6 Incredible Benefits of Solar Battery Storage for Your Home

If you’re considering investing in a battery for solar storage, you’re on to something.

In 2016, the average monthly electric bill in California was $95.20, which makes it one of the larger household bills for many families. Average monthly rates can even go up when the temperatures dip or you have company in town.

While solar panels can decrease your energy bills, they don’t typically store the excess energy you create for later use. Unless, that is, you add a battery system.

Today, installing a home solar system battery backup can go a long way to save you money and ensure your home’s energy security.

Here’s what you need to know.

How Batteries for Solar Panels Work

Wondering about uses of the solar battery today? What about how they work?

As solar panels become more popular, people who install energy storage systems are finding that these unique batteries allow them to make the most of their solar panels and save the energy produced for foggy, grey, or cloudy days, when panel output is reduced, or during power or grid outages. Some people simply turn to solar batteries to disconnect from the grid entirely.

Today’s solar batteries work like any rechargeable battery: they’re recharged by the sun’s power. When the weather is bad or the solar panels aren’t actively producing power, your home’s system draws on the power stored in the batteries.

6 Big Benefits of Batteries for Solar Storage

Wondering how solar batteries can benefit your home? Here are some of their biggest perks:

1. Make the Most of Your Power

With standard solar power setups, you install panels on your home and your system is plugged into the grid. If your panels, for whatever reason, don’t produce ample energy, your home draws on the grid to make up for the deficit.

You pay for this energy just like you would if you didn’t have any panels. If you produce more power than you need, you can sell it back to the grid, securing a discounted electric bill.

With batteries, though, your excess power is stored in the battery system. On cloudy days or days when your system doesn’t produce as much power as usual, you can pull from the batteries instead of the grid.

Likewise, you get to store your excess energy in batteries rather than selling it back to the grid. This gives you more control over how you use your energy and where your excess goes.

2.  Greater Energy Security

Solar battery systems allow your home to be more resilient when it comes to energy.

Particularly useful if you live in an area where the grid is occasionally unstable, or you simply want to provide a greater level of certainty for your home’s power, battery systems can power key aspects of your home for hours, even if the grid goes down.

3. Reduce Your Home’s Carbon Footprint

Installing solar batteries allows you to reduce your home’s carbon footprint and bring it closer to self-sufficiency. This is essential for anyone who wants to “go green” and reduce pollution. Today, solar energy systems create much less pollution than traditional fossil fuels, and can help a home consume fewer resources in the years to come.

4. No Noise Pollution

Unlike generators, solar panels and battery storage systems don’t create noise pollution that will bother your neighbors. This is a unique benefit, and is a great way for anyone who currently has a generator to update their system.

5. Reduced Electric Bills

One of the biggest benefits of energy storage systems is that they will help you save on your electricity costs. Back up your home with a battery system and you’ll avoid the fees associated with electricity retailers, create self-sufficiency, and save the electricity you generate. All these are huge bonuses!

What is the SGIP?

SGIP stands for Self-Generation Incentive Program, and is a California-based program designed to incentivize people for supporting new, existing, and distributed energy resources. If you qualify (qualifying systems include advanced energy storage systems, microturbines, wind turbines, and more) for the program, you could receive a rebate for your energy system. Learn more about the program through the California Public Utilities Commission.

Solar Battery Storage: A Smart Idea

If you’ve been wondering about the key benefits of solar battery backups, these five tips are a great place to start. For homeowners who have solar panels installed, solar batteries can be a fantastic way to stabilize the energy system and enjoy a more reliable system for years to come.

Ready to learn more about the benefits of solar battery storage? Contact Sandbar Solar for more info.