A house running completely with solar power is becoming more and more common these days, visibly powered by shiny panels on the roof and a solar battery storing the surplus energy generated. Arguably, solar batteries play a more important role in behind the meter battery storage. But why is that? We answer it below.
How does solar battery work
Firstly, solar energy is available instantly after sunlight is converted to electricity by the panels so it must either be used or stored immediately after production. Solar batteries allow us to harvest this converted but unused electrical energy which would otherwise be wasted.
This battery works similarly to any rechargeable battery like Li-ion or a Lead acid battery which undergoes charging, in this case by using the excess energy from conversion. When production ceases during night time, these batteries can then reliably power large power systems, equipment, and household devices. Currently, available solar power systems are more than capable of handling the energy requirements of an entire household.
Are there any benefits of solar battery
- Long-term electrical savings
Depending upon the energy consumption of the household, the usage of solar battery can incur major savings on the electricity cost over time. This happens since the day-to-day reliance on the grid (less kWh) lowers, allowing cumulative annual sums to accumulate as savings.
- Lowered carbon emission
Dependency on fossil fuels especially for electricity production is a vital contributor to overall global warming. But by using solar power and solar battery of high battery capacity for energy storage, it is possible to cut down the carbon footprint.
- Backup to power cutoffs
Power outages during some accidents and extreme weather phenomena are inevitable someday so batteries associated with solar power can act as backup energy during times of emergency.
Are solar batteries safe
Solar battery bought from authentic battery manufacturers are a relatively safe piece of hardware unless subjected to extreme conditions usually not encountered in everyday life.
These batteries involve different technologies and the risk can be averted if we know about them individually for instance:
Lead acid batteries can produce flammable hydrogen in small amounts at the electrode as side reaction whilst charging but with proper ventilation, there is no chance of significant hazard.
Similarly, Lithium-ion batteries may catch fire in an event of thermal runaway where the reactions in the battery accelerate and the temperature uncontrollably. Fortunately, lithium battery photovoltaic energy storage systems are equipped with BMS and thermal management systems to avoid this situation. What’s more, the manufacturers fit batteries with enough regulatory measures to individually check for this phenomenon in every cell.
Flow-type batteries are completely safe since the chemicals themselves are inflammable. So, the commonly available solar battery technology guarantees safety among consumers.
Lifetime of solar batteries
With the right degree of care, and knowledge about battery charging/discharging and maintenance, it’s more than possible for a solar battery to have on average a lifetime of 5-10 years. In the context of Lithium-ion batteries, this range is achievable as manufacturers have majorly improved regulatory and monitoring systems.
With any rechargeable battery, the process of charging and discharging will have a great impact on the battery’s lifetime. However because lithium-ion batteries have no memory effect, lithium-ion batteries can be charged whenever they are used. It is best to keep the power between 20-85%, and not fully charge it, which can help prolong the cycle life of the battery. Other batteries cannot because of the memory effect.
The stability of the battery is another factor where after a certain number of cycles (2000-4000 for Li-ion; 500-800 for lead acid) the battery capacity reduces as the materials inside it degrade. This is a natural unavoidable phenomenon for every battery.
Finally, the monitoring of the battery health from the BMS or by asking experts will improve the longevity of solar batteries considerably.
How many solar batteries do I need
The topic number of solar batteries required varies depending on the specific application demands. It will depend if the intention is to make the energy system completely grid-free or just to provide an additional backup source during the power outages.
For the latter case, one Li-ion battery rated at 10 kWh capacity is more than enough. If the goal is total grid independence, then 10-12 such batteries will probably provide enough power. But the factors regarding the total day-to-day usage of the systems, extra backups, and size of the equipment, all have to be considered and carefully accounted for.
How to design a lithium-ion based solar battery system for home
The task of designing a solar battery power system for a household involves a few major steps:
- Calculating the total energy demand of the house in kWh. The entire yearly demands which might vary during winter and summer should be accounted for including peak values, and sudden surges.
- Selecting the battery capacity in kWh. Li-ion batteries have the highest energy density among others currently in the market, Therefore, in the face of high-capacity application requirements, lithium-ion batteries have unique advantages. The cycle life, cost-efficiency, self-discharge rate, and warranty of the battery also have to be considered.
- Solar panel arrays capacity in kWh. Probably the most important part since the energy is produced entirely by the conversion facilitated by these arrays. The efficiency rated by the manufacturer plays a key role in obtaining useful energy. Likewise the spatial positioning, the angle facing the sun, the shade duration, and resistance losses, Â all have to be considered before fitting.
- Finally, the hardware installation will include the addition of charge controllers linking the solar panel to the battery and inverters for converting DC to AC connected between the battery and the mainline of the house.
How to select the right manufacturer
Solar battery is a long-term investment for a customer so the user must research the parameters and specifications offered by manufacturers regarding their products, especially in regards to the cycle life, charge/discharge rate, energy density, safe charging levels, and others.
The warranties provided along with the period of follow-up maintenance services should be demanded to check the reliability of manufacturers. Better to choose a professional battery manufacturer with many years of experience in the lithium battery industry, such as CATL, EVE, Huntkey, and so on.
If you want to know more about Tianyang solar cell manufacturers, you can check out Top 10 PV manufacturers in China.
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FAQs about solar battery
Depending upon the usage of the household appliances, it can last for many hours. It can provide 1Kw of power for 5 hrs or 5Kw for 1 hour. The time (in hours) can be calculated by dividing 5 by P which is the total power obtained by adding the power requirements of all devices in KW (P).
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Of course, The battery is only used as a storage function in the solar system and basically does not affect the working efficiency of the solar panel. The real-time energy output of solar arrays can provide power for running appliances which will fluctuate with the power and the positioning of arrays, weather conditions, etc. However, if there is excess converted electricity, it can only be discarded without a battery and cannot be used as a future energy backup.
For a grid-free 10kWh Li-ion solar battery system with the installation including a package of solar arrays, inverters, and charge controllers average costs between $5000-$9 On average a lead acid solar battery costs $500.
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