Store excess solar and off-peak energy

Solar panels do wonders for helping homeowners power appliances and devices in their home during the day in a way that is cleaner for the environment and also cuts the cost of electricity from the grid. One small issue with solar panels is that they only generate energy when the sun is shining. This is when a solar battery storage solution can help keep your home powered at all hours of the day and regardless of whether the sun is shining or not. 

A home solar PV system is made up of multiple components to help convert energy. First, there are the solar panels which send energy generated from the sun to an inverter to convert the energy from DC to AC electricity. The electricity that is generated will then feed through a switchboard and to all the appliances in your home that require power. If the sun isn’t shining, then your home will rely on the electricity grid to keep your power running. If your panels are generating more solar energy than needed, it will feed this energy back to the grid and you will receive a solar feed-in tariff as a credit on your next electricity bill. This process changes if you have battery storage installed into your solar system. Instead of excess solar energy feeding into the grid, it will be stored within the battery for when the sun is not shining or during the early morning or at night. The grid will only need to switch back on when it recognises that the battery has no more energy left to power your home. Once the sun rises and the panels start producing solar energy again, the process may restart and the battery will return to storing excess energy for the next time it is needed.

Batteries come in different storage capacity sizes and can be scaled up to suit your needs. When deciding what battery size you need for your solar panel system, it is important to consider what your motivation is behind purchasing a battery. Your reasons for choosing a battery may include wanting protection from blackouts or to store off peak or excess solar energy instead of feeding it back to the grid. Decisions on battery storage will depend on how much you’re willing to spend on your battery, how much space you have to fit the battery, how much storage you need and whether or not you want a battery that will meet future requiremenst such as EV charging.

If a solar panel system generates 16kWh, a typical household could use 6kWh of that energy during the day and the remaining 10kWh at night. Having a 10kWh battery means that you will be able to store the extra energy that is generated during the day and use it at night when the sun is down, rather than relying on the grid. Using your power bill, you will be able to break down your daily power consumption and determine how much electricity your solar power system is generating.

If you need help calculating how much residential battery storage you need, one of the representatives at eko energy will be able to break down the figures and help you find a battery size that is suitable for your household needs. At eko energy, we only install batteries included on the CEC’s Approved battery list and use CEC Accredited Battery Installers.

Need help selecting the correct battery for your home solar system setup? Fill out the form below and one of our Renewable Energy Consultants will be in touch with you soon.