Table of Contents
- Our Recommended Solar Batteries
- What is a solar battery?
- Is there a grant for solar batteries?
- The Benefits of Getting a Solar Battery
- Should I get a solar battery?
- How much can you save with a battery on your home?
- Main Uses of Solar Battery Storage
- Can a battery provide power during an outage?
- AC v DC Coupling
- What are the alternatives to a battery?
- FAQs
- Get Free Solar Quotes Today
Solar Battery Storage for Homes in Ireland: Enhance Energy Independence
Battery storage working alongside solar panels can help homes and businesses to maximise their renewable energy usage and reduce their reliance on the grid.
A battery will add to the cost of getting solar panels, but can also enable you to use more of the electricity they generate to save more money.
Whether using surplus energy from your solar panels or charging it cheaply at night, our guide explains everything you need to know about getting a solar battery.
The key takeaways:
A battery will add €1,700 to €2,400 to the cost of a solar power system on average.
Having a battery can increase the household self-consumption of solar electricity by 30%.
Save more money by charging your battery storage at night with cheaper electricity rates.
Different options of AC or DC coupled systems for new systems or retrofitting homes and solar PV systems.
Our Recommended Solar Batteries
Huawei LUNA Smart Battery
- Scales from 5kW – 30kW capacity
- Multiple dynamic operating modes
- 100% Depth of Discharge
SigenStor Battery System
- Scales up to 48kW capacity
- Combines Inverter & Battery System
- Direct EV Charging
Soluna Battery Systems
- Flexible & Scalable 5kW & 10kW Battery Packs
- Rated for over 6,000 discharge cycles
- Elegant household design
Dyness Solar Batteries
- Wide range of capacity options
- Operate dozens of modules in parallel
- Broad inverter compatibility
What is a solar battery?
A solar battery storage system is essentially a large rechargeable battery designed to hold electricity generated by solar panels or other sources for use in your home.
When more energy is being generated by your solar panels than is being used at the time, the excess electricity is stored in the battery for later use.
A battery allows you to use solar power in the evenings and night time after the solar PV system has stopped producing electricity.
What is the cost of a solar battery?
Solar batteries will typically add roughly €1,700 – €3,00 to the price of getting solar panels for your home in Ireland for a 5kW storage battery.
This is a rough estimate for most households which only purchase a single battery. The best way to see exactly what your cost will be is to get a quote from a solar installer.
The main elements affecting the price of a battery are:
Batteries tend to start at around 5kW in capacity and can go up to 15-20kW for a single module. This will vary by brand.
Most homes will only install a single battery, but some, and businesses, may want multiple battery units to give greater storage capacity.
If you install a battery in a solar system it will require a more expensive hybrid inverter rather than a ‘string’ inverter which only has to connect solar panels to the grid.
There will be some costs associated with connecting the battery, such as wiring, mounting, and labour.
Is there a grant for solar batteries?
There is no SEAI grant specifically for a solar storage battery. If you are getting a storage battery together with solar PV panels, you can receive the solar PV grant, but not if you are only having a battery installed.
The Benefits of Getting a Solar Battery
Save Money on Electricity
Battery storage can help you save money on your electricity bills
Reduce Carbon Emissions
Using more renewable energy will reduce your carbon footprint
Power Outage Protection
Battery storage systems can provide backup power in an outage
Charging at Night
Charge your battery with cheaper power from the grid at night
Should I get a solar battery?
Whether a solar battery would be suitable for your home depends on the number of solar PV panels you have and when you use the most electricity.
If you have a small number of solar panels, or if there are people at home throughout the day using power, then there might not be much excess electricity to work with.
With larger solar power systems, and if not much electricity is being used at the height of the day, then a battery can be a very good investment to ensure that you are getting the most out of their free electricity.
There is also the question of budget. If it is not within your budget to get a battery system installed now, it is better to press ahead with getting solar panels without one to start saving.
How much can you save with a battery on your home?
Adding solar battery storage alongside solar panels can increase the amount of electricity used in your home by anywhere from 10% – 30%.
This can easily result in several hundred euro worth of savings on electricity bills each year. Exact savings will depend on how much electricity you use, and the size of the battery.
Main Uses of Solar Battery Storage
There are two ways to benefit from having a battery. The first is to get the most out of your solar panels by making sure that you use as much renewable energy. The second option is to take advantage of cheaper electricity prices by charging the battery from the grid at night.
Use More of the Power Generated by Your Solar Panels
- A solar battery can increase self-consumption of solar electricity from 50% – 75% of what is generated, up to as much as 90%.
- Electricity usage at home tends to occur in sharp spikes, while solar power generation is a curve over the course of the day.
The cost of electricity from the grid is higher than the feed-in tariff for exporting excess electricity.
Charge Inexpensively from the Grid at Night
Battery storage systems can also be charged directly from the electricity grid.
Many electricity plans have much cheaper rates during the nighttime than during the day.
Some smart plans also have extremely discounted electricity for hours between 2am and 6am.
This stored electricity can then be used during the day when prices are higher.
Can a battery provide power during an outage?
A solar storage battery and solar PV panels can provide power to your home during a power outage, but only if a changeover switch is installed to disconnect it from the grid.
Solar panels automatically disconnect in the event of a power outage to avoid electricity being sent into power lines while technicians are working on them.
This is a safety features which comes as standard in all solar inverters.
With a changeover switch installed, your solar panels can continue to charge the solar battery to provide for the home.
AC v DC Coupling
AC and DC coupling are two different ways to connect batteries to your solar PV panels and the household electricity grid.
The electricity produced by your solar panels is Direct Current (DC) power. Batteries also store DC power. In contrast, your household uses Alternating Current (AC) power. So it must be inverted from one to the other in order to be used.
- DC Coupling: Electricity flows first from the solar panels to the inverter, and then into the solar storage battery. This means the electricity going to and from the battery must be inverted three times before it is used.
- AC Coupling: Power is sent to the battery directly from the solar panels before going to the inverter. This means that it only needs to be inverted once before use.
Both types of systems have different advantages and disadvantages based on the setup of your home and specific needs.
AC Coupling
Pros
Easier to retrofit existing homes and PV systems with a battery
Greater flexibility in where the battery can be located
Can provide some emergency backup power during outages
Battery faults won’t put the solar panels at risk and vice versa
Cons
Multiple inversions makes it less efficient than DC coupling
May be less advantageous for new build homes
Additional componets can make AC coupled systems more expensive
DC Coupling
Pros
More efficient as the power only has to be inverted once
Can be a better option for new build homes.
Often more affordable than an AC coupled system
Cons
Less flexibility in where to locate the battery
Not capable of providing any emergency backup power in the event of an outage
What are the alternatives to a battery?
The other choices for what to do with excess solar electricity are to be paid a feed-in tariff for exporting it to the grid, or to use a solar power diverter.
A solar power diverter is an installable box which uses any surplus electricity to power the hot water immersion instead of exporting it.
FAQs
The majority of solar battery systems can connect multiple batteries together to increase their storage capacity.
Most solar batteries have an expected lifespan of 10 – 15 years and are rated for 6,000 – 10,000 cycles of charging and discharging their capacity.
You can add a solar battery to existing solar PV systems, but you may have to upgrade to a more expensive hybrid inverter if you don’t already have one.
Irish homes use an average of 10 – 20 kW of electricity per day. A 5kW battery fully charged is more than capable of providing an evening’s electricity for most homes.
Modern solar batteries made with lithium iron phosphate are completely safe, with no risk of a fire from short circuits or being knocked around.
Any home can use a storage battery to charge from the grid at night and use that electricity during the day, even if they don’t have solar panels.
Power stored in a battery can be used to charge an electric car and some storage systems may enable a direct connection from the battery to the EV.
The inverter physically controls the flow of power to and from a battery, and a solar monitoring system should allow you to control the operation of the battery.
A cycle refers to completely discharging the battery and then fully charging it back to 100% capacity.
Most solar batteries now are made from Lithium-Iron Phosphate, which has a considerably longer lifespan than lithium ion batteries, even though it has slightly lower energy density.
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