If you’ve lately considered installing a solar panel system, you’ve likely heard of solar batteries. Although battery systems are gaining in popularity, many homeowners are still unfamiliar with them.
Solar batteries allow you to store for later use the energy produced by solar panels. Creating a ‘hybrid solar system’ by combining solar panels with solar batteries offers a variety of benefits, including access to reliable backup power and independence from your utility.
However, how precisely do solar batteries function? And most importantly, what is their price? Continue reading to learn more.’
How solar batteries work
The excess solar energy produced by your solar panels and not immediately consumed is stored in solar batteries and may be accessed later.
During the middle of the day, solar panels create the greatest power, which is also when your home uses the least amount of electricity. A conventional solar system that is grid-connected returns excess solar energy to the utility grid.
When solar panels are combined with a home battery, however, excess power is stored in the battery rather being sent to the grid. Then, when the sun sets and your solar panels are no longer producing electricity, you may utilise the energy stored in your battery instead of paying the utility for electricity.
This means that you have access to all of the pure, sustainable solar energy produced by your solar panels, regardless of the time of day.
What will the cost of solar batteries be in 2023?
Installing a solar battery might cost anywhere from $200 to over $15,000, depending on the battery’s chemistry.
Most home grid-connected solar panels are linked with lithium-ion batteries, the installation of which can cost between $7,000 and $15,000. Some small-capacity lead-acid batteries can cost as low as $200, but they cannot power much in your house and are often used as emergency backup power for recreational vehicles.
Are solar batteries cost-effective?
Although the combination of solar panels and energy storage is becoming increasingly prevalent, it is not necessarily the best option for everyone.
Installing a solar battery storage system is most advantageous for households who reside in locations with frequent power outages, where full-retail net metering is not accessible, or where battery incentives are available.
If your primary motivation for choosing solar is environmental, solar batteries are also beneficial, since they optimise the amount of renewable energy your home utilises.
However, if you are simply interested in saving money, a solar battery may not be worth the investment for you. In other words, if you reside in a state with full-retail net metering, you will save the same amount of money with or without a battery. The battery would add thousands of dollars to the cost of your solar system and provide you piece of mind during a blackout.
We offer a comprehensive reference on the influence of utility net metering programmes on the investment in a solar battery to help you determine what may work for you.
Solar panels and solar batteries are a fantastic combination.
Installing a solar battery storage system is a fantastic method to maximise the efficiency of your solar panels.
Batteries are a wonderful source of backup power, they boost your energy independence, and in certain situations they can even reduce your electric cost because you will be receiving power from the battery rather than the grid.
However, solar battery solutions are not without cost. If you want to save money on your power bill, adding a solar battery may not be the best choice, particularly if your utility provides net metering. However, if you reside in a region that sees widespread blackouts, such as California and Texas, or in a region with Time-of-Use (TOU) utility prices, it will be advantageous to have a battery backup to store energy for when you need it.
The price of solar battery technology continues to decline, to the point that solar batteries will be included with all solar energy systems in the near future.
If you’re interested in pairing your solar panels with storage, you should call numerous trustworthy battery storage providers to guarantee you have the finest quality installation at the most affordable pricing.