How do home Solar battery backups work?
What do you do if the grid goes down? You know, that’s not just an interesting fact from our past, it’s something that could happen to you one day and you need to be prepared for it. While there are many ways to prepare for power outages, one of the most effective ways is installing home solar battery backups in your home. This article will explain how home solar battery backups work and what you need to know before buying and installing them in your home!
Importance of Battery Backup
Batteries are an essential component of a successful solar energy system. Without them, you’d have no way to store excess power generated during peak hours and use it later on when your panels aren’t producing as much electricity. Solar Batteries are huge in demand throughout the United States and can be used for both domestic purposes as well as commercial purposes like a backup power supply for industries or even for emergency situations like blackouts or natural disasters.
Components of Home Battery Backup system
When it comes to buying a standby power system for your home, there are several components that come into play. The most important components are:
· Inverter
· Charge Controller
Configurations & Working of your Solar battery backup System
Solar batteries are also called deep cycle batteries and they store up extra energy generated by your solar panels. This means that when there is little sunlight or none at all, you still have electricity in your battery backup system. There are 3 configurations in which your backup system works.
1. Going Off-Grid with Battery Backup:
Going off-grid means that your home is not connected to any public utility network, and all your energy needs are met by your own system. You install your batteries in a way that they can be charged from your solar panels in the daylight and discharge when required. It’s great if you live far away from civilization or have frequent power cuts. However, going off-grid with a backup system will cost you more than just installing a regular solar panel setup.
2. Grid-Connected Configuration:
This is a hybrid setup where your system is connected to a public utility network, but still has a backup battery installed in case of power cuts or cloudy days. You can also use it to store excess energy generated by your panels during sunny days and use it later or sell it to the local grid. This is the most reliable and widely adopted configuration for solar panel systems.
When your produce excess energy, it goes into your local grid, and similarly when there is the power consumption of more than a generation, you get electricity from your utility company.
3. Working of Battery Backup during peak load hours:
Peak load hours are those times when everyone is using electricity, like in the evenings and early mornings when people go to bed or get up respectively. The rates are usually higher during these hours as well. Your backup system works and provide power during peak load hours so that you can save money on your utility bills. If you have a hybrid configuration where your panels feed excess energy into the local grid, it will be very easy for you to control when exactly you want to use it.
Final Words
Solar energy systems coupled with batteries are quickly becoming the most viable solution for homeowners and businesses alike. The working of your installed battery backup system totally depends on how you configured it, but in general, when there is excess power generated by your solar panels, it gets stored in a deep cycle lead-acid/lithium battery that can be used during times when there is no sunlight available.
