Should I Store My Energy ?

Why combine solar panels with battery storage?

If you have your own solar panels, your energy bills will be reduced due to your energy self-consumption.

This is because it is cheaper to use the electricity your solar PV has generated directly at your home rather than purchasing it through an energy company.

If you have a solar PV system and are not at home during the day to use the energy produced by the panels, then a battery will help you use that energy later on, cutting your electricity bills.

A battery is the right decision for many people, but you don’t need to take our word for it, as Which? Conducted a survey by 119 solar battery owners in May 2019, with almost 75% of those asked stating that battery storage has helped them save money on electricity to a great extent or some extent.

Self-consumption is intrinsically tied to the concept and functionality of solar panels. One of the main aims of solar panels is to help homeowners become self-sufficient in electricity production.

When the sun is shining during the daytime, you can meet your consumption needs by using your household appliances. Without a battery storage system, when nighttime comes, and your solar panels have clocked off for the day, you will return to being dependent on energy suppliers for all of your needs.

Batteries solve this issue by storing excess energy for use when your panels cannot generate any green energy.

Read more about “Solar self-consumption: What is it and the best ways to increase it.”

What are the benefits of investing in solar battery storage?

As is becoming evident, solar battery storage systems are a key component in truly becoming independent from grid energy and carry with them many attractive advantages, including:

You optimise the usage of your self-generated green electricity

Solar panels are environmentally friendly as they generate 100% renewable energy; however, this energy source is completely reliant on what time of the day it is.

Solar battery storage solves this by holding the additional energy generated – allowing you to use less of the UK national grid’s power supply…reducing your carbon footprint even further.

In fact, a recent study has found that battery storage increases self-consumption above 50% and could be the cornerstone for unsubsidised residential PV systems moving forward thanks to their efficiency.

Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MSC) provided further details with an average household utilising 35 - 50% of the generated system without a battery. However, they stated that battery storage could raise this level to as high as 80%! Increased rates are dependent on if you are in the house for much of the day.

You save on your energy bill

Whilst a standard solar PV system will help you cut down energy consumption during the day; it is during the evening when solar battery storage can discharge the stored electricity, providing you with renewable-generated electricity at no additional cost.

According to E.ON, in central England, a 9.6 kWh solar battery storage system (with 12 x 315W panels) might allow you to utilise up to 30% more of the energy generated by your solar panels and save up to £560 on your annual energy bills.

This helps you make further cuts to your energy bill.

Read our blog post on how to save money on your energy bills with a solar PV system.

You are more energy independent

Generating your own electricity with your solar panels and storing your surplus on your home battery makes you more independent from the electricity grid.

Companies that provide energy are constantly raising their prices to get more money from their clients.

Purchasing a solar battery will be a significant step toward off-grid self-sufficiency as you are keeping your costs to the energy suppliers and the grid operator lower.

Increase your solar self consumption with our handy tips.

You are well prepared for later

Being more independent from the UK electricity grid can help protect you from price changes that may occur throughout the year.

If you make more use of your own generated electricity and therefore have to take less from the grid, the impact of rising energy prices will be lessened to an extent.

You can retrofit existing solar PV systems with a battery storage system

It's not a problem if you already have solar panels at home; you can easily add a solar battery to an existing solar PV system.

The solar battery must be either AC-coupled or DC-coupled when installed, depending on the type of inverter used by your solar panels.

The solar battery must be AC-coupled if your PV system includes a microinverter. This is the less expensive of the two solutions (because you won't have to replace the inverter), and the installation is simple.