Battery Backups
How Does a battery backup system work?
There are times when your solar panels will produce more energy than your home needs. This is a good thing, and can save you money depending on which route you choose to take. If you invest in battery storage for solar, instead of your excess energy going back into the grid it is stored in your battery, like an “energy bank.” This stored energy can then be used if the power grid goes down.
Did you know?
Solar batteries can either be AC-coupled or DC-coupled. With AC coupling, the power from your solar panels is converted through a inverter from DC to AC, and is then converted by a battery inverter and stored in the solar battery as DC power. Then when the power is needed, the battery inverter converts the power from DC back into AC power for it to be used.
When Would A Backup Battery Storage Be Necessary?
There is a lot of information out there suggesting that a battery backup system is the best route to take for any homeowner looking to go solar. However, you must consider carefully whether this is the best financial decision for you. How can you know? We'll try to make it simple.
For homeowners who chose to stay on-grid, the option to participate in net metering is a major financial benefit. Net metering allows homeowners to bank excess energy credits with their utility provider which can be used later, should their energy consumption be more than the energy their solar panels have produced. There is also the option for homeowners to have these energy credits paid back in cash at the end of their 12 month usage cycle.
Being off-grid is one of the main reasons homeowners would choose to invest in a battery backup system. Solar does not work at night, nor dies it work if the grid goes down for any reason. In these instances, battery backup has some big advantages. Being able to store your excess energy in your battery to use at a later time, at night or otherwise are the main reasons for battery storage.
However, most batteries cannot take your home completely off the grid to the point where you sever your connection with your utility provider. This is important to know since battery backups simply don’t have enough storage to power a home for days on end in the event of extended cloudiness, rain, or snowy weather.
Can You Add Battery Storage After The Fact?
Adding a backup battery after a solar installation can be done. The level of difficulty will just depend on whether your solar panel system was designed with the intention of adding energy storage later on or not.
If you have a “storage ready” solar system, you will have an inverter that can easily handle a battery being added into your solar panel system. In this situation, a battery is relatively simple to install, and the installation process won’t require much additional equipment.
If your solar panel system was not originally designed with the ability to add storage later, the installation will be slightly more complicated. However, Highline Electric can handle either scenario with little effort from you. It is worth noting that every energy storage project will be different. If you are interested in adding a backup battery to your existing solar panel system, make sure to share with us as many details about your system as possible so we can determine what kind of system would best fit your home.
