Three storage technologies sit side by side. The battery pack glows brighter and its charge column rises as electrons accumulate. The pumped-hydro pair moves water from a low reservoir to a high one during charging (raising potential energy), with particles flowing through a spinning turbine when discharging back down. The capacitor bank's plates separate visually as voltage builds, storing energy directly in the electric field. Each technology has a different round-trip efficiency, reflecting real-world losses.
Battery / capacitor: E = ½CV² (capacitor); E = ∫P dt · η (battery)
Pumped hydro: E = m·g·h
Round-trip efficiency: battery ≈ 90%, pumped hydro ≈ 80%, capacitor ≈ 95%
- Technology selector — switches which storage medium is active and visualized.
- Power draw — sets the charge/discharge power in kilowatts, controlling how fast the store fills or empties.
- Charging/Discharging toggle — reverses the energy flow direction.
- Reset — empties the store back to zero stored energy.
Grid operators mix fast-responding batteries and capacitors for short bursts with pumped hydro for multi-hour bulk storage, balancing renewable generation against demand.