Home Solar Energy System

The battery storage technology that makes it possible to go off the grid does exist. If you install sufficient battery storage along with your solar PV system, you can store any excess electricity at the time of generation and then draw from it as needed later. You may be hearing talk of using “solar panel battery banks” as a means to harness massive amounts of storage capacity in order to become completely independent of the grid. Because off grid projects involve sizing enough energy to power your entire home, you’ll hear battery bank terminology used when a contractor is trying to estimate a total wattage for a combined battery system. In theory, you can find do it yourself methods for storing mass amounts of renewable energy with these connected battery arrays. In practice, however, going off the grid is more complicated than you might think, particularly if you live in an area with significant climate variation.

 

Residential-scale solar batteries on the market today can store the energy generated during the day for your home to use at night. This can be particularly beneficial in areas where net metering caps have been reached, or in areas where utility companies don’t have good policies for compensating homeowners who generate excess solar electricity.

 

The trickier proposition is capturing excess electricity generation in the summer, when solar power generation is highest, to use in the winter, when it is at its lowest. According to EnergySage marketplace data, the average solar shopper offsets 92.5% of their electricity use with their solar system – a significant amount, but not enough to go off the grid. Preventing total power loss in the event of a winter snowstorm or extended overcast days would require a lot of storage capacity, a very large solar panel system, and a significant financial investment to install.

 

While it is technically feasible to go off the grid with solar batteries, it’s rarely cost effective. In some places, particularly in remote areas, off-grid solar battery systems are the best (or even the only) option. More often, solar shoppers maintain their connection with their utility company, even when they choose solar-plus-storage solutions.

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