Picture this: it’s dark and a storm rages outside. Thunder cracks and lightening slashes across the inky sky. Suddenly, the lights in your home flicker…then go out.
As you fumble for a flashlight or candle, you realize you have no way of knowing when the power will come back on. What if it’s out for hours?
Best case scenario, everything in the fridge may spoil. Worst case, your basement floods when your sump pump fails to power up, causing massive, expensive water damage. Or worse.
But what if you could guarantee that your home would be “always on”?
The great news is that you can! Solar Sam can help by integrating a solar battery system when we install your battery-ready solar system. Let’s talk about how to make your home a literal refuge in any storm.
3 Reasons You Need a Solar Battery Storage System
A solar battery storage system is just what it sounds like…it’s a battery system that stores solar energy so that you have power when you need it most. It’s a backup system that supplements your solar array power system. You may also hear them being called battery packs, storage packs, or power banks.
Solar batteries are a great addition to your solar panels. Let’s look at the top three reasons why.
1. Battery Backup When the Grid Goes Down
As we’ve already talked about a bit, when the power grid goes down, it can cause major, long-lasting complications. Even if your home runs on solar power while connected to the grid, when grid power goes down, so too does your solar powered home because it has no way to store excess energy. But with a solar battery system, you’re ready for anything!
When you install a battery pack along with your solar system, it will store power for when you need it. If the power grid goes out during a storm, you’ll know your home is protected. Your sump pump, lights, and all other electrically powered items will continue to work off your stored backup power.
2. Green Energy That’s Always On
With a battery backup, your power will stay on when all else fails. But what’s even more satisfying is that you’re still going to be able to be running on green energy!
Yes, a generator would also work to provide power when the grid goes down. But they run off traditional fuels (like gas or diesel) which can cause pollution and other not-so-nice environmental impacts. A solar battery pack keeps your home or business going with clean energy.
3. Off-grid Energy Solutions
While most normal solar battery backup systems are best used short-term, there are solar battery storage systems large enough to power your home completely off-grid. These off-grid systems will cost significantly more, because they need to be large enough to store excess summer energy for winter consumption (when solar energy generation can naturally dip).
In short, a normal solar battery pack is perfect as a backup when the power grid goes down for a short time. These can typically be “stacked”, meaning you can add multiple batteries to your system to get the desired storage capacity. But a much larger, specially designed battery storage bank will likely be required to take your home, vacation cabin, or business totally off-grid.
Either way, whether you just want battery backup or to go completely off the grid, you’ll want to be sure you’re having a quality battery-ready solar system installed initially.
The Best Solar Battery Backups & How to Choose
The best solar battery systems come from makers like Sonnen, Enphase, and Generac. Solar Sam works with all of these! From the sleek Sonnen Batterie to the powerful (and eye-pleasing) Enphase Ensemble and the rugged and ready Generac PWRCell, we’ve got the battery storage systems you need to make sure your home is always on.
But how to choose which is best for your needs? Aside from buying a quality brand, look at things like the capacity, or how much energy it can store measured in Kilowatt hours (kWh), and power. One with a high capacity will run the essentials for hours, while a battery with a higher power rating will power more but for a shorter time.
Also look for a decent battery life and consider available warranties. If you really want to go green, look for a battery backup with a high “round-trip efficiency” rating. This means that the storage system stores the electricity more efficiently, giving you back nearly as much as what’s fed into it.
See for Yourself: The Solar Sam Difference
Whether you’re an agricultural, commercial, or residential customer, you’re family when you buy a solar power system from Solar Sam. And we make sure we take care of our family so they can weather any storm!
That’s why we make it easy to go green and save some green with the latest in solar technology. From traditional solar power systems to electric vehicle charging stations to solar battery backup systems, we are here to help power your life with energy run by the sun!