Solar battery storage is vital to embrace solar energy consumption fully. It helps sustain the solar lifestyle with numerous benefits you can enjoy. Let’s take a look at how solar batteries work and how to choose the right one for your existing Connecticut solar system.
How Does Solar Battery Storage Work With a Solar Power System?
A fully-functional solar battery storage system is the foundation for solar energy independence. This type of storage is vital when circumstances such as power outages and inclement weather deter the performance of your solar panels. Most often, solar systems produce more power than needed, which the battery collects for these situations. Solar batteries can store the energy in DC even after the inverter has switched the power to AC for house use.
Most batteries are composed of built-in inverters that convert DC energy into AC power. If your batteries don’t have these, you can purchase them separately to integrate with your batteries.
What are the Benefits of Installing Solar Battery Storage?
There are two primary benefits of incorporating solar battery storage in your existing solar system. The first advantage is that the battery functions as a generator when power outages occur. The islanding capability of your solar battery system isolates from your grid to immediately charge power to its connected circuits. This benefit provides enough energy security until you take up all the energy stored.
The second benefit is primarily the savings you attain. There are time-of-use electricity rates that affect your overall monthly electricity bill. This savings refers to an increase in your usual rate during pre-determined hours when demand is peaked. The peak hours in Connecticut are set at 12 noon to 8 PM on weekdays. You can utilize your solar batteries at these hours to minimize your utility rates.
Additionally, your solar panel’s excess energy makes when your battery is full is still up for net metering. This program indicates the credit you receive for every kilowatt-hour of solar electricity sent back to the grid. For example, if you pay for $0.15 per kWh but your utility offers only $0.05 credit, your solar power is worth $0.10 less if you don’t use it at home. However, it is essential to note that net metering for Connecticut is only valid until the end of 2021.
Which Solar Battery is Right For Me?
The solar industry boomed in 2016 along with the rise of solar batteries to sustain this lifestyle. Thus, many companies developed batteries to establish a solar-plus-storage system for your home. One popular option these days is Generac’s very own PWRcell 17. This product is beneficial to Connecticut residents who want available incentives while maintaining a sustained power. Here are the critical metrics you should consider when choosing the right battery, including the exceptional features of PWRcell 17.
Power and Capacity
Your system’s power and capacity determine the strength they hold, indicating how successful it will be in powering your home. The capacity determines how long you can run your appliances using your battery. On the contrary, power decides the number of devices you can use at once. One of the best models in the market that has high power and capacity is Generac PWRcell 17. It has a maximum power rating of 6.7 kW and 17.1 kWh of usable capacity. You can also track the performance of this battery using its device called PWRview. Other popular battery systems are LG Chem RESU10 and Senec with a usable capacity of up to 10 kWh.
Depth of Discharge (DOD)
DOD is the percentage of discharge relative to the battery’s usable capacity. As an example, a 10 kWh PWRcell battery with 84% DOD should not be used for more than 8.4 kWh. Therefore, it is imperative to look for batteries with high DODs such as Generac’s.
Round-trip Efficiency
Round-trip Efficiency refers to the amount of stored energy you can use at a time. If you can only use 7 kWh of the 10 kWh stored, this means that the round-trip efficiency is only at 70%. This means the higher the round-trip efficiency is the more value you can get out of your solar battery.The roundtrip efficiency of PWRcell is as high as 96.5%, which means you can use 9.65 kWh of the 10 kWh stored. Generac’s high round trip efficiency can be attributed to its unique ability to keep the power created by the solar in DC until it is ready for household use.
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