Just ten years ago, home batteries weren’t even an option. While the technology existed, no companies were offering homeowners the option of hooking them up to their mains systems. Instead, if you wanted backup power during a power cut, you had to invest in a polluting and loud diesel generator.
With the advent of home battery packs, though, that’s changing. These systems collect energy from solar panels during the day and then distribute it around your home when you need it.
Battery packs solve a major problem of the solar panel industry – the fact that solar arrays can only collect energy when the sun shines. With a battery in your home, you can collect solar energy during the day (perhaps when you’re out at work), and then use the energy in the evening to power your TV or kettle.
In addition, installing a home battery lets you overcome some of the technical constraints of a traditional solar electric system. You get to keep the energy you produce, instead of having to sell it to the grid or let it go to waste.
The Benefits Of A Home Battery
As you might expect, there are multiple benefits of a home battery beyond just providing you with a steady supply of electricity that you can use in the evening,
Power During An Outage
Home batteries essentially make you entirely self-sufficient. So long as the sun continues to shine, PV panels will continue to collect energy and your battery will continue to charge. Therefore, during a power cut, you can continue using your lighting and appliances. You may even be able to ration your use of electricity, allowing you to survive adequately off-grid for weeks at a time.
Power Your Electric Vehicle
If you have an electric vehicle, you can also use your battery to charge it. During the day, solar panels collect electricity and store charge in the home battery. Then, when you charge your vehicle at night, you can hook it up to your mains, drawing down on your home battery reserves. Some systems may also allow you to draw power directly from solar panels themselves
Reduce Your Costs
Home batteries lower your costs. Once you purchase the battery, the energy you use it to store is essentially free. You’re able to use it later.
Furthermore, your meter stops running backward. You no longer have to sell your collected energy back to the grid at a lower rate. You simply collect and use what you store without having to pay premium prices.
What’s amazing about battery technology is that you don’t even need solar panels to benefit. You can simply use your battery to draw energy from the grid when it is cheap and then use it to power your home when prices rise again during peak hours (such as the evenings).
Better For The Environment
Lastly, battery technology is generally better for the environment. It reduces the size of the supply chain and impact on natural resources.
Battery production is not entirely eco-friendly. Many chemistries contain chemicals which can harm the environment. However, the impact is orders of magnitude lower than it is for conventional energy production. Coal-fired power plants require enormous quantities of resources, including capital and raw materials.
Estimates suggest that with battery technology, people consume an average of 70 percent of their own electricity. That means that they essentially slash grid demand by a whopping 30 percent – quite considerable.
What To Consider Before You Invest In Battery Technology
Before you invest in battery technology, you’ll want to consider the following.
The Cost
How much you spend on home batteries depends largely on the size of the battery. Most batteries offer somewhere between 3 and 20.5 kWh. Price per kWh is around $700. So the price of your system will depend on how many kilowatt-hours you get installed.
The Lifespan
As you might suspect, batteries don’t last forever. In fact, over time, they degrade and lose capacity. Right now, there isn’t much that manufacturers can do about this. Battery chemistry features mean that most batteries will eventually require replacement, no matter how well you look after them.
However, ten years is still a long time – enough to make savings.
Physical Size
You’ll also want to think about the physical size of the battery. Some are quite large and heavy and usually require a service room where engineers can hang them. They tend to be around 1 meter long and 15 cm deep, though designs and styles vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Batteries contain a range of components. The majority of the weight and volume is taken up by lithium-ion cells. Other components include the electronic control system which allows the battery to charge and discharge automatically, as well as the inverter to produce an alternating current that you can use in your home. High-performance batteries also require a cooling system to keep them at optimal temperatures during operation. Current batteries do not convert stored energy into electricity with 100 percent efficiency.
How You Want To Use Your Battery
Another consideration is how you actually want to use your battery. First, you’ll need to check whether the built-in inverter is suitable for your purposes. Inverters take direct current from the panels and transform it into alternating current for your devices.
If you want your battery to work in the home, you need a two-way inverter. This will allow the battery to both charge and discharge in the correct manner. You may also need to invest in a backup system or grid-forming inverter if you want to use your battery during blackouts.
Some batteries offer integration with vehicle-to-grid technology. For instance, you might want your battery to act as a buffer to regular flows. You might also want to connect your home battery to your car battery for powering your home at night and avoiding high grid tariffs.
In summary, whether you invest in a home battery is very much a personal choice. Given the current economics, however, the vast majority of people stand to benefit.
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