For years solar plus storage has been providing homeowners increasing savings against the status quo of buying electricity from a utility, as well as an immediate path to a more enviro-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. The technology has earned the reputation as one of the most versatile forms of clean energy, because it is scalable from the smallest application for signs and streetlights all the way to utility sized solar farms.
Enter energy storage in the form of batteries, and “solar plus storage” becomes more vital by helping owners be more resistant to outages – which is typically called being resilient. Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
And increasingly there are interruptions in the distribution of electric power in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that most of us might say makes life more “difficult” for us. Just recently, the effects of tropical storm Isaias left 6.4 million homes and businesses without power up and down the East coast, some for an uncomfortably long period of time. Over the period from July 30 to August 6, 2020, it was reported that approximately 580,000 homes in Pennsylvania and over 1.6 million homes in New Jersey were at some point without power during that time.
By including batteries and the associated charging control components to a solar energy system, a homeowner now has backup which translates to more flexibility to ride out the inconvenience of such storms. Backup like this using solar plus storage is quiet, requires no fuel beyond the sunshine, can run critical loads indefinitely as long as the sun comes out to recharge the batteries each day, and therefore has minimal environmental impact when compared to more commonly used backup generators. And most backup generators require more inspection and service to remain reliable.
These solar based backup systems can be designed to support essentials like refrigeration, sump pumps, well pumps, and lighting, while larger systems can be engineered to support more of a household’s needs, sometimes including some limited heating and cooling.
Battery selection adds even more flexibility, where the battery type impacts your initial and lifetime costs and other factors including required space and the charging lifecycles of the system. This backup power can come from lead acid style batteries commonly seen starting and running your car – or it can come from more advanced lithium-based products seen powering a growing number of personal electronics and electric vehicles.
While solar plus storage is not for everyone, Exact Solar has designed and installed numerous systems and stands ready to meet the needs of homeowners searching for relief and tired of the utility status quo.