Solar Battery Backup Myth Buster
Solar battery storage is becoming more and more popular among home solar users, and it’s easy to see why. Solar batteries allow you to store excess solar power and use it when there isn’t enough sunlight to generate electricity, and they also let you keep your solar panels on during a power outage.
Solar batteries are a great addition to your home solar system, but there are a lot of misconceptions about this technology and what it can do for your home. Today, we’re breaking down some of the most common solar battery myths we hear when we’re talking to Arizona homeowners about adding batteries to their solar energy systems.
Myth: You can power your entire home with one solar battery
A lot of homeowners install a solar battery system assuming they’ll be able to power their entire home with just one or two batteries. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. A solar battery will provide some backup power to your home, but not enough to keep all of your appliances running. With one or two solar batteries, you should be able to:
- Keep your lights on
- Charge phones and laptops
- Power electric fans
- Keep your refrigerator running
Larger appliances like your air conditioner need more power to start up than one solar battery can provide. If you want to keep everything running during a power outage, or if you want to power your whole home with solar energy at night, you’re going to need a much larger solar battery bank.
Myth: Solar panels provide backup power on their own
Solar panels do not provide backup power on their own. In the event of a grid outage, all grid-tied solar energy systems are automatically turned off, leaving solar homes without power for the duration of the outage. This is because electricity can flow between grid-tied solar homes and the electric grid, putting workers at risk of an unexpected power surge.
If you have battery storage, however, your solar panel system can temporarily disconnect from the grid and stay on during a power outage. Solar batteries give the excess electricity your solar panels generate somewhere to go when it can’t be diverted to the grid, allowing your system to operate in “island mode” until the outage is over. Some new solar systems like Enphase IQ8 also have the ability to provide separation from the grid so that you can use your solar power during the day when the grid is down.
Myth: You don’t need a generator if you have a solar battery
The benefits of a solar battery are similar to the benefits of a generator, but they are two separate technologies that work in different ways.
Solar panels and batteries can do a lot when it comes to backup power, but they need sunlight to operate. Unless you have a very large solar battery bank, they can’t power your whole home. Generators give you an additional source of backup power that you can tap into if your solar batteries aren’t meeting your needs.
Many homeowners choose to install a solar battery storage system and a generator for optimal backup power, and if you want to go off-grid with solar, you’ll almost certainly need both.
Myth: All solar batteries are the same
There are many types of solar batteries, and storage capacity can vary significantly from one battery to another. SouthFace Solar & Electric installs some of the best batteries for solar power storage on the market and can design a solar battery system that’s customized to your energy storage needs. We can help you decide whether a solar battery is right for you and recommend the ideal number of batteries for your home, whether your goal is a 100% solar-powered home, backup power, or full energy independence.
