Home Battery Buyer Guide: Tips to Choose the Right Solar Battery Solution

When it comes to selecting a solar battery, it is never an easy task. There are few factors a homeowner needs to consider before choosing the best home battery. For deciding between all the available battery storage brands, you should know about their storage capacity, lifespan, maintenance, etc. Also, the Price of the battery matters in battery selection.

As, there are various famous brands like Panasonic, LG, Solaria offering their battery storage options. In such a competitive market, It can be tough to select sufficient battery storage for your home. 

To guide you in selecting the best solar storage for your PV solar system, we have highlighted the key factors you should consider while making your solar battery buying decision.

Key Factors to Ponder while Selecting a Solar Battery Storage

The solar batteries specifications vary between the different available brands in the market that may confuse a homeowner. To be sold in the U.S., each battery must meet certain quality and safety standards. 

To help you out, we have mentioned below some key elements to consider when you compare different battery brands & quotes.

• Battery’s Power Rating

A battery’s power rating is the kilowatts (kW) of electricity a battery can deliver at once.

The power rating depicts the number of appliances that the battery can bear at once. Solar batteries often come in two different power ratings: continuous power rating & peak power rating. 

Continuous Power Rating depicts the amount of energy the battery can provide to the appliances that need constant power as refrigerators. And the Peak Power Rating is the maximum energy a battery can deliver in a short time to keep running your electronic appliances

Most solar batteries contain a 5kW continuous power rating & a 7kW peak power rating. So, if you want to power up more appliances, you should consider a home storage battery with a high-power rating.

Point to Ponder! You’ll only be able to power several appliances with a high-capacity battery with a low power rating, but you’ll be able to do it for more duration. But on the other hand, a solar battery with a high-power rating & low storage limit can run more appliances for a shorter time.

• Solar Battery Capacity Rating

The capacity of a solar battery describes the amount of energy it can store and provide to your home.

However, Kilowatt-hours (kWh) is the measure of the storage capacity of a solar battery system. Like power rating, the capacity rating also has two types. One is the total capacity, and the other is the usable capacity. The storage capacity of a battery indicates how long it can power various supplies of your home.

Battery storage with a capacity rating of at least 10 kWh is sufficient for most home’s power needs. Also, a 10kWh battery comes up with a decent power backup in case of blackouts.

Point to Ponder! If you want to increase the power appliances, then you should install multiple solar batteries. 

• Round-Trip Efficiency 

It shows how much energy you can get out of your solar battery versus how much energy is required to store that energy.

For example, your solar panels supply 10 kWh of power to your solar battery, but the stored energy is 7 kWh. The remaining 3kWh uses by the operating system. And the battery round-trip efficiency will be 70%.

Point to Ponder! You should select the storage device with at least 80% or higher round-trip efficiency. Higher efficiency batteries can save more.

• Lifespan

There are three elements to measure the lifetime of a battery.

• Expected Operating Years
• Estimated Throughput 
• The number of Expected Cycles

The cycle is the number of times a battery can be fully charged and drained. The throughput is the expected energy the battery will release over time. It varies and depends upon the battery’s starting capacity.

Point to Ponder! Consider the batteries have a guarantee to operate at least 70% of their original capacity after ten years.

• Solar Battery Type 

It indicates the different chemicals & compositions used to build up the home storage. Although lead-acid batteries were the most popular choice for solar-plus-storage systems, now lithium-ion batteries are the preferred option based on their performance. 

Generally, two types of solar batteries are available in the market nowadays:

• Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) Battery
• Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Battery

However, Nickel Manganese Cobalt is the famous type and can store more power in smaller spaces. They are cheap as well. However, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) type is long-lasting. 

Point to Ponder! Lead-acid batteries are only suitable for off-grid vacation homes. They are not preferable for full-time residential use.

• Safety Rate of Home Batteries

For installing in homes, all available batteries have to meet strict safety standards. Some battery chemistries, on the other hand, are slightly safer than others.

Likewise, NMC storage is more temperature-sensitive than LFP batteries. 

Point to Ponder! LFP batteries are more resistant to high temperatures and have a lower risk of catching fire, making them the safe lithium-ion option.

• Cost of the Solar Battery

The average cost of a solar battery installation is between $9,000 and $14,000. But The happy news is that batteries that work with solar power systems are eligible for the federal solar tax credit of 26%. 

Moreover, some states also offer additional storage rebates to help homeowners cut down the battery installation cost.

Learn about the Solar Rebates in your state for a good decision.

Point to Ponder! Don’t only make your choice upon the solar battery cost. Although cost is a remarkable aspect of picking a battery, it should not be the only element to focus on while choosing a battery.

Best Home Battery Recommendations by Solar SME

Solar SME, one of the top solar installers, recommends the best battery storage options for your home. 

• Generac PWR Cell
• LG Chem
• Panasonic Ever Volt
• Tesla Powerwall
• Eguana Evolve

To have a quick review of each battery, follow Battery Storage.

You can reach us out at 214 556 8288 to have a detailed discussion with our energy experts. They will assist you throughout with the best home battery selection at an affordable cost. 

Choose the Best Battery Solution & Take Control of your Home’s Energy!