How does solar battery storage work?

Published: June 14, 2019 Last Updated: October 21, 2022

This informative video by Energy Queensland explains how solar battery storage works and explains how it can save you money on your electricity bills.

How does solar battery storage work? - video transcript

Meet the Jones family, a family of four, living in the suburbs.

The Jones' have a 4 kilowatt solar PV system, which generates about 17-kilowatt hours of electricity each day. Like a lot of households, the Jones' don't use a lot of the power during the day when everyone is at work or school. They use around half their solar power and sell the other half into the grid.

The Jones' have decided to install a battery to store the extra solar power they generate during the day, for use at night. The solar power that was being sold to the grid during the day can now be stored in the battery.

Batteries should always keep some power in them in order to maximise their life, which could be between 5 and 15 years. So the Jones' bought a 10-kilowatt hour battery so they could store all their extra solar and leave some energy in the battery to preserve its life.

When the battery discharges at night, the Jones won't get the same amount of energy out of it as they put in during the day. This is because some energy is lost when the battery charges and discharges.

When the Jones' get home in the evening they turn on the lights, start cooking dinner and put on the TV. They need a lot of power at once so their battery needs to be able to discharge quickly to power all the appliances. The Jones' chose a 10-kilowatt-hour battery with a 4-kilowatt capacity. The more kilowatt hours, the longer you can run your appliances for. The more kilowatts capacity, the more you can power at once. 

Adding storage to their solar means the Jones' can use their extra solar power when they need it and because of this, they are buying less energy from the grid. The Jones' battery saves them about $520 a year on electricity. 

Remember to shop around for the best deal and warranty. The price you pay and how you use the battery will determine how long it takes to pay back your system.

Reference - https://www.energyq.com.au/