Just this week I have put together this editorial for a regional magazine, The Landsman, and thought it would be a good idea to reproduce here as solar storage has changed dramatically since just last year, with far better batteries available at really good prices that mean Li-Ion is now leading the way over Lead Acid on performance and cost!
If you’re an owner of solar PV panels, you
will already be aware of the benefits that are brought simply by daylight.
Lower power bills and free to use electricity count as main drivers of course,
along with Feed in Tariff payments meaning you receive a payment simply for
generating your own power.
One of the small drawbacks of this seemingly utopian
system is that a proportion of this generated power will be exported straight
out onto the grid without any benefit to you but add some technology and this
could change. There are devices available that can be retro fitted to grab
power before it gets exported allowing you to store it for later use.
The budget version is just one of the many
power diversion devices on the market. A reliable unit is the Solar iBoost, costing
around £400, which keeps a check on that excess PV power and sends it to the
immersion heater in your hot water cylinder to store as hot water. Great if you
have a hot water cylinder to use, if not, maybe look at battery storage?
Until a few years ago, Solar battery
technology was still based on traditional lead/acid, like a car battery. This
was mainly due to economics as compact lithium based batteries were still
really expensive, but they do offer a 10-15 year lifespan and require no
maintenance.
This situation has now changed, and since
Tesla’s introduction of the cumbersomely large Lithium Ion battery a year or so
ago, other manufacturers such as LG, Victron and SolaX are now producing more
compact storage devices, ideal for installation inside your home. Based on the
same concept as hot water diversion, battery storage systems divert the excess
power to be exported into a set of batteries. A controller keeps that power
securely stored away until your house needs to draw power off the grid, then
releases if back for you to use. In an ideal situation, with a good balance
between battery and solar array size, you should see a dramatic reduction in
the amount of electricity you purchase.
Most are easy to fit, and can be easily
accommodated in your house and integrated with your existing Solar PV system.
Some models also provide you with a backup power socket to keep you supplied
with 230v power if in the case of a power cut - handy for rurally situated
people.
Though the concept of payback is not used in the
battery storage world, we have recently seen what may be the first of many
energy price increases, so it does spur us to consider ways of keeping
electricity bills as low as possible. You’ll find that good quality systems
start at around £4,000 installed and will provide you with either online or in
home monitoring too. For more information speak to Chris Rudge on or visit www.rudgeenergy.co.uk
