Are you looking for ways to optimise the amount of solar power you are using from your solar panel system? Then look no further than a solar battery. While the device may seem expensive, it will completely transform your solar panel system.
As the world continues its fight against climate change, solar PV systems are becoming increasingly more popular. This is because they are not only one of the most environmentally friendly methods of generating electricity, but they can also reduce your energy bills.
If you haven’t heard of solar batteries before, then this article will tell you everything you need to know. From what a solar battery is, the benefits of having one, what size battery you may need, and whether you can install multiple batteries, here at Effective Home we’ll guide you through it all.
What Is A Solar Battery?
While you may have heard about solar panels, or solar panel systems, you may not have specifically heard about solar batteries. This is because you don’t necessarily require a solar battery in order to generate and use solar power generated through your panels. However, if you want to optimise your usage you will require a solar battery.
Solar batteries simply work by storing the excess electricity that your solar panels generate, so that you can use it at a later date. The peak times that your solar panels will be generating electricity is during the day, when you may be at work. Instead of letting that energy go to waste, solar batteries can store that energy for you to use when you get home or during low generation time periods. This could include night time, cloudy days, or if you are experiencing a power outage.
What Are The Benefits Of A Solar Battery?
As the popularity of solar panels continues to rise, so is the demand for solar batteries as they enhance the offering provided by solar panels. The variety of benefits you would receive through the installation of a solar battery includes:
- Reduce your reliance on the National Grid: By installing a solar battery you will be able to maximise your usage of the solar energy that your solar panel system generates. Which means you will be less impacted by power outages and price increases implemented by energy companies.
- More environmentally friendly: Solar energy is one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of generating electricity that is currently available on the market. By installing a solar battery to your solar panel system, you will be able to use even more of your solar energy, which will reduce your carbon footprint.
- Minimise your energy bills: A solar battery will allow you to even further reduce your reliance on the National Grid for your electricity, which will reduce your utility bills even more. If you are able to not rely upon the grid, you will no longer have to pay the big energy companies to use your household devices and appliances.
- Provides a reliable backup energy source: Normally, if the National Grid were to suffer a power outage, then you would be without electricity in your home. With a solar battery that will no longer be a concern as you can tap into your battery’s electricity capacity to continue your life as normal.
- Limited noise pollution: If you currently rely upon a fuel-powered generator to provide you with your electricity, or as a backup option, then why not consider changing to a solar battery? Not only do they produce no noise, which is a major benefit compared to fuel generators, but they are also more environmentally friendly.
- Make money from your solar panel system: In cases where your household isn’t utilising as much solar energy as it is creating, you can sell the excess back to the National Grid. You can do this through the smart export guarantee (SEG).
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What Size Solar Battery Do I Need To Power My Home?
There are a variety of contributing factors that can impact what size solar battery you will need to power your home, which we will delve into further below. However, in the table you will find what solar battery size you may typically need depending on the size of your house, rather than your energy usage. The figures take into account the typical energy usage of houses of that size:
| What size solar battery do you need to power your home? | |
| House size | Solar battery size |
| One bedroom | 1 kWh |
| Two bedrooms | 4 kWh |
| Three bedrooms | 8 kWh |
| Four bedrooms | 9.5 kWh |
The figures above simply provide a guideline. If you want to discuss your household’s personal energy usage, and what solar battery size you may need to fulfil your needs, why not get in touch with Effective Home today.
Factors You Should Consider Before Purchasing Your Solar Battery
Now that we have presented you with a general guide as to the solar battery sizes you may need, you should also take into consideration the influencing factors that may impact your final choice. Every household is different, therefore so is every household’s energy consumption. Before purchasing your solar battery, you should take into consideration:
- The battery type (typically a lithium ion or lead acid battery)
- The battery’s capacity.
- The battery’s predicted lifespan.
- The charge/discharge cycles.
- The battery’s peak power output.
- System efficiency rating.
- Working temperatures.
- Your budget.
- The brand and warranty attached to the solar battery.
How Are Solar Battery Sizes Measured?
Solar battery sizing is measured by the capacity it has to store electricity. However, its listed capacity might not correspond with the amount of usable battery capacity it has. Domestic solar batteries will not use the entire battery’s capacity every time it is used, because this will damage the battery itself and reduce its lifespan. Instead, most batteries will have a usable capacity of around 90 to 95%.
Most solar batteries available on the market today will have varying capacity ranges, typically spanning from 1 to 13 kilowatt hours (kWh). The greater the amount of capacity your battery possesses, the more costly it is likely to be.
Do I Need A Solar Battery With A Large Capacity?
Depending on what you are planning to use your solar power system for, you may wish to get a larger battery storage system than you typically would require. If you are planning to only power your home through solar power, or even go completely off grid, then you will not receive the return on investment if you purposefully purchase a more expensive oversized battery, larger than you actually need.
However, if you are planning to make much more use of solar energy storage, such as using it to charge an electric car or running a heat pump using solar electricity, then you may want to consider purchasing a larger capacity battery system and a larger solar array. An expert installer will help size your battery according to your solar panel system’s capacity.
Can I Use A Solar Battery To Charge An Electric Car?
Taking into consideration the fact that the typical capacity of an electric car stands at 40 kWh, it may not be wise to use your solar battery to charge your vehicle. This is because charging your electric vehicle may wipe out all of the available power of your solar battery, and may even require you to have multiple batteries. Additionally, you could also be at risk of increased electricity usage from the National Grid more if your solar PV system is trying to charge your electric vehicle as well as supply your home.
However, you absolutely can use a solar battery to charge your electric vehicle if you so desire, it may just not be the wisest use of your battery storage.
Should I Purchase Multiple Solar Batteries?
If you believe that you may require greater battery capacity, and therefore multiple solar batteries in order to power your household, you are able to purchase a multi-battery solar panel system. However, in order to sufficiently charge all your batteries, you may need to spend more money on a large solar panel system in order to capture the required amount of solar energy for multiple batteries.
Additionally, the more batteries you introduce to your solar system, the greater the risks of a battery failing. This could have a knock-on effect that would negatively impact the rest of the batteries in the system. Instead you should focus on purchasing either one or two large capacity batteries.
It is possible in some instances to have retrofitted residential solar batteries added to an existing solar system, and these would benefit from the 0% VAT rate currently applicable to installations.
Summary -What Size Solar Battery Do I Need?
Now that you know about the purpose and benefits of solar battery storage, do you think the addition of a battery will level up your solar panel system? If you are still uncertain you should take into account the ways that solar batteries can optimise your solar panel system, which includes:
- You will be able to utilise more of your generated solar power as the battery will work to store it for later use.
- As you will be using more solar power, this will determine how much electricity you require from the National Grid.
- The more freedom you gain from the National Grid, the more of a reduction you will see when it comes to your energy bills.
- This freedom also means that your household will have backup power and be less vulnerable when it comes to power outages and price spikes in the energy market.
- Additionally, solar energy is one of the most environmentally friendly methods of generating power. Which means that you can further reduce your carbon footprint.
If you are still uncertain whether purchasing a solar battery is the right move for your household, and whether you would be making the most out of the investment, then why not get in touch with Effective Home? We can put you in contact with one of our solar experts, who will be able to answer all of your questions.
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