Posted Monday, December 10, 2018

Solar Batteries for Home Use

The technology for energy storage has been around for several decades now, however, solar batteries used in home solar storage systems are somewhat new to the solar market today. Even though solar batteries do offer a significant economic benefit for those who own homes in some situations, often their price can mean they don’t often make financial sense for all people. Find out whether or not if you can benefit from this time of energy solution.

Best Uses for Solar Batteries

When solar batteries are installed as part of a home solar energy system, one can actually store extra energy in their solar panels and produce more energy at home instead of feeding it back to the electricity grid. One can maximize their ability to use the electricity coming from the solar panels on a daily basis. During times when more electricity is needed than the panels might be producing one can use the energy that has been stored in a solar battery.

All Depends on Electric Utility Charges

Whether or not one will save a lot of money when installing a solar system with a storage system is going to depend on how much the electric utility company charges customers. Some states do net metering, this means people typically receive a credit on their utility bills for every kilowatt-hour of solar energy they send back to the electrical grid. These credits then can be used later on when people need more electricity than their solar panels are actually generating. In this case, homeowners in this type of situation wouldn’t increase their savings by using a solar battery storage system.

There are some electric utilities that are changing their rates in ways that actually make solar batteries a very good investment for those who own homes. It’s important to contact your local utility company to find out what their rating system is and whether or not solar storage is going to work off the grid for your home. This system is called TOU or time of use.

Time of Use Electricity Rates

If a utility company uses TOU rates, the per kWh rate that one may pay for electricity is going to change depending on the time of day. Electricity is going to cost more during what’s known as peak hours when there is a higher demand for electricity. This is usually late afternoon and evenings. Rates will, of course, be lower during the day when there is more solar energy available and less electricity is used. If someone lives in an area that uses TOU rates then they should be able to benefit more from a home energy storage system by using their solar batteries during those peak hours. Even though not all areas use TOU the good news is that more and more are beginning to switch over to this type of system.

Backup Power

Even if one may not seem to benefit much from local utility companies, there is a great benefit that comes with a solar battery system. One great benefit is that these batteries can provide homeowners with back up power and are far cleaner to use than a gas powered generator. Even if one has a solar panel system installed, power can still be lost during a power outage, but having a solar battery storage system will enable homeowners to rely on a backup generator.

If you are considering having a solar system installed in your home and are not sure if you also want to include a battery storage system, please contact us today so we can help answer all of your questions about this type of power for your home!