Solar Solution, a trusted Residential Solar Company in Arizona, wants you to appreciate an often overlooked step: choosing the right battery size for your solar-powered energy systems.
Knowing how to size a battery for solar panel systems is crucial to giving your home the power it needs without overpaying for too large a system. These simple steps will make it easy to make the right choice.
Before you figure out how to size a battery for solar, keep the following questions in mind because they will help you with your calculations and planning.
Are You Connecting Your Solar Panel System to the Power Grid?
Solar power systems can either be standalone off-the-grid systems that power the home or systems that are also capable of providing power to the local power grid. Some states allow net metering, which allows households with solar panel systems to sell unused energy to utility companies.
Net metering is a controversial issue nationwide and locally in Arizona. The status of net metering might change in the future depending on the political situation.
Your Energy Requirements
Power companies measure energy usage in terms of kilowatt hours. Know how many watts your home will draw over the course of the day, keeping in mind that your usage will likely change over the course of the day. For example, if you need an average of 1,000 watts of power for 12 hours per day, you will need 12kW of battery storage.
Depth of Discharge
Solar batteries cannot release all the energy they store. In other words, they cannot fully discharge. Your battery capacity must be large enough to meet your power needs. A lead-acid battery, for instance, only discharges to 50%, so you would have to double your battery size.
The Capacity Limitations of Your Solar Panels
Your batteries might never fully charge if they never gather enough energy to meet your daily demand. In addition to knowing how to size a battery for solar energy systems, ensure that your solar panels are large enough to meet your energy needs.
Inefficiency Factor
Batteries do not return all the energy your solar panels receive, meaning a percentage of the energy goes to waste. If a battery only stores 75% of the energy it receives and you need to store 10.000 watts, you will need to store 13,333 watts to keep 10,000 watts.
Keep the Seasons in Mind
Remember that the sun’s angle changes with the seasons. You will receive less energy from sunlight during the winter than in summer because the sun’s rays strike the Earth at an oblique angle.
Solar Solution Provides Quality Solar Panel Systems in Southern Arizona
At Solar Solution, we’re proud of our solar panel systems and installation work, but we offer more. Explore our website to learn about the solar energy trends in 2022 and find out how to size a battery for solar panel systems. Call 520-858-0220 today to schedule an appointment and get an estimate.
