Solar panels are a popular method of providing free and sustainable energy for the household. There are over 23 million solar panels installed in homes across Australia. But did you know that solar panels can be made even more efficient using solar batteries?

Keep reading to learn about solar batteries, including the benefits you can receive from adding a solar battery to your solar system. This guide will discuss solar batteries costs and energy capabilities, giving you all the information you need before investing in this solar addition.

What Is A Solar Battery?

A solar battery is an accessory and addition to the solar power system. Solar batteries are essentially a battery where the power generated from solar panels is stored. Often referred to as home batteries, solar batteries can store energy to be used at a later time, should the solar panels break or their output be reduced by weather conditions, etc. The solar panels charge up the batteries, and the energy remains in the solar battery for use.

Energy is stored in a solar battery either as:

Direct current (DC) – this is the state of the energy before it reaches the solar inverter. If you have a system that pays incentives for generation, then you may suffer losses with a DC system.
Alternating current (AC) – this is the state of the energy after it has passed through the solar inverter.

Why Is A Solar Battery Useful?

There are several benefits to installing a solar battery in the solar system for your home’s energy supply. These benefits include:

The ability to store energy surplus – you can use it later rather than exporting it.
You can sell the energy in your solar battery back to the grid for a small profit.
You will reduce your energy bills.
You will be granted an energy supply that is independent of the national grid.

The downside to solar batteries lies in their high upfront costs.

How Much Does A Solar Battery Cost?

The amount you spend on a solar battery depends on which brand you go for. Some other factors affecting the price of a solar battery include:

The battery life cycle – how long the battery is expected to last.
The storage capacity – how much energy you can store in the solar battery.
The percentage of the solar battery’s storage capacity that you can use.
The materials used and the design of the solar battery.

How Much Energy Can You Store In A Solar Battery?

Solar batteries are available in many different capacities. The energy stored in a solar battery is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Solar batteries can usually store up to 15kWh, depending on the model. This figure can be increased by adding modules to the solar battery. For some perspective, a washing machine uses 2.25 kWh per hour on average.

The amount of energy you wish to store in your solar battery is customisable, depending on both your needs and your budget. This energy can be used at night when the sun isn’t shining and can come in handy when the season changes and the nights become longer.

Summary

A solar battery requires upfront costs but can infinitely improve the efficiency of your solar system. Having the option to store excess power for later use or sell energy back to the grid allows for more flexibility with how you use the energy generated from your solar panels. Solar batteries are instrumental in allowing households to maintain their energy independence and drastically reduce their carbon footprint after solar panel installation. Contact SolarPath to find out more.