Solar Battery Storage

What is Solar Battery Storage?

Solar battery storage is a huge step towards energy independence. It gives you the ability to store up electricity to use in your home when you really need it.

Although you could let the electricity generated go back to the national grid and get paid for it, most customers find that storing a portion of that generation is the most cost effective way of lowering their energy bill. With a battery storage system, the electricity you don’t use will be stored in the battery, ready to use when your solar panels aren’t generating or when your household load exceeds the amount of electricity you are generating.

Solar battery storage can allow you to reduce your energy bills by over 30% in addition to any savings you’re making by generating your own electricity using solar panels.

How do solar batteries work?

Solar panels are only able to produce electricity when sunlight is present. This, therefore, creates an obvious issue when it’s dark and you still need energy for your home.

In this case, you would typically need to purchase electricity from the energy providers. However, when you use a battery storage system, you can avoid this problem.

When your solar panels generate electricity that you don’t need to use straight away, a battery will convert this DC electricity into AC power and store it, ready for use later. Essentially, your solar panels charge the battery when you don’t need to use the energy they’re producing.

When it gets dark and your solar panels aren’t generating any electricity, or when your household load is higher than your current generation, your system will draw the energy you stored earlier from the battery for you to use. That means that there will be times when your home is completely independent, not relying on the National Grid at all – and therefore not paying a penny.

There are two ways of charging the batteries: either via excess solar generation, or via an “off-peak tariff” (nighttime cheaper electricity rate). When the batteries are fully charged you will send any excess electricity your solar panel system is generating back to the grid, and get paid for it via the SEG tariff. When your battery is depleted, you’ll use electricity from the grid.

The benefits of solar battery storage:

• Use more of the electricity you already generate
• Reduce your electricity bills
• Earn money by selling the energy stored in your solar battery back to the grid (depending on tariff)
• Be independent from the grid and reduce your carbon footprint

What you need for a solar storage system:

• Suitable (roof) space
• PV modules
• PV inverter
• Battery
• Energy manager or energy meter
• Emergency power supply box (EPS) for electricity supply even in the event of a grid failure (optional)