Why Add a Battery Bank to Your Grid-Tied System?

Grid-tied solar homes benefit from using solar-generated power while still having the standard power grid as a backup energy source when solar power is not available. These systems are prevalent in today’s market, as they offer reliability while significantly reducing your dependence on traditional power. With the power grid as your backup energy source, you don’t technically need solar battery storage. However, adding a solar battery bank to your setup can offer you many benefits. Here are a few reasons you might want to consider it.

Even Lower Power Bills

Just as you know, the sun will rise each morning; you also know it’s going to set each evening—and that means you’ll need power from the grid every single night. You’re also going to need it on low-producing days for your panels, such as on cloudy days or even just throughout the winter. This leaves a lot of continued reliance on the grid, so you’re still probably going to get a power bill every month.

While a battery bank may not eliminate your power bill (depending on its size), it can make them even lower. When your arrays produce excess Energy, you can store it in your battery bank for later use. Most solar equipment is now programmed to tap into stored Energy during peak-usage hours (those times of the day when the power company will charge you more per kilowatt). This strategy, known as peak shaving, can save you a significant amount of money on your energy bills.

Don’t Waste Energy

Odds are, you’re able to feed excess solar power back into the grid. This is an excellent benefit of grid-tied systems; however, many electrical companies are now placing export limits on solar homes. This means that they’ll put a cap on just how much Energy you can feedback into the grid. If you don’t use it, any power beyond that limit gets burned off as heat and goes completely to waste.

If you switched to solar out of a desire to "go green," wasted Energy probably isn’t something you want to see from your setup. Adding a solar battery gives that excess Energy somewhere else to go so that you’re less likely to waste it.

Have Power during Outages

Grid-tied systems are still prone to outages on the power grid, even if it goes down on a sunny day. This ensures there is no power flowing through electrical lines as crews work to repair the problem. However, it is a bit of an annoyance to have the ability to produce your own Energy, only to lose that ability when the traditional energy source stops working.

Solar battery storage can allow you to have some electricity in these cases because it will enable you to disconnect from the grid and continue using your stored solar Energy. While it may not be enough to keep up with your normal energy usage, it can keep a few lights on and keep your refrigerator and freezer running until the grid comes back online.

If your solar-powered home is tied to the grid, you don’t technically need solar battery storage. But here are a few reasons you should consider one anyways.