While solar panels provide home and business owners with a wide array of benefits, they do have one limitation: they only produce electricity when the sun is shining. But, peak energy usage tends to be greater in the evenings, which coincides with areduction in solar generation, causing an issue with supply and demand. Since solar panels often produce more than enough energy during those hours in which demand for electricity is lower – when the sun is shining – solar energy storage could help home and business owners meet peak demand later in the day.
What exactly is solar battery storage?
When solar energy is pumped into a battery, there’s a chemical reaction among the battery components that stores the energy, and when the battery is discharged, the reaction is reversed, and the current can exit the battery. Most commonly used in solar applications are Lithium-ion batteries, but with new battery technology expanding at a rapid pace, cheaper, more scalable battery storage solutions are fast in the making.
Being able to safely and efficiently store the surplus energy produced by a solar panel system is vital for enabling home and business owners to make the biggest energy savings, while helping produce a more efficient energy grid and decreasing emissions from harmful fossil fuels.
What are the main benefits of storing solar energy?
Below are 5 of the most important benefits associated with solar battery storage:
Without the ability to store electricity in a solar battery, it must be used as soon as it’s generated. With battery storage, however, surplus energy generated by solar panels can be banked for use at peak electricity times.
Short-term solar energy storage gives home and business owners a consistent supply of electricity even when there are disruptions to the panels electricity producing abilities, due to passing clouds or routine maintenance, for example.
Extremely vulnerable to all manner of disruptions and outages, the energy grid can’t always be depended upon to supply homes and businesses with a consistent flow of electricity. From maintenance to wildfires and extreme weather conditions, relying solely on the grid has its drawbacks, but with solar energy storage, you can have access to all the power you need, whenever you need it.
Some states don’t have solar net energy metering, or policies that fairly compensate home and business owners for the solar energy they generate, and in these instances, solar battery storage can help lower utility bills while consuming more of your own power. So, while it’s true that you may not be compensated as much for excess energy sent to the grid, any additional solar power generated and stored throughout the day can be discharged from a battery at night or on cloudy days in the place of utility consumption.
Giving you much more control over the energy you use, solar battery storage can help your property reduce its carbon footprint, especially in those areas in which utility power is primarily fossil fuel based.
Going solar is a great choice for so many reasons, but by taking the next step and investing in battery storage, you can get the very most out of your clean, green energy.
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