Energy Storage

With an ongoing climate crisis, people are looking for more innovative ways of generating energy than relying on traditional fossil fuels. On a domestic level, the best option available is solar technology, which fits easily on a roof. However, once you have converted the sun’s rays into electricity, you need some way to hold that energy. Learn more about what solar batteries are, the benefits of using them and how to choose the right solar batteries.

What are solar batteries?

Solar power is one of the most rapidly growing energy generation sources, but after generation, you still need tools to hold the energy and discharge it on request. This is where solar batteries come in. Solar batteries are power cells designed specifically for constant charging and discharging that you connect to the photovoltaic panels on your roof. These help you to store energy when you are generating more than you use before slowly discharging throughout sun-less periods.

Types of solar batteries

As with any form of power storage, there are a few different types of solar batteries available to consumers. The most common forms are lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries, with solar panels benefiting more from using lithium-ion batteries wherever possible. These cells are at least 95% efficient, so you store more energy in each cell and have more efficient charging. Whilst initial investment can be higher in some cases, the efficiency savings that you’ll make are well worth it.

The benefits of solar battery storage

Solar battery storage has a huge variety of benefits, each of which can help different properties and households in their own unique ways. Some of the main advantages to consider include:

Reduce your bills

Your electricity bills are decided by the amount of energy that you take from the National Grid and the cost of energy per unit. Whilst you have no control over the per unit cost, using solar battery storage helps you to take a big leap towards taking control of your energy consumption, pulling down the cost of your bills. In some cases, solar panel owners can even sell their energy back to the grid, earning a profit.

Greater resilience

A home is much more resilient to gaps in energy production when it has a form of storage available to it. These gaps can come in multiple forms, with every night bringing power generation down to near-zero, in addition to the standard power grid sometimes suffering from power cuts. Solar storage is an excellent tool for building your immunity to an inconsistent power supply and living life as you’d like without any interruptions.

Environmentally friendly

The environment is one of the main concerns that people have when they install solar panels and is a big motivating factor that people have when going renewable. People using solar panels become far less reliant on fossil fuels, and there are even further environmental benefits since you don’t cause the levels of sound pollution that come from wind turbines. It’s the best possible method of energy generation in the home.

Choosing the right solar batteries

Whilst having solar batteries is a must, having the right solar batteries rather than simply any that you have available makes the difference between a functional solar power system and a truly effective one. There are plenty of things to consider when you are looking for solar batteries, including:

Brand

Different brands are renowned for different things, with Growatt being renowned for its sleek and well-designed hardware and Solax Power having a reputation for providing a more affordable system. Research all of the available options in detail to find out the brand that is best suited to your needs and work from this limited shortlist.

Capacity

Capacity refers to the amount of energy that a battery can store, with each battery measured in mAH. More capacity is clearly an ideal way to go, but only to a certain extent. You need to understand the amount of energy you expect to generate, as a battery that is too small is leaving potential energy un-stored and one that is too large is never going to be completely full. Find the right balance.

Efficiency

Batteries are rated on their levels of efficiency in addition to their capacity, referring to the percentage of energy successfully stored from what they initially receive. More efficient batteries can be more expensive, but over time they make that initial money back by saving far more energy than those with lower ratings.

Try World of Solar

If you’re looking for solar batteries that you can rely on to power your home, get in touch with the World of Solar team today to find out more about our range of Growatt, Solax, Fox and Pylontech batteries. We make the process as quick and easy as possible, getting you started with a solar solution you can rely on.