Why Batteries For Your Home?  Key Questions To Consider.

We’re seeing how some solar companies are aggressively marketing batteries. They make it sound like the newest, coolest thing on earth. However, you really need to ask yourself this fundamental question: “Why would I consider batteries in the first place?” when planning the installation of a solar system.

The most common issues that prompt the discussion of batteries tend to be:

• Minor blackouts – you don’t want to be without power during a minor hiccup like a blackout or brownout.
• Disaster Scenario – you want to have power during a disaster like an earthquake.
• Saving Money – you want to be able to store the surplus energy from your solar system to the batteries.

 Minor Blackouts: When the grid goes down, it’s inconvenient. But, how many times a year does that occur and how many hours are you without power? Consider if the cost to add a battery bank is really worth it. And by law you must also install an auto-shut off device which shuts down your solar system during an outage because you can’t pump excess solar power back into a non-functioning grid.

Earthquake Or Natural Disasters. Granted, it is worrisome to think about being ‘powerless’ for days on end. For this situation, you would need to determine what devices to keep powered long term, and determine if batteries would be able to sustain you. When you are totally off the power grid, you might have to also install a generator to supplement your energy needs for when solar can’t provide enough.  In total, adding batteries can add $5,000-10,000 in costs for permits, the extra devices and installation. To be fully off the grid, you are looking at almost doubling the cost of your solar system.

Saving Money. With solar system, the utility acts as a virtual battery. The best way to save money is to utilize net metering in California.  Your solar system feeds surplus power back into the grid, getting you credits that you can use during those times when the solar system doesn’t produce as much power as needed. You can configure it to use power from the grid during low rate periods, and sell back power to the grid during peak rate periods.  That’s a pretty cool way to save money. Stored energy on batteries should never be viewed as a ideal substitute for the grid-tied system – which is the better option virtually 99+% of the time except under rare conditions.

rd about what kind of return on investment you’ll be getting over the long term with any battery configuration given the added costs we’ve discussed. Some sales people will honestly tell you the payback isn’t there. However, it is crucial that you be leery of that marketing person who will try selling you ‘a cool battery wall’ without YOU fully understanding what you’re getting – or not getting – for the added expense. Then, go back and ask again “Why would I consider batteries in the first place?”