What does your battery need to do?
Beyond simply having solar power available for low-light days, the type and size of your solar system batteries will depend on your needs. If you’re looking for a method to offset electricity costs or to power your home at night, a smaller battery may be ideal.
If you’re looking for off grid solar batteries you may want a model with a larger capacity in order to supply power for longer periods. Off grid solar batteries can even supply backup power in the case of a blackout, drawing from the accumulated charge.
Battery capacity
A solar battery is only as useful as the amount of energy that can be stored. To be worth the investment, your solar system needs to generate enough energy to fully charge the solar battery. Otherwise, you could potentially be paying for storage space you don’t need.
It’s important to select a battery that closely matches the amount of power your panels can generate. As a rough guide, a solar system can produce 4kW of energy per day for every kilowatt of solar panels. This value could vary depending on your location, season, and amount of sunlight.
The experienced team at Solar System can assist you in determining your optimal battery capacity.
Budget
As the costs of solar batteries can vary significantly between the different types and sizes, your budget will play an important factor in the chosen storage unit. As a general rule, solar system batteries with a higher capacity will cost more than those with smaller capacities.
However, your budget may also be affected by the type of solar battery.
Types of solar batteries for homes
There are currently three main varieties of solar battery used for residential homes:
- Lead acid
- Lithium ion
- Flow
Lead acid and lithium ion batteries are more common than flow batteries, making them comparatively cheaper to install. As flow batteries are a newer type of solar storage solution, even smaller capacities can be a sizeable investment. As manufacturing techniques get more efficient, the cost of flow and lithium ion batteries could decrease.
It’s also important to keep in mind that it can be more economical to include a battery with a new system. Purchasing a bundled setup, such as a 10kW solar system with batteries, can be cheaper than retrofitting a new battery to an older system.
The right solar battery?
Choosing the optimal solar battery can be a daunting task, with numerous brands and battery types available on the market. Adding the technical specifications to the mix can make things even more complicated. Fortunately, the highly-trained team at Solar System are here to help you choose the best solar battery for your home and needs.