What Is Battery Storage and What Can It Do?
Battery technology has jumped leaps and bounds in recent years, inspiring manufacturers to develop affordable home energy storage solutions that can add significant value to your home solar system.
So solar panels work to generate energy from the sun, which can be used to power your electrical loads. But what if you have extra energy that you aren't using? That energy goes back to the grid as a credit, offering you pennies on the dollar in return.
This is where batteries come in. When a solar system is equip with a battery storage, the battery is able to capture all of the energy that was generated in excess of the homes needs, and store it to be discharged at a later time. This is especially helpful in the event of power being shut down, or in avoiding paying for the higher cost time-of-use period from 4PM to 9PM in which San Diegan's are typically charged two times as much.
Time of Use
With San Diego requiring solar on all new residential projects, it comes as no surprise that utility companies are combating this boom in renewable energy. Utility providers are now changing their cost structure to incorporate a time of use or TOU plan. This plan allows the utility provider to charge its customers different amounts based on different times of the day.
Take the average nine to five employee, we'll call them Joe, and plug them into the times on graph of utility providers prices to the right. It is evident that Joe will be home and using electricity during the most expensive times on this plan.
A battery storage would allow Joe's solar system to pump excess power into holding tank during the daytime, in order to use that energy in the evening when he is home and using electricity; thus, avoiding on-peak rates.
Power Outages and
Rolling Blackouts
If you live in the more rural parts of San Diego, then you are likely well-acquainted with unplanned power outages.
In addition to those unexpected outages, many Californian utility providers have agreed to administer planned rolling blackouts during the high fire season.
Whether it's due to an outage, stricken pole, fire, or a 2004 Ford Taurus wedged inside a transformer box, there's one way to protect yourself against the unexpected: Solar Energy Storage.
Okay, So Whats The Catch?
By now you're probably thinking, "whats the catch?"
Believe it or not, there is no catch. Battery storage has become more readily available, and affordable enough that we are seeing it in many more homes.
If the added-value and ease of procurement don't get your blood pumping, then maybe this idea will:
California's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) has approved funding towards solar PV installations that include a battery system that comes back to home owners in the form of a rebate. Some rebates are enough to cover the entire cost of a battery installation, PLUS, batteries are eligible for the 26% federal tax credit. That's a ton of savings.
Rebate rates vary based on a combination of geographic, income, and utility based factors. Call today to learn more.
