are typically double-pole devices that independently switch both the negative and positive power supplies. [000214] Figure 36 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 136 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 136 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of the energy storage system 131 and its operation applies also to the power optimisation system 136 unless stated otherwise herein. The power optimisation system 136 comprises a power optimisation device 342 rather than an energy storage device 330, the power optimisation device 342 connected in parallel with a solar panel 314. In this embodiment, the power optimisation device 342 has similar components and configuration to the energy storage device 330, however, the battery 324 is much smaller since the power optimisation device 342 is focused on power balancing and / or power optimisation rather than on energy storage. That is, the battery 324 typically provides 10 minutes of storage, which is adequate to optimise power for slow moving cloud cover over the solar panel 314, compared with the battery 324 of energy storage device 131 that typically provides several hours of energy storage. This allows the power optimisation device 342 to be much smaller than the energy storage device 131 so that it could be installed on the rear of the solar panel 314 as depicted by the arrow 341, or along one edge of the solar panel 314 for new or retrofit applications. The power optimisation device 342 can also be designed to be incorporated into the solar panel 314 at the time of manufacture.[000215] The power optimisation device 342 of the power optimisation system 136 includes the same components and as the energy storage device 330, with the exception of a battery management system 326, and further includes an input power meter 340 connected to the local grid to measure the input power from the solar panel 314 and report the input power to the controller 317. A battery power meter 339 is included to measure the power flowing into and out of the battery 324, including the voltage which determines the state of charge of the battery 324. These measurements are used by the controller 317 in performing power balancing and / or power optimisation functions including power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation as well as operating the power optimisation device 342 according to a particular program or instructions received from a central controller. A power compensator is incorporated into the battery charger 328 for varying the power entering the device 342, to influence the available for power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation. The amount of power exiting the battery and the device will set the voltage of the solar panels, typically at a voltage from 2V lower to 2V higher than the solar panels, and perform power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation by increasing the voltage and lowering the resistance of the solar panels during low light or shading conditions. [000216] Figure 37 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 137 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 137 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the input switch 316 is comprised of a MOSFET switch which could also be a transistor or other semiconductor switching device. MOSFETs have the advantage of being solid state and capable of switching high amounts of power at little cost. They can also be driven with pulse-width- modulation signals and deliver any required amount of power. The bypass switch 318 and output switch 322 are also MOSFET switches such that by controlling the amount of power through each of the three switches, the power flow through the optimisation device 342 can be finely controlled. In this regard the switches 316, 318 and 322 act as and are regarded as power compensators for the purpose of the invention. A diode 344 is typically installed after the battery charger 328 to stop reverse power flows. Another diode 343 is typically installed after the MOSFET switch 322 to stop power flows fromthe solar panel 314 or external power back to the battery. The diodes also help the MOSFET switches from leaking the reverse direction. [000217] Figure 38 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 138 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 138 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a power compensator 332 is included to vary the power exiting the device 342, as depicted by the arrow 321, to perform more accurate power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation. This is the preferred configuration for the power optimisation device 342 whereby a bypass switch is not included and the power from the solar panel 314 can directly travel to the output of the device 342, as depicted by the arrow 319. Under shading conditions, the power from the power compensator 332 is typically at a higher voltage than the power from the solar panel 314 and the power compensator 332 automatically draws just enough current from the battery 324 to perform power balancing and / or power optimisation. [000218] Figure 39 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 139 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 139 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, the power optimisation device 342 utilises a minimal number of components to perform power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation. There are no switches, power meters or a controller included, and the device operates according to settings of the battery charger 328 and power compensator 332, for example output voltage setpoint above or below which balancing and / or optimising functions will be performed. The battery charger 328 can be set to continually charge the battery 324 and the power compensator 332 will perform continual power balancing and / or power optimisation. While the battery 324 is charging, the output power from the device 342 will be lower. Alternatively, the battery charger 328 can be set to charge the battery 324 and not charge it again until it is nearly fully discharged. This will provide improved power balancing and / or power optimisation during that time. A mixture of these modes is also possible to suit the application. This configuration of the power optimisation device 342 represents the lowest cost version that is applicable to cost-sensitive applications like residential solar.[000219] Figure 40 shows a of a power optimisation system 140 in a schematic view in accordance with an of the present invention. The power optimisation system 140 is similar to the power optimisation system 137 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description, components and configuration of the power optimisation system 137 apply accordingly to this embodiment unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, a power compensator 332 is connected to the battery 324 to vary the power exiting the device 342 and therefore its voltage which sets the voltage of the solar panels, as depicted by the arrow 321, to perform more accurate power balancing and / or power optimisation and power stabilisation. In this embodiment, the power optimisation device 342 utilises a sunlight irradiance sensor 345, or light intensity sensor, typically installed on an upward-facing surface on the solar panel 314. The sunlight irradiance sensor 345 sends data back to the controller 317 so it can determine if the reduced light on the solar panel 314 is due to low sunlight, such as at dawn or dusk, or due to shading. In low sunlight, the voltage from the solar panel 314 will be reduced, therefore the controller 317 should instruct the power compensator 332 to reduce its output voltage to just below the lower Vmp of the solar panel 314. [000220] The power optimisation device 342 also includes a temperature sensor 346 typically mounted to the front or back side of the solar panel 314. This temperature sensor 346 provides temperature data to the controller that is indicative of the health and efficiency of the solar panel. Together with the data from the irradiance sensor 345, this is sufficient information for the controller 317 to calculate what the output power from the solar panel 314 should be and this can be used to perform advanced power balancing and / or power optimisation functions and reporting for maintenance purposes. Another temperature sensor 347 is installed on the battery 324 to monitor its temperature and send this to the controller 317 to check that it is operating within safe operating temperature limits. If the battery 324 is getting too hot it may overheat, and the controller could safely disable battery charging or discharging until it cools down. [000221] Figure 41 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 141 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 141 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of like components and configuration of the power optimisation system 136 apply accordingly to thisembodiment as shown in Figure 41 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, a first solar panel 314 is connected to a power device 342. A second solar panel 314 is connected to a second power optimisation device 342. The positive output connector 320 from the first power optimisation device 342 is connected to the negative output connector 327 of the second power optimisation device 342. This configuration shows that the power optimisation devices 342 can be connected to solar panels in a string in the same manner as is currently done in solar installations. Any number of solar panels 314 can be wired in series or parallel and connected to a power optimisation device 342 and any number of those arrangements can be connected in series or parallel or other solar panels 314 and their associated power optimisation devices 342. As long as the power optimisation device 342 is capable of accommodating the voltage and current transmitted from their connected solar panels 314, then there are virtually limitless configurations available to suit the application. [000222] Figure 42 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 142 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 142 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of like components and configuration of the power optimisation system 136 apply accordingly to this embodiment as shown in Figure 42 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, the battery charger and power compensator are integrated into a single power supply device 352. That is, the power supply device 352 is a bidirectional DC-DC converter in that it operates as a DC-DC buck converter and battery charger when power enters the battery 324, to charge it, as depicted by the arrow 351 and it operates as a DC-DC boost converter when power exits the battery 324, as depicted by the arrow 350. When power exits the battery 324, the input switch 316 opens and the power switch 349 closes so that power can flow to the output connector 320 as depicted by the arrows 348 and 321. By combining the battery charger and power compensator in a single power supply device 352, it reduces the parts count, cost and complexity in the power optimisation device 342 and / or allows inclusion of a higher quality battery charger and power compensator. [000223] Figure 43 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 143 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The poweroptimisation system 143 is similar to the optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. description of like components and configuration of the power optimisation system 136 apply accordingly to this embodiment as shown in Figure 43 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, the battery charger and power compensator are integrated into a single power supply device 358. That is, the power supply device 358 is a DC-DC converter in that it operates as a DC-DC buck converter and battery charger when power enters the battery 324, to charge it, as depicted by the arrow 351 and it operates as a DC-DC boost converter when power exits the battery 324, as depicted by the arrow 356. When power exits the battery 324, the input switch 316 opens, a charging switch 357, that controls the flow of power into the battery 324 from the power supply device 358, opens, to stop any flow of power into the battery from the charger, a loop switch 354, that controls the flow of power exiting the battery 324 back into the input of the power supply device 328, closes and the output power switch 355 closes so that power can flow to the output connector 320 as depicted by the arrows 359 and 321, thereby utilising the power supply device 358 to charge the battery and control the output power, as depicted by the arrow 321, from the device. By combining the battery charger and power compensator in a single power supply device 352, it reduces the parts count, cost and complexity in the power optimisation device 342 and / or allows inclusion of a higher quality battery charger and power compensator. [000224] Figure 44 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 144 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 144 is similar to the power optimisation system 136 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of like components and configuration of the power optimisation system 136 applies also to the power optimisation system 144 as shown in Figure 44 unless stated otherwise herein. In this embodiment, a string of solar panels 335 feeds power into an inverter 363 that transforms the DC power into AC power to supply the house or other building or installation 364 and / or export power to the electrical grid 366 via the power meter 365. A power optimisation device 342 is also connected to the inverter 363 and feeds AC power to the power supply 360, as depicted by the arrow 361. The inverter 363 may be part of the power optimisation device 342 or it may be separate to the power optimisation device 342. The power supply 360 transforms the AC power into DC powerand typically isolates the output power from the input power. The DC power is fed into a power compensator 332 which feeds back into the cables from the string of solar panels 335, as depicted by the arrow 362. When the solar panels 335 are shaded, the power compensator 332 injects power into the string to reduce the resistance in the solar panels 335 and allows them to operate more efficiently with a greater power output. This configuration of the power optimisation device 342 does not require a battery which reduces its cost in comparison with embodiments that do require a battery. Accordingly, this embodiment is attractive for smaller solar installations such as a residential solar installation. The power supply 360 and power compensator 332 could also be integrated into a single unit. This embodiment does not require any of the switches 316, 318 or 322 of the power optimisation device 136 as power into and out of the power optimisation device 144 is determined based on set voltage settings at the power compensator 332. [000225] Figure 45 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 145 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 145 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, an upper string of four solar panels 335 is wired in series and connected in parallel to a lower string of four solar panels 335. Both strings 335 are connected to a central inverter 363 which is connected to the electrical grid 366 via a power meter 365 which includes safety and power isolation equipment. In this configuration, the energy storage devices 330 mix their power with the power from the solar panels 335 and safely feed that mixed power to the inverter 363. This is an efficient setup for installing the distributed energy storage system 145 as no additional cabling, inverters or electrical switching components are required. The energy storage devices 330 in Figure 45 may be as described according to any of the energy storage systems described herein. [000226] Figure 46 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 146 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 146 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, an upper string of four solar panels 335 is wired in series and connected in parallel to a lower string of four solar panels 335. Both strings 335 are connected to a changeoverrelay 368 which is connected to the solar and battery ports of a central hybrid inverter 367 which is connected to the grid 366 via a power meter 365 which includes safety and power isolation equipment. In this configuration, the energy storage devices 330 do not need to mix their power with the power from the solar panels 335 and can safely feed that separated power to the inverter 367 using the changeover relay 368 to select the destination. While this configuration requires a large changeover relay or contactor 368 and the hybrid inverter 367, it is still an efficient setup for installing the distributed energy storage system 145 as no additional cabling is required and solar power can be separated from battery power if the application requires it. The energy storage devices 330 in Figure 46 may be as described according to any of the energy storage systems described herein. [000227] Figure 47 shows a configuration of a distributed energy storage system 147 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed energy storage system 147 is similar to the distributed energy storage system 131 and like components are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, an upper string of four solar panels 335 is wired in series and connected in parallel to a lower string of four solar panels 335. Both strings 335 are connected to a changeover relay 368 which is connected to a first central inverter 363 and a second central inverter 369 which are both connected to the electrical grid 366 via a power meter 365 which includes safety and power isolation equipment. In this configuration, the energy storage devices 330 do not need to mix their power with the power from the solar panels 335 and can safely feed power from the solar panels 335 to the inverter 367 and power from the batteries 330 to the second inverter 369 using the changeover relay 368 to select the destination. While this configuration requires a large changeover relay or contactor 368 and a new inverter 369 for the battery power, it is still an efficient setup for installing the distributed energy storage system 145 as no additional cabling is required and solar power can be separated from battery power if the application requires it. The energy storage devices 330 in Figure 46 may be as described according to any of the energy storage systems described herein. [000228] Figure 48 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 148 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 148 is similar to the power optimisation system 144 and likecomponents are numbered accordingly. In this embodiment, a string of solar panels 335 feeds power into an inverter 363 that the DC power into AC power to supply the house or other building or installation 364 and / or export power to the electrical grid 366 via the power meter 365. A power optimisation device 342 is also connected to the inverter 363, as depicted by the dashed line 380, to read the status of the power output including the voltage and current. In some embodiments the inverter 363 may be integral with the power optimisation device 342. The voltage and current information is input into the controller 317 of the power optimisation module 342 and used to determine how much power is required to be injected into the solar panels in the string 335. The amount of power to be injected is communicated wirelessly or in a cable as depicted by the arrow 370 to a power supply 360 connected to each solar panel in the string 335. AC power is fed into the power supplies 360 as depicted by the arrows 361. The power supplies 360 convert AC power into DC power which also typically isolates the AC power from the DC power. The DC power from each power supply 360 is fed into each solar panel as depicted by the arrow 362. The power supply 360 incorporates the power compensator in this embodiment. [000229] The DC power 362 injected into each solar panel is used to raise the voltage of the solar panel which reduces its resistance. This increases the current from the solar panel and therefore its power output as depicted by the arrow 329. In doing so, each solar panel will increase power under normal conditions, shaded conditions and / or low light conditions. Power output may increase a little, such as 2.7% in strong sunlight, more in shaded light, such as 27%, a lot more in low light conditions, such as 45%, and most in shaded low light conditions, such as 57%. This significantly increases the power output fed back into the inverter 363, as depicted by the arrow 329 and the overall power output fed into the house or other building or installation 364 and / or the grid 366 via an output power connector at the power meter 358. [000230] During the middle of the day, there are times when too much power is generated from solar panels and the price of electricity is negative, such as $44 / MWh. This is known as the “duck curve” and while solar power is a great energy resource for most of the day, there are times in the middle of the day that power output should be curtailed. This power optimisation system 148 is capable of curtailing its power output by injecting much lower voltages, such as 10V, into each solar panel. This reduction involtage increases the resistance of the solar panels which reduces their current and power output. Each solar panel can be “turned off” to generate no power while current still circulates in each panel. This circulating current prevents the solar panels from heating up excessively, when compared to curtailing them with open circuit, which reduces the number of hotspots, which in turn increases the efficiency and lifespan of the solar panels. [000231] Figure 49 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 149 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 149 is similar to the power optimisation system 148 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of the power optimisation device 342 of the embodiment of Figure 48 applies also to the embodiment of Figure 49 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, a string of solar panels 335 feeds power into power optimisation device 342 and an inverter 363 that transforms the DC power into AC power to supply the house or other building or installation 364 and / or export power to the electrical grid 366 via the power meter 365. Power is injected into each of the solar panels in the solar panel string 335 to increase their net power output by making the solar panels work more efficiently with less power injected than extra power generated. Alternatively, power can be removed from the solar panels in the solar panel string 335 to reduce their power output. [000232] AC power is introduced into the same DC cabling that is connected to the string 335, where it is separated back into DC power for generation and AC power for power balancing and / or power optimisation. To do this, the power optimisation device 342 uses AC power, as depicted by the arrow 361, from the inverter 363 and feeds it into an AC power controller 379 that includes a power compensator, such as a SCR based power controller which includes a power compensator, to adjust the amount of power, as instructed by the controller 317 via the connection 381. The AC power enters capacitors 373 that enable transmission of AC power and block the transmission of DC power to keep the AC circuit clean of DC power. The AC power, as depicted by the arrow 361, is then connected to the DC cables and travels up to the string 335 along with the DC power, as depicted by the arrow 329.[000233] The power enters a first power module 375 where the power splits into two paths with the first path an inductor 372 which enables transmission of DC power and blocks the transmission of AC power to keep the DC circuit clean of AC power. This DC power travels in a cable 377 and passes a capacitor 371, in parallel with the positive and negative lines, that helps to smooth and reduce the AC ripples in the DC power before it enters the solar panel as depicted by the arrow 329. The DC power then travels through the string 335 in a series connection between the solar panels and exits the string 335 to transmit the generated power to the power optimisation device 342. The power then enters inductors 372 which enable transmission of DC power and block the transmission of AC power, to keep the DC circuit clean of AC power, before entering the inverter 363 where the DC power generation and conversion to AC power loop repeats itself. [000234] At the first power conditioning module 375, the power splits into a second path where it enters a capacitor 373 that enables transmission of AC power and blocks the transmission of DC power to keep the AC circuit 378 clean of DC power. This AC power is then fed into an AC to DC converter 374, such as a rectifier, and feeds DC power into the inductors 372 that then feed DC power into the solar panels, as depicted by the arrow 362, to increase or decrease their power output. The AC power also travels in a separate cable 378 spanning each solar panel and supplying each power conditioning module 375 and 376 with AC power, as depicted by the arrow 390. The AC power then enters another capacitor at the opposite end of the string 335 and travels back to the power optimisation module 342 where the AC power injection loop repeats itself. [000235] The advantage of this power optimisation system 149 is it utilises the existing cabling in a string 335 to not only transmit generated DC power 329 but also transmit AC power 362 that is converted in the power conditioning modules 375 and 376 before injection into the solar panels 362 to increase or decrease their power output. It is simple to retrofit with no additional cabling required and the inductors and capacitors also help smooth and stabilise the generated power reaching the inverter. [000236] Figure 50 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 150 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 150 is similar to the power optimisation system 148 and likecomponents are numbered accordingly. The description of the power optimisation device 342 of the embodiment of Figure applies also to the embodiment of Figure 50 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, a string of solar panels 335 feeds power into power optimisation device 342 and an inverter 363 that transforms the DC power into AC power to supply the house or other building or installation 364 and / or export power to the electrical grid 366 via the output power connector at the power meter 365. The power optimisation module 342 utilises a power supply 360 that incorporates a power compensator. The power supply 360 is fed AC power, as depicted by the arrow 361, from the inverter 363. The power supply 360 is instructed by the controller 317 via the communication link 383 to adjust the DC output power according to the power injection requirements of the string 335. The controller 317 typically utilises an additional communication link 380, such as RS485, to communicate with the inverter 363 to read useful data such as power, voltage and current and / or send commands to the inverter 363. [000237] Additional or reduced DC power, as depicted by the arrow 361, for increasing or reducing the string power output respectively is inserted into the main power cables and travels to the string 335 and enters a first power conditioning module 386. The power then splits, and the first path follows the typical string cabling in series. The second path enters a power isolation module 385, typically comprised of a switching device such as a MOSFET feeding substantially AC power to a transformer that isolates the power before feeding a DC converter 332 that may increase or decrease the voltage. The DC converter feeds additional or reduced DC power into its associated solar panel as depicted by the arrow 362 which increases or decreases the power output of solar panel and string 335. The DC power is then fed into the next power conditioning module 387 and continue along the string 335. [000238] The controller 317 calculates the appropriate amount of power to feed into the DC cabling so that it is all consumed in the power conditioning modules 386 and 387 to maintain maximum efficiency of the power optimisation system 150. This power optimisation system 150 is useful to new and retrofit applications. In new applications, the inverter 363 may not require maximum power point (MPPT) tracking since the power injection of this system lifts the operating point to a higher maximum power point. This increases system efficiency since the additional DC converters in the MPPTsystem, and their associated are not required. In a retrofit application, the controller 317 may instruct the power 360 to supply power at a higher voltage, such as 4V. This is an effective method to work more efficiently with the MPPT controller in the inverter 363, since the MPPT controller does normally try to drop the voltage. [000239] Figure 51 shows a configuration of a power optimisation system 151 in a schematic view in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The power optimisation system 151 is similar to the power optimisation system 148 and like components are numbered accordingly. The description of the power optimisation device 342 of the embodiment of Figure 48 applies also to the embodiment of Figure 51 unless stated otherwise. In this embodiment, a string of solar panels 335 feeds power into power optimisation module 342 and an inverter 363 that transforms the DC power into AC power to supply the house 364 and / or export power to the electrical grid 366 via the power meter 365. The power optimisation device 342 utilises a power supply 360 that incorporates the power compensator. The power supply 360 is fed AC power, as depicted by the arrow 361, from the inverter 363. The power supply 360 is instructed by the controller 317 via the communication link 383 to adjust the DC output power according to the power injection requirements of the solar panel string 335. [000240] The controller 317 may also use a communication link 389 to communicate with a power meter 388 to read voltage, current and power. This is useful when it is difficult to connect to the inverter 363. The additional or reduced DC power 362 is inserted into the main DC cabling and fed up the string 335. The string 335 is wired in series and generates power, as depicted by the arrow 329, as well as additional power 362 injected into the solar panels to increase or decrease their power output. This embodiment is the simplest configuration of the power optimisation systems and is great for new installations since simpler and more efficient inverters can be used without MPPT. The controller 317 can now act as a MPPT+ controller with the “+” signifying injecting power for greater net power output. In retrofit installations, there are no additional cables to run and the power optimisation device 342, is small and cost effective to place in residential, commercial or solar farm installations.[000241] The distributed energy storage devices 330 and power optimisation devices 342 described herein may utilise several methods for the control of power optimisation, including power balancing, and / or power curtailment. The distributed energy storage device will have additional controls to charge and discharge the battery. [000242] Hardware sensors connected to the solar panels may include one or more of irradiance or light sensors (irradiance sensors may be preferred since irradiance is measured in W / sqm), temperature sensors (higher temperatures reduce solar panel output power), or GPS sensors (location sensors) in conjunction with indication of time of day provided by a clock and a calendar of the controller. Voltage, current and / or power sensors may be used to measure output power of solar panels and / or solar panel strings 335. [000243] These hardware sensors can be used to identify the local conditions of the solar installation and help predict what the power output should be (based on e.g. irradiance and temperature curves supplied in data sheets / specifications from the panel manufacturers). If the output power is lower than predicted, the controller 317 can inject more power (by increasing the voltage of the power compensator) to boost the power output. Another option is to use the GPS sensor and time to calculate what irradiance should exist at that location and time of day and that forms the prediction. [000244] No matter what control method or algorithm is used, a simple way is required to distinguish between low light and shading conditions. Low light will gradually increase in the morning and decrease at night but shading will drop power output sporadically with much higher volatility. A simple method is to use a smoothing or moving average function for power output and shading will produce significant drops from the average. [000245] The voltage level will be set based on the moving average and typically 2 volts higher than the solar panel or solar panel string 335 output power. Increasing this voltage differential will increase the amount of power optimisation and / or power balancing and vice-versa. Therefore, when a shading event occurs, the voltage and power injection is already set at the right level (based on the moving average of radiance) so that adequate power balancing can occur to try and bring the shaded and unshaded panels back up close to their power output before the shading event. Assunlight irradiance changes during the so will the moving average and the voltage and power injection will adjust There are many other ways to distinguish between low light and shading such as using sensors to predict power output, however most methods use some form of smoothing. A known simple method is to measure power output using a voltage and current meter, either as a separate device or installed in the solar charge controller (used to control charging batteries from solar panels) or inverter that can share this data to the controller 317. With this method, no other sensors are required and the most important output parameter, power output, is accurately controlled. [000246] Examples of control algorithms known in current MPPT systems that can be adapted by the skilled person for the power optimisation device include but are not limited to: Perturb & Observe (P&O); Incremental conductance; Current Sweep;Temperature Based Method; Optimized MPPT; Particle Swarm Optimisation; Firefly algorithm; gray Wolf algorithm; mayfly algorithm. Machine learning can also be combined with any of these algorithms to learn where to start searching for the maximum power output based on previous results that it has learnt, so that the optimal operating point and power output is found more quickly. [000247] Power curtailment is typically a reverse of the above control methods by reducing voltage, although it may just need to be controlled to maintain a certain power output such as 30% of maximum or even zero output power. [000248] Additional modes for control include local or remote control such as an electric power company wanting to curtail a large number of power optimisation devices to alleviate an oversupply of electricity into the grid from solar generation during the middle of the day. Remote control could be via the internet or other forms. [000249] The increased stability of power output from the power optimisation and / or power balancing system will provide more stable power, a faster response and more efficient control system. [000250] The following tables show recent test results from an energy storage device and a power optimisation device according to the present disclosure, from tests performed on solar panels in sunlight in early August 2024 in Sydney, Australia.[000251] The energy storage device name is SolarBoost and the test results for it are shown in the four tables below shading conditions. Two solar panels were wired in series and connected to a SolarBoost energy storage device and tests were cycled to compare the performance and power output with and without the SolarBoost. [000252] Table 1.1. SolarBoost test result summary for 0% Shade. 0% Shade Test 1 Test 2 Average + / - Panel Energy Gained [%] 3.8% 4.9% 4.3% 0.5%. . y . . 0.8% Shade Test 1 Test 2 Average + / - '-26.96 -34.42 -30.69 3.73 244.60 244.33 244.47 0.131.2% Shade Test 1 Test 2 Average + / - Panel's Power Drop w / o SolarBoost 28.1% 25.2% 26.7% 1.5%.. y . . 1.6% Shade Test 1 Test 2 Average + / - '[000256] The results from two repeated were summarised in Table 1.1 to Table 1.4. Under a 0% shade condition, the panel and overall output produced 4.3% and 12.3% more energy respectively with SolarBoost compared to without SolarBoost. On average, 8.1% of the output with SolarBoost under no shade was from the battery. For practical use, SolarBoost can be switched off when there is no shade, if no additional power is required, without impacting the normal operation of the panel. [000257] At 0.8% shade, the panel’s power dropped by 12.2% without SolarBoost and by 4.5% with SolarBoost. With SolarBoost, the panel's energy production increased by 13.4% compared to the panel without SolarBoost. Note that this increase in energy production has already accounted for and deducted the battery power to provide that increase. That is, the 13.4% increase is purely from the solar panel working optimally and not from energy from the battery or any other source. This highlights the unique feature of SolarBoost injecting power into solar panels to reduce their resistance and increase their performance. The overall output with SolarBoost was nearly 30% higher, producing approximately the same output power as under no shade conditions. Note that only 12.2% of the overall output with SolarBoost was from the battery signifying a net output gain of 26.3%. Taking into account the battery charging efficiency of at least 92% (incorporating a more efficient synchronous buck converter), then the overall net output gain (average power gain over time) is 24.2% which is a very promising result from only 0.8% shading. [000258] A similar trend was observed under larger shade conditions. At 1.2% and 1.6% shade, the panel’s power decreased by 26.7% and 48%, respectively, without SolarBoost. However, with SolarBoost, the power drop was significantly lower, at 14.6% and 25.8%. SolarBoost increased the panel’s energy production by 21.5% and 49% under the two shade conditions compared to the panel without SolarBoost. The overall energy production with SolarBoost increased by 53.4% and 117%, utilising only 21.6% and 32% battery, respectively, under the two shade levels. This indicates overall net output gains of 38.5% for 1.2% shading and 73.2% for 1.6% shading. These are both very interesting results for relatively small amounts of shading which highlight the fact that large amounts of power in solar installations are being wasted to shading events.[000259] Additionally, there was almost no difference in the overall output power with SolarBoost under these shaded to no shade, meaning that the overall string output power was effectively restored to its optimal level under shade. At all shade conditions, the output efficiency of SolarBoost is at around 97%. [000260] The power optimisation device product name is OptiCell and the test results for it are shown in the six tables below under various shading conditions. Two solar panels were wired in series with one connected to an OptiCell power optimisation device and tests were cycled to compare the performance and power output with and without the OptiCell. [000261] Table 2.1. OptiCell series test result summary for 0% Shade. 0% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC Output Mean Voltage w / o OptiCell 2904 1476 1280 1411. . y . . 0.8% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC Output[000263] Table 2.3.1. OptiCell series test result summary for 1.2% Shade. 1.2% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC OutputPower Drop [%] w / OptiCell 14.2% - 1.7% Ttl Enr Gind [%] 265% 643% - 937%ade test. 1.2% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC Output Power Drop w / o OptiCell 208% 475% - 491%a e ... p e seeses esu su ayo . ae. 1.6% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC Output[000266] Table 2.4.2. OptiCell series test result summary for the repeated 1.6% Shade test. 1.6% Shade String Output Shaded Panel Battery OC Output Power Drop w / o OptiCell 46.4% 93.1% - 95.8%[000268] Table 2.1 to 2.4.2 below shows the result data for OptiCell series test under the 4 shade conditions. Under 0.8% shade, the string output power dropped by about 7% without OptiCell, compared to just 0.4% with OptiCell. The shaded panel's power decreased by around 19% without OptiCell, but only lost 3.8% with OptiCell. Only 3.7% of the output from OptiCell came from the battery with an overall net output gain from the string of 21.4%. [000269] With OptiCell, the string and the shaded panel produced approximately 8% and 19.6% more energy, respectively, compared to the string and shaded panel without OptiCell. It is important to note that the shaded panel without OptiCell contributed only 42% (87.78 W out of 207.9 W) to the overall string output, while the shaded panel with OptiCell contributed about 48.6% (108.99 W out of 224.44 W). This is closer to an equal share of power produced within the string, clearly highlighting OptiCell’s positive power balancing and / or power optimisation effect on the overall string. [000270] 1.2% Shade [000271] Under 1.2% shade, the shaded panel without OptiCell lost nearly 50% of its power output, resulting in about a 20.7% loss in string output power. However, with OptiCell, the shaded panel only lost around 14% of its power, and with the additionalstored energy from the battery, the string experienced almost no loss. In this case, 14.1% of OptiCell's output came stored battery energy with an overall net output gain from the string of 74.0%. [000272] With OptiCell, the string and the shaded panel produced 26.5% and 64.3% more energy, respectively, than those without OptiCell. The power balancing and / or power optimisation function of OptiCell is evident, as the shaded panel without OptiCell contributed only about 31.5% (55.83 W of 177.24 W) to the overall string output power. In contrast, the shaded panel with OptiCell consistently contributed 48.3% (108.15 W of 224.19 W) to the overall string output power, similar to the performance under 0.8% shade conditions. A second test under 1.2% shade produced almost identical results. [000273] 1.6% Shade [000274] Under 1.6% shade, the power output of the shaded panel without OptiCell dropped drastically by 91.3%, resulting in a 46.3% reduction in string power output. However, with OptiCell, the shaded panel experienced a much lower power loss of 28%, and the string output power saw less than a 1% loss, similar to previous shade conditions. In this scenario, 29.1% of OptiCell's output came from stored battery energy with an overall net output gain from the string of 1063% indicating that the shaded panel without OptiCell effectively switched off. [000275] With OptiCell, the string produced almost double the energy, and the shaded panel increased its energy production by approximately 8 times. The shaded panel without OptiCell contributed around 5% of the overall string output, while the shaded panel with OptiCell contributed about 48%. This again highlights OptiCell’s power balancing and / or power optimisation function within the string. A second test under 1.6% shade produced nearly identical results. [000276] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A distributed energy storage and optimisation system comprising: a plurality of power source connected to an local grid configured to transmit electricity; a plurality of energy storage devices, wherein at least one of the energy storage devices is connected to a power source; a power connector connected to the local grid and an input switching element inside the plurality of energy storage devices; wherein at least one energy storage device is wired in parallel with the at least one power source comprising: wherein the input switching element is configured to connect to the at least one power source and provide power to a battery charger from the local grid; at least one power compensator configured to alter the input power to the battery charger and / or amount of output power from the energy storage device; an output switching element configured to enable power output from the energy storage device to the local grid; a controller in the energy storage device capable of controlling the input switching element for charging and output switching element for discharging the energy storage device.

2. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy storage device comprises a plurality of battery cells.

3. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the power compensator is configured to balance current across the plurality of energy storage devices.

4. The distributed energy storage device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the power compensator is configured to balance the voltage across the plurality of energy storage devices.

5. The distributed energy storage device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power compensator is configured to balance the current across battery cells in the energy storage device.

6. The distributed energy storage device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power is configured to balance the voltage across battery cells in the energy storage device.

7. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a battery charger is connected to the energy storage device.

8. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power source is a solar panel.

9. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the power source is an electrical power socket. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plurality of battery cells is connected to an inverter.

10. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is configured to communicate with at least one power meter installed inside a building, installation or the like.

11. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is connected to a local network.

12. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 12, including a central controller connected to the local network and in communication with the controller.

13. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the central controller is connected to a wide area network.

14. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the battery cells are configured to be controlled by a battery management system.

15. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the battery management system is configured to ensure that current and voltage emitted from each cell in the energy storage device is balanced.

16. The distributed energy storage system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the battery management system is configured to ensure that current and voltage provided to each cell is balanced.

17. A power optimisation device for to at least one first power source configured to transmit electricity, the energy storage and / or power optimisation device comprising: at least one second power source connected to a local grid and to the at least one first power source; at least one output connector connected to the at least one first power source and the at least one second power source and configured for outputting power; and at least one power compensator connectable to the at least one first power source and connected to the at least one second power source, the at least one power compensator configured to alter an amount of power to the at least one first power source or an amount of output power from the at least one second power source to the output connector.

19. The power optimisation device of claim 18, wherein the at least one second power source comprises at least one battery comprising a plurality of battery cells and a battery charger connected to the battery and capable of charging the battery to store energy and discharging the battery to supply energy to the device.

20. ^ The power optimisation device of claim 19, wherein the at least one power compensator is configured to balance the currents and / or voltages and / or power across one or more of the at least one first power source to increase their power output.

21. The power optimisation device of claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the at least one power compensator is integrated with the battery charger.

22. The power optimisation device of claim 18, wherein the at least one second power source comprises at least one inverter connectable to the at least one first power source and for converting DC power to AC power.

23. The power optimisation device of claim 18, wherein the at least one second power source comprises AC mains power.

24. The power optimisation device of any of claims 18-23, wherein the at least one power compensator may include one or more of a DC-DC converter, voltage doubler, boost converter, buck-boost converter, adjustable power supply or voltage regulator,configured to supply a set voltage to the device for power balancing and / or power optimisation functions.

25. The power optimisation device of any of claims 18-24, further comprising a controller connected to the local grid and capable of controlling an amount of power to be added into or subtracted from the at least one first power source.

26. The power optimisation device of claim 25 when dependent on claim 18, wherein the controller is integral with the at least one power compensator.

27. The power optimisation device of claim 25 when dependent on claim 19 or claim 21, wherein the controller is integral with the battery charger.

28. The power optimisation device of claim 25, wherein the controller is configured to communicate with a power meter installed inside a building, installation or the like to measure a power demand for the building, installation or the like.

29. A system, comprising the power optimisation device of any one of claims 18-28 and at least one first power source wired in parallel to the power optimisation device.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the at least one first power source comprises a solar panel.

31. The system of claim 30, comprising a plurality of the solar panels.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the plurality of solar panels are arranged in series to form a solar panel string.

33. The system of claim 32, comprising a plurality of the solar panel strings connected in parallel to form a solar farm.

34. The system of any of claims 31 to 33, wherein the controller is configured to receive an indication of voltage and / or current measurements of the plurality of solar panels and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels and, based on the indication of voltage and / or current measurements and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels, determine an amount of power to be added to eachsolar panel of the plurality of solar panels or to each solar panel string or to each solar farm to reduce their resistance and power output.

35. The system of any of claims 31 to 33, wherein the controller is configured to receive an indication of voltage and / or current measurements of the plurality of solar panels and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels and, based on the indication of voltage and / or current measurements and / or sensor measurements indicative of temperature and / or irradiance level of the plurality of solar panels, determine an amount of power to be added or subtracted to each solar panel of the plurality of solar panels or to each solar panel string or to each solar farm to increase their resistance and reduce power output.

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