Battery Storage
In the past couple of years residential battery storage has come on in leaps and bounds and is now more reliable, affordable and overall easier to operate.
Most homeowners do not fully utilise all of their Solar pv generation simply due to the fact they may be out of the house during the day when pv power is at its highest.
Having the flexibility to harvest this power and use it of an evening hugely reduces your dependancy on the national grid and means you start to use more of the solar pv power and make greater savings.
Time Of Use (TOU)
Charging
Power When Needed
Expandable Storage Capacity
EPS Back Up
Options
Which battery should you choose?
Battery storage can be installed either to new solar pv systems or to existing pv systems as a retro fit installation. If done correctly battery storage can be super simple, however there are a number of factors to consider before installation.
Cost
Initially, the cost of the battery storage is possibly the first factor to think about as it will be the most expensive part of the system and the largest single item cost. Therefore deciding how much storage capacity to buy is important as you don't want to be waisting money!
AC or DC
DC - Most storage systems that are installed are installed in a DC coupled state, meaning that the battery takes the power directly from the solar panels before any inverter process. This is the normally the best solution as it is the most energy efficient and the simplest way to install as you do not need a G99 application or DNO permission.
AC - In some scenarios it may be more beneficial to install an AC coupled system, this mans that the power is collected and stored after it has been converted to AC power and passed through the inverter. This option is less efficient than DC coupled as there are more transfer processes which causes heat and energy loss. AC coupled systems are normally suited to sites where there are multiple inverters or multiple generation options such as, solar, wind, hydro and diesel generators. AC coupled batteries also need G99 DNO permission.
Manufacturer
Where possible it is always best to use the same manufacturer for the inverter and the battery as they have been designed to operate together and require no additional programming. In addition it also means that there is only one manufacturer required for technical support to warranty cases. This is why we offer the Givenergy, MyEnergi Libbi and the Solaredge systems.
Charge Off Peak
Most battery storage systems if not all, allow charging from the grid. This can be a huge benefit to savings and help to reduce the cost of your annual energy bills. Signing up to an off peak rate with your energy supplier means you can access energy at a much lower rate which you can then use during higher demands in the house. This is especially ideal during winter months when PV generation is low
Retro fit (Adding to existing Pv Systems)
If you're looking to add battery storage to an existing pv system, there will need to be a few small changes made.
Inverter
Typically most existing Solar Pv inverters are not Hybrid or battery ready, meaning a new inverter would be required.
FIT Tarriff
Adding battery storage to a system that has a FIT scheme means that you would need to notify your FIT supplier and we would need to change your FIT meter to a Bi-Directional meter.