If you are one of the thousands of Australians that already has solar power at their property, adding a solar battery can help you level up your energy independence and greatly reduce your reliance on grid electricity. Here are some FAQ’s to get you started.
What does a solar battery do?
In a normal grid-connected solar system, solar produced by your system powers your home first and the excess electricity it produces is sold back to your state’s electricity grid. For this solar power you sell, you receive feed-in credits to offset your power consumption when the sun isn’t shining. A solar battery works by absorbing this excess solar power that would otherwise be sold to the electricity grid and it stores it for times when solar production is not possible, such as evening times.
How long does a solar battery last?
Over the past two years we have seen a flood of new batteries come onto the market with improved technology.
These batteries are much more installer friendly and also have better warranties.
We are now seeing 10 year, 8000-1000 battery cycle warranties for many batteries on the market today.
How much does a solar battery cost?
Many people, including us here at Solar Energy Adelaide have been hoping and waiting for the price of batteries to come down. Unfortunately, with current world issues such as supply chain constraints, raw material costs rising, and a weak Australian dollar, this has not occurred and is not expected to happen in the foreseeable future.
The recent removal of the SA Governments Home Battery Scheme has also seen the price of batteries rise. If you are looking to add a battery to an existing solar system, a rough price guide is between $800-$1,400 per kilowatt of battery installed.
What happens in the event of a blackout?
This will depend on what solar battery typology you have. The best way to be blackout-proof is to have a hybrid solar battery system installed. With this solar battery set up not only will your battery still discharge to essential loads during a blackout, but your solar will continue to charge your battery via your hybrid inverter.
This technology is most commonly utilised for customers who have opted to have their solar and battery installed at the same time but usually requires an inverter replacement for customers which are installing a battery to an existing solar system.
For customers that choose to have a battery added to an existing system there is still the option to have essential loads such as lights and fridges placed on back up circuits, which does come at an additional cost.
This will allow your battery to run these essential loads until the battery is fully discharged. This will usually suffice for most metro customers as blackouts in the city only last hours, not days.
Is a solar battery worth it?
This is probably the most commonly asked question in the solar battery industry and the answer today is very different from 6-12 months ago. The answer is “YES”.
We are in a rare situation at the moment where power prices are rising and solar feed-in tariffs are falling. This has seen the gap in payback periods between solar systems and solar battery systems reduce.
As power prices are forecast to rise at an extreme rate in the short to medium term, we will see this gap continually get smaller and smaller in the months and years to come.
Batteries are becoming a better investment with every passing month, but unfortunately, this is due to much higher electricity costs, not because of a reduced price of batteries.
Solar Energy Adelaide Are Experts in Solar Batteries and Solar Energy Systems
If you want to increase your energy autonomy and free yourself from the stranglehold of power companies then a solar battery could be right for you, Solar Energy Adelaide can provide the advice you need to match a solar battery solution to your budget. Give us a call today for more information on solar batteries and how they can benefit you and your household or business.
