Battery Storage - GTech Electrical

If you already have solar PV panels, or are planning to install them, then using a home battery to store electricity you’ve generated will help you to maximise the amount of renewable energy you use.

Solar panels generate the most electricity through the day, meaning unless you are home during the daytime, you don’t always get to use it. Excess electricity is sent back to the Grid for an SEG payment (providing eligibility requirements are met) and you use mains electricity in the evenings and at night. Alternatively, you could install a home storage battery, these store the electricity you produce during the day to use later, making your energy system more independent from the National Grid.

It may also be worth considering if you have a time-of-use energy tariff that means you could charge a battery cheaply at off-peak times, such as through the night.

As an approved installer for Solaredge, Myenergi and Tesla we can help you get the best battery set up for your needs.

Solar panel battery storage pros and cons

Pros:

Helps you use more of the electricity you generate.
Cuts your electricity bill as you buy less from your energy supplier.
Some energy tariffs pay you for allowing your battery to be used to store excess grid electricity.
Could enable you to take advantage of cheap-rate electricity, for example from a smart time-of-use tariff.
Requires little maintenance: ‘Fit and forget’, said one owner.
You no longer have to pay VAT to add batteries to an existing solar PV system (until February 2024 it was 20%). Batteries installed at the same time as solar panels have always been subject to 0% VAT.
You’ll typically cut your carbon footprint by 7% with a solar battery

Cons:

Initial outlay can be large, increases payback time.
If you have an old feed-in tariff (FIT) contract, a DC system could reduce your payments.
Likely to need replacing during the lifetime of a solar PV system.
If retrofitted to existing solar PV, you may need a new inverter.
Space requirements

How does a solar battery work?

Solar batteries for solar panels work as an overflow storage unit.

When sunlight hits solar panels, they turn this natural resource into direct current (DC) electricity, before converting it into alternating current (AC) electricity that powers your home.

When your home is fully powered, any excess solar energy will be rerouted to charge your battery, in much the same way you charge your phone.

After the sun goes down and your panels stop producing energy, it’ll be time for your solar battery to shine, by providing you with all the energy it’s gathered.

This will happen automatically, so you won’t need to worry about monitoring the system.

Daylight hours don’t always match when you use electricity at home, and a battery solves this problem.

This will help you be more energy independent, cut your carbon footprint by 7% on average, and save 30% more on your energy bills than you would with solar panels alone.

Do solar batteries work during a power cut?

The recent power cuts in Spain, Portugal and parts of France show how important it is to have independent sources of power.

Solar batteries can provide this if they are configured in the right way.

Your battery will need to have a backup feature so that it can automatically disconnect from the grid when it fails. This is a critical safety feature designed to ensure engineers can work on the getting the grid back working again without risk of being electrocuted.

Solar batteries with the correct back-up functionality will have a relay switch which will automatically disconnect when a power cut – this process is called ‘islanding’.

The best solar batteries will provide what feels like a seamless transition from the grid to back-up solar power, a feature known as ‘Uninterruptible Power Supply’.

SolarEdge

Engineered for high performance, the SolarEdge battery offers round-trip efficiency rates of 94.5%, which are mostly attributable to the DC-coupled design. DC-coupled battery storage stores and uses more power than traditional AC-coupled systems. The battery also has a continuous power output of 5kW, more than enough to run your household appliances.
If you have existing SolarEdge monitoring systems and inverters, the battery will integrate with them, allowing you to create a seamless energy ecosystem. While some solar panel battery systems present some challenges, the battery is designed to combine seamlessly with other products.
SolarEdge batteries come with real-time monitoring systems, where you can monitor your usage and identify any patterns. This means you can manage your battery your way, with a variety of battery modes that can maximise savings and more.
SolarEdge offers a fantastic warranty, which guarantees that the battery will operate at 70% of its initial capacity after 10 years with unlimited cycles.
The SolarEdge Battery also offers backup power when you lose access to the grid, ensuring you can still run appliances and have the lights on. It will provide this backup support for up to 45 hours.