by Chrissy Backman
Our homes are more important than ever: they are our offices, schools, entertainment, and, at times, the only sit-down restaurant in town. So, having a home that powers itself, even when there’s a power outage, equates to huge peace of mind. How is this possible? By pairing rooftop solar and backup battery systems.
Assessing and upgrading your home’s energy system with batteries can improve resilience, security, and comfort, and increase home value. If you’re considering or already have a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, a backup battery system can be the final piece of the energy puzzle.
Rooftop and battery systems 101
Generally, the energy produced by residential solar systems is immediately routed into your home to meet demand. When the sun is shining during the middle of the day — especially in the summer — rooftop solar systems may produce more energy than your home needs. Normally, this excess is exported to the grid at wholesale prices and added to your overall energy balance.
When homeowners also install a backup battery system along with rooftop solar, excess energy not needed by the home is used to charge the battery system. Any remaining energy is then exported to the grid. So far, so good.
But what if an outage occurs and energy cannot be received or transmitted to the grid? Without a battery system, you have no power for your home and the potential energy from your solar system goes to waste. Because battery systems allow your solar panels to continue to power your home during a grid outage, both planned and unplanned power outages are no longer the worry they once were. This is a huge advantage!
The other big benefit is that battery systems also allow you to draw from the battery on a daily basis when solar panels aren’t producing, like during cloudy periods or in the evening or nighttime. This last feature means that battery systems can also be used to reduce peak energy usage, helping us all keep the grid up and running during high demand periods. Reducing peak energy usage can also save you money by avoiding peak energy pricing associated with time-of-use rates, increasing the value and usefulness of the up-front investment of a battery system even more. What’s a time-of-use rate? Read on.
Two objectives: avoid the peak and power your home during outages
According to local solar installer Chris Soderquist of RepowerYolo, “Battery systems are sold to meet two potentially competing objectives: provide power to the home and grid during the most expensive, peak time periods and to provide backup power when the grid fails.”
Generally, homeowners want batteries to discharge during peak times on a regular basis, but you also want to reserve the ability to save up energy for unplanned power outages. Smart controls allow
some systems to satisfy both objectives, as long as you have sufficient warning of upcoming outages. Phone-based apps give homeowners the power to view and control when batteries discharge. If you know about the outage ahead of time, you can reserve the power you would normally use during peak time to help you get you through the outage, depending on battery capacity and the energy you consume.
During the summer, monitoring the reserve is not as important. During the winter, depending on whether you have an electric heating system or a heavy electric load generally, it’s more important to keep batteries charged up because solar panels don’t produce as much.
Two types of systems: whole home and partial home
Systems are generally designed in one of two ways: whole home or partial home. A whole home battery system is designed to power all circuits and may require multiple batteries depending on a home’s power requirements. Whole home backup systems are most effective when homeowners actively monitor and balance energy usage (for example, avoiding running loads like dryers and air conditioners at the same time and managing loads to preserve battery capacity and output).
Partial home or “essential load” backup systems are designed to power only the most important fixtures and appliances (typically refrigerators, charging outlets, and smaller amperage circuit breakers). These systems are generally less expensive than whole house backup systems. Essential load systems are “right-sized” to meet homeowner expectations without a tremendous level of interaction during outages. However, this type of backup generally requires a separate subpanel, which may add expense.
Higher amperage circuits like your air conditioner, dryer, and large appliances may be included in the system but there are tradeoffs. Powering an air conditioner with a partial home battery system may be possible but will deplete a battery system very quickly.
Gamify your battery-equipped home to “flatten the curve”
Katrina Sutton, a solar and battery owner, says she “gamifies” her house and uses her battery system app to help her keep her energy low during peak times. “PG&E’s peak hours are from 4 and 9pm, so that means that any electricity used during those hours is significantly more expensive. I don’t charge the car, for example, between 4 and 9, I try really hard not to run the AC, the dishwasher’s not running, the laundry’s not running, the ice maker’s not running. I don’t charge my phone (then), you know anything little I can think of I just don’t do it. I usually go on a walk between 7 or 8pm, so I’m not even home.” Katrina has an Enphase brand battery at her house, but there are several brands to choose from even in this emerging market. Energy Sage is a good source for technical details and reviews of batteries (see More Reading).
Battery systems are still costly
Battery systems are new and still pretty expensive. There are incentives for certain communities and consumers, but Davis homes are highly unlikely to qualify (see More Reading for links to PG&E incentives webpage).
Battery pricing depends on capacity and power output. Capacity is the amount of electricity a battery can store, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). Power output is the amount of electricity that a battery can deliver at one time, measured in kilowatts (kW). Energy Sage points out that “a battery with a high capacity and a low power rating would deliver a low amount of electricity (enough to run a few crucial appliances) for a long time. A battery with low capacity and a high power rating could run your entire home, but only for a few hours.”
Batteries run $560-750 per kWh of capacity with labor doubling that. A single-battery system runs $12,000 to $16,000 installed providing 10 to 14 kWh of energy (approximately two hours of air conditioning with other standard loads). The average air conditioning unit uses about 4000 watts (4 kilowatts) or 4 kWh when it operates for one hour.
Batteries help you finish your home energy puzzle
While battery backup systems add more expense to your home’s energy puzzle, keep in mind that battery systems also allow rooftop solar systems to continue to produce energy during outages, resulting in both cost savings and a huge reliability factor.
More importantly, batteries allow us to all to contribute to a cleaner and more secure energy system now and in the future. For further information about solar PV systems, battery storage, energy conservation, and other energy security and resilience measures, keep an eye on the Cool Davis Rooftop Solar and Home Heating and Cooling webpages.
More reading
FlexAlerts from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) (our grid operator) (http://www.flexalert.org/)
Energy Sage article: “How to choose the best battery for a solar energy system”
(https://www.energysage.com/solar/solar-energy-storage/what-are-the-best-batteries-for-solar-panels/)
PG&E backup battery incentive program webpage
Cool Davis Rooftop Solar webpage (https://www.cooldavis.org/cool-solutions/rooftop-solar/)
Cool Davis Home Heating and Cooling webpage (https://www.cooldavis.org/cool-solutions/hvac-make-plan/)
Cool Davis is hosting a webinar on Battery Backup Systems Sept 29, 2020, 5:30pm to 7:00pm, featuring Enphase Energy Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Raghu Belur. Learn about the basics and more from expert panelist presentations and Q&A. Register today then check out other exciting solar and electric vehicle home video sharing opportunities and webinar events during Driving on Sunshine Week Sept 26 through Oct 4, 2020. Co-hosted by Cool Davis, the City of Davis, SacEV, and the Davis Electric Vehicle Association. Partners include National Drive Electric Week, Citadel Roofing and Solar, Aztec Solar, and RepowerYolo.
- Register for the webinar now
- Get evolving program details for all the goings on for Driving on Sunshine Week
Author is a member of Cool Davis – with contributions from John Walter, Kerry Loux, and edited by Leslie Crenna
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The final final issue is battery disposal.
Great, so I can’t afford a battery system and solar. Who’s going to pay for it for me?
How about in 15 years when Gov Newsom says no more combustible cars?
Will you all buy me a system in 2035 and a new electric car with your tax dollars?
Sell your 1.5 million dollar home.
I wonder if this could be considered a form of doxxing?
My post was meant to be satire. How can the Gov ban all internal combustible engine car sales in 2035 and force people to go electric when I would bet a majority of Californians can neither afford an electric car or solar panels and backup battery packs? This all sounds like political theater and something that sounds good but will never happen that soon.
“I wonder if this could be considered a form of doxxing?”
At worst guessing…
“My post was meant to be satire. ”
My comment was meant to be funny
I’m wondering if there might be a market for more specialized solar batteries (possibly smaller and cheaper?). Maybe small solar powered batteries designed solely to keep the refrigerators running or the internet running in a home….or more importantly home health equipment?