Solar energy soragte systems are used to store the energy output of solar cells. There is no magical silver bullet solution to solar energy storage. However, solar energy storage systems depend mainly on your needs and readily available solar resources.
Let us first look at a few common solar energy storage solutions for both residential and commercial applications. The more common form of residential use would be a combination of battery bank and solar power. With net metering, you can earn cash back on every kilowatt-hour you buy or sell from your solar power batteries. Your electric company then credits your electric bill account with the net amount you earned. The beauty of net metering is that you get paid for generating electricity even when you do not actually use a kilowatt-hour of it. In this way, solar power batteries can continuously generate cash for you even when unused.
Commercial solar energy storage systems can be a bit more complex than a home system. For example, you can add batteries and a generator or you can install a hybrid type system that combines storage and generation together. For commercial purposes, there are a few things you have to consider before deciding on which system to use. First, you need to assess how much energy you will be consuming. Next, you need to determine the number of storage batteries you will need.
The number of batteries needed depends largely on how much power you use at home. If you generate more power at your home than you use at work, you can use more storage batteries. On the other hand, if you generate less power at home than you use at work, you can do better on your plans to de-carbonize your home by using less storage power. The complexity of your home and commercial solar energy storage systems largely depends on the size of the panels you install and the number of batteries to be used.
Types of Solar Energy Storage
There are two types of common solar energy storage systems: those based on lead-acid batteries and those based on lithium-ion batteries. Lead-acid batteries are old technology. They are not very efficient, especially for large projects like generating power at your home or a whole farm. On the other hand, they can store big amounts of energy that can compensate for the shortfalls. In some applications, they are still viable.
Lithium-ion batteries are more efficient. They can store more energy and generate more electricity over a longer period of time than the previous type. This means that a household with one or more lithium-ion batteries can double its electricity production from a single residential photovoltaic panel. On the other hand, it will take many more Photovoltaic panels to provide the same level of renewable energy consumption. This is why many homeowners who want to go "green" have replaced their old utility bill setups with this type of renewable energy storage system.
One downside is the relatively high cost of these cells. You would have to assemble them and recharge every night. The cost of having them installed can also be quite expensive. Aside from that, the energy output from your solar panels will not match the peak demand until you have several solar panels installed. This means you will only be able to produce enough electricity for your home when there is enough sun to enable your photovoltaic panels to generate and store a sufficient amount of electricity.
If you do not have the finances to install your own solar panels, you can use a fully-built alternative storage system. This includes a portable storage unit that you can carry around in your car or house. Portable devices are ideal for people who are always on the go. A fully-built system on the other hand provides guaranteed energy supply even during peak energy production conditions. It is just a matter of deciding whether you want to use a totally-built renewable energy system or a cheaper yet fully-installed battery backup system.