Solar Battery Storage
Battery Storage can allow you to be up to 90% independent from the grid.
Battery Storage enables you to store energy that would otherwise be exported to the grid into batteries. These will then discharge and supply your house at times of maximum demand and at night time.
In times of poor weather or during the winter months the batteries supplement the charging using the grid. If you have Economy Seven these batteries can be further charged at off peak times and then supply your home during the day creating even greater savings.
Additionally, the system can run vital supplies during a power cut. And are monitored via integrated wi- fi on a free download app on your I phone or android
Frequently Asked Questions
How much battery storage do I need?
A typical household will require between 2.5 and 10.0 kwh’s per night depending on your circumstances.
To give you a rough idea, a typical washing machine cycle requires 2.3kwh for each use. A refrigerator requires 1.5kwh each day. A tumble dryer cycle uses 3.3kwh. TV and lighting requires around 0.1kwh per hour of usage per room.
If you have an existing PV generator between 3 and 4kw we would recommend between 2 and 6.5 kwh’s of battery storage
Do Batteries work in the day too?
In engineering terms, a battery system increases self-consumption throughout the day by allowing you to meet your larger spikes in demand.
Just imagine you are cooking something in the oven and the washing machine is running. Your batteries are fully charged and then a thick grey cloud swamps the UK.
Before the cloud blocked out the sunlight your generator was producing 3kw. Due to the cloud cover your generator is now only producing 600 watts. Between your oven, washing machine and other appliances you are consuming 2.8kw. In this scenario your solar battery storage will allow you to meet your spike in demand despite the cloud cover. Without your battery storage you would now be importing 2.2kw’s.
What can I expect from Solar Battery storage?
Big Savings. Fast payback.
For typical 4kw owners, between the months of April and October, without energy storage you are most likely to be exporting more energy than you consume. Looking at data for 25 of our 4kw generators we can see that the average exported energy figure during the months of May to August is 69.13%.
Much will depend on the size of your existing generator. In general, we would expect a battery system and PV generator to result in zero or close to nil electricity bills between May-August. Single digit bills through March, April, September and October. A reasonable increase in self-consumption when there is good weather between Nov-Feb.
When the weather is poor between November and February a battery backup system would do very little in tandem with a 4kw array. This is why we advise you design your generator based on Winter output rather than Summer output.
Can I benefit from Economy 7 Load Shifting?
Switching your tariff to economy 7 can form a part of a smart energy strategy. For existing generators where the system size has been capped at 4kw this will prove especially beneficial. During winter months your battery may not receive enough surplus energy to charge the battery. A typical economy 7 rate after 11pm is 6.5 pence. So by setting your storage facility to charge during this period, you can supplement days of poor generation during the winter months. This means you can still put your generator to good use despite any runs of poor weather during winter weather.
All our systems are tailored to your individual requirements.