If you are considering or about to buy a solar energy battery take a moment to research. As a homeowner making this investment consider carefully the size of your home, your energy use. You also need to consider daylight hours and the sunlight energy you’ll need to store over what period.  Solar energy storage is an important decision. Read on to learn the best approach to choose the right batter.

How to Choose the Right Battery for Solar Energy Storage

With the growing awareness about green energy, the world is advancing towards solar power with each passing day. Solar energy is perhaps one of the best forms of renewable energy. It is used more and more frequently across industrial and domestic applications. The environmentally conscious and financially smart consumers have been quick to adopt solar power. They appreciate its efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

To make sure that your solar array runs properly, you’ll have to get the best quality components possible. One vital component is the solar battery used to power appliances when the sun isn’t strong enough. The right battery can be the difference between a successful solar installation and a failed one. 

Today we’re going to explore the different criteria that you should keep in mind when choosing a solar battery. After reading this blog, you’ll have a good idea of what to look for when buying a battery. Read on to find out how you can choose the perfect battery for your needs.

1. Battery Capacity 

Choosing the right battery is essential for your solar energy storage. You measure the maximum amount of charge that your battery can hold in kWh (kilowatt-hour) or amp-hours. Note that the maximum capacity of your battery is reached only after a few cycles of charging and discharging. This can’t be judged based on the first usage. 

If you want to make sure that no energy goes to waste or that you don’t spend excessively, you need to determine the electricity usage that you’ll incur and the electric power your grid generates so that you can choose a battery accordingly. 

If you choose a battery that’s too large, then you’ll waste money. Moreover, the battery deteriorates over time due to the fact that it never gets fully charged. On the other hand, if your battery’s capacity is too small, then you’ll run out of power. It is possible that you’ll even waste any excess energy generated. It’s critical that you choose the right size to get the most bang for your buck.

2. Warranty

Just like any battery e.g. mobile phone or laptop, the batter in your solar array will degrade over time. Since you’ll most likely be cycling the battery daily by completely exhausting it and then recharging it to the maximum, you’ll witness a faster deterioration of the battery’s charge holding capacity. Most manufacturers provide warranties to account for this factor. So that you as the buyer don’t have to worry about your battery dying before extracting maximum value. 

Some batteries come with a warranty for a certain number of cycles. Others come with a warranty for a certain number of years. The experts who worked on the Tesla Powerwall explain that the simplest technique is to go with a battery that provides a warranty for a set number of years. This way, you can replace your battery for free if anything happens or if it starts to underperform. A brand that provides a reliable warranty might be more expensive, but it’s a long-term investment that’s worth the costs.

3. Round-Trip Efficiency

Round-trip efficiency is a percentage of the total energy available out of the total energy stored. Batteries with higher round-trip efficiencies are more cost-effective, and you should always aim to procure a battery with the highest possible round-trip efficiency. 

For instance, if this number is around 80%, then you can only use 80 kWh of energy from the stored 100 kWh in your battery. A higher round-trip efficiency will ensure that you get more energy out of your battery, compared to a battery with low round-trip efficiency.

A final word on solar energy storage

These are some of the most basic criteria that you should look for in a solar energy battery.  This is an important consideration for your solar array. A decent battery will last a really long time. Therefore you should invest in the best quality battery you can afford. Going cheap on this component is not the best idea. It’ll lead to significantly lower energy yields due to more energy wastage. Also, you’ll end up paying more money for a cheaper battery in the long run.  A good quality battery will easily last you more than 10 years a cheaper one will fade faster. Keep these points in mind while shopping for a solar battery. You’ll achieve a much better result compared to someone who simply chooses the first or cheapest battery they can find.

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