In recent years, residential energy storage systems have become more and more popular, especially in the United States, South Africa, Australia and throughout Europe.
The main reasons for this trend include:
The bad weather put the power grid to the test. The world is experiencing exponential power outages caused by ice storms, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes and floods. The ice storm in Texas and the Philomena storm in Spain caused power outages for several days. People can only support themselves without water or electricity.
High electricity prices have become a major pain point for homeowners worldwide. Global energy prices in 2020 are estimated to average 0.113 Euro (0.137 USD)/kWh. Germany has the highest electricity price at 0.304 Euro (about 0.365 USD)/kWh. The cost of electricity in most European countries has continued to rise over the past decade.
Solar and energy storage costs are falling
The reduction in the cost of solar and energy storage systems, coupled with the policy support of the far-sighted government, makes the upfront cost more palatable. It also shortens the payback period for ordinary homeowners. Government plans such as the Australian Energy Storage Subsidy will reduce the 10-kilowatt-hour energy storage system by AU$5,000 (approximately US$3,867).
Due to the above key reasons, homeowners are quickly realizing the benefits of home energy storage systems. For the new system, the obvious choice is to install a hybrid inverter that takes input from solar photovoltaic (PV) and batteries. For those who already have a grid-connected solar system, upgrading and adding AC-coupled battery inverters (such as Solis RAI) is a simple and cost-effective way to obtain energy storage solutions. Just by adding a few pieces of equipment next to the AC-coupled inverter, the existing solar photovoltaic system can be upgraded to include storage. It couldn't be simpler.
Required equipment – Solis RAI example
When upgrading the grid-connected solar system to an energy storage system, the only part that has changed is the AC-coupled battery inverter additional components. The existing solar photovoltaic system does not need to be changed at all. The AC-coupled battery inverter is installed next to the battery and then directly connected to your panel or power supply. If the customer wants backup of critical loads, these loads will be moved to RAI's backup port. This provides customers with the opportunity to choose what they define as "critical" loads. During a grid failure, the critical load will remain online until the solar photovoltaic power generation is invalid and/or the battery is exhausted. Examples of critical loads include refrigerators, hot water tanks, emergency lighting, etc.
To learn more about the installation process, you can visit the Solis website (https://www.solisinverters.com) to learn more about Solis AC-coupled inverters through the data sheet, compatible battery list and user manual.
The benefits of expanding to solar photovoltaic energy storage systems
Use energy storage devices to adjust the peak and valley power demand of the grid and enhance the photovoltaic energy absorption capacity.
Improve the reliability and power quality of clean energy.
Increase self-consumption rate and reduce electricity bills.
Enable emergency power in the event of a grid failure.
The solar energy storage system can reduce the cost of electricity and improve the stability of the owner's power supply. In addition, if there are local government subsidies, the cost recovery period will be shortened, even more so. Globally, the average payback period for grid-connected inverters is five years, but it can be increased or decreased according to subsidies. However, if an AC-coupled extended energy storage system is added, the recovery time will be reduced. For all homeowners, this is a more attractive option-while accelerating the world's journey towards a more sustainable future.
For homeowners who have installed a solar photovoltaic system, now is the best time to upgrade the system to an energy storage solution. With Solis's AC-coupled RAI battery inverter solution, this transition is simple, cost-effective, and provides energy security and peace of mind. Whether it is a simple grid fault caused by a local project or a major weather system that caused a power outage, Solis will ensure that the homeowner’s critical load remains connected and online without any downtime.
This article is sponsored by the solar inverter manufacturer Jinlong Technology.