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What is a Solar Battery & What Does it Do?

A solar battery is a system for storing the energy generated by your solar panels until such a time as you need to use that energy. Solar panels have been around for many years, but their main flaw has been that the energy they produce must be used when it is generated. Solar panels use the sun’s power to make solar energy; the sun is only available during the day. Given that most households use their energy during the evening when the sun has dipped over the horizon, the development of solar batteries has made solar panels and power a feasible and affordable solution.

What is a Solar Battery?

Solar batteries are an energy storage system designed to store the energy generated by solar panels until a household needs it. Once the power is needed, it can be pulled down from the solar battery to power our households. Solar batteries used to be too large and inefficient to be practical within a domestic setting. Still, thanks to technological advances, they are now a practical solution to storing solar power.

What Does a Solar Battery Do?

A solar battery draws in the energy produced by your solar panel. It then converts this solar energy from Direct Current DC into Alternating Current AC for the household power system. The solar battery allows energy generated during daylight hours to be stored until needed, typically during the evening.

What is The Difference Between a Solar Power Battery And a Normal Battery?

All batteries store energy, but a solar battery differs from an ordinary battery. The first main difference is the capacity of a solar battery. A fully charged solar battery could power your entire home for around 10 hours, whereas the batteries in your radio will only give you a limited amount of energy. A standard battery is used once the energy has been discharged. A rechargeable battery can be reused once charged, but there is a limit to how often this can be done. A solar battery is designed to be constantly charged and discharged for many years. Solar batteries have the additional function of being able to be used in a complete solar energy system, connected to your solar panels, with the ability to convert this energy produced into the energy needed to power a home. A solar battery is essential to optimise the use of your solar panels.

Why Use a Solar Panel Battery?

Solar panels are a brilliant way to use the sun’s power to generate endless, clean energy. However, their limitation is that they can only generate energy during daylight hours. If you use the bulk of your household energy during the evening, the power generated by your solar panels during the day is essentially wasted. Investing in solar batteries as part of your solar power system allows you to store the energy generated throughout the day in your solar battery storage and then use this energy during the evening to run your household. With some solar battery storage systems, you can sell any surplus energy your solar panels generate back to the national grid.

Different Types of Solar Batteries

It is essential to understand the different types of available solar batteries. Modern lithium solar batteries have a far greater capacity-to-cubic volume ratio, taking up less physical space. The older lead-style solar batteries are far bigger in volume and have lower storage capacity. Lithium solar batteries have a longer lifespan and are now considered the best choice for the average household looking for solar battery storage.

Pros And Cons of Solar Batteries

There are many advantages to a solar battery. The main one is the ability of the solar battery to store the energy generated until it is needed. This makes the investment in your solar panels far more financially effective and enables you to reduce your reliance on the grid. Using solar energy to power your home will reduce your energy bills, environmental impact, and reliance on the national grid. Solar batteries are an investment, and this may be a deterrent to some people. However, financially, they will give you a good return on your investment over the years. A solar battery may not be the best fit if you can only have a limited number of solar panels and are at home during the day. Still, solar batteries are generally an excellent investment.

Things to Consider When You’re Picking a Solar Battery

The most important consideration when choosing your solar battery is understanding how much energy you use in your home. The other vital factor is how many solar panels you can install in your home and how much power these solar panels generate. When choosing your solar battery, the essential factor is capacity. This is the amount of energy that your solar battery can store. Your battery capacity must be compatible with the amount of power your solar panels can generate and the amount of energy you use. An ideal set-up should allow you to fully charge your solar battery during the day, giving you enough power to save and use throughout the evening and overnight before the sun recharges the battery the next day. A small amount of solar power surplus can be sold back to the grid, but having an out-of-kilter solar battery storage system will reduce your set-up’s efficiency.

Where to Buy Solar Battery?

Duracell Energy home batteries are high-quality, premium solar batteries, that will enable you to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable solar battery storage setup in your home. You can use our online quote calculator to help you choose the best solar battery storage set-up for your home. With our smart app, you will have complete control over the energy in your home, and our experienced and professional solar customer service team are on hand to provide you with helpful after-sales support whenever you need it.