Durham is one of the fastest-growing solar markets in the state of Connecticut. We have noticed a palpable growing interest in home solar solutions among Durham homeowners. In particular, they are curious about solar plus battery storage solutions and the freedom it offers them. Naturally, they have so many questions that need answers, and that’s why we’ve compiled a shortlist of the most common questions we keep getting asked and promptly answered them.
Since the power grid acts like a huge battery for my grid-tied system, is there any point to installing battery storage for my solar system?
Battery storage (and some additional equipment) allows you to turn your property’s electrical infrastructure into a microgrid and enjoy an uninterrupted power supply during power outages. Without battery storage, your property won’t have an electricity supply during outages, especially during the night.
Are there any government incentives for installing battery storage with my solar panels?
Yes. You qualify for Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Tax Exemptions, and Connecticut’s Energy Storage Solutions Rebate Through Connecticut Greenbank program incentives. The ITC helps you reduce the price of storage by as much as 26% of its retail price. You also don’t have to pay any sales tax or property tax on it. Also, by allowing your utility company to access the energy stored in your battery during peak demand hours, you earn more cash payments annually. Eventually, you recover all investment into your battery and perhaps even earn some extra cash.
How does battery storage reduce my carbon footprint?
Your solar panels do not produce energy all the time. Cloudy days, winter months, and even night hours are some examples of when you get insufficient to no power from your solar panels. On those occasions, you can either draw power from the grid or get it from your battery storage which stores excess power generated by your PV cells during the day.
The power from your battery is stored-solar-energy. On the other hand, grid power is likely produced with fossil fuels. So, by using clean, solar energy from your battery, you can reduce your carbon footprint.
Can I power all my appliances with a solar battery?
You shouldn’t.
Understand this. Battery storage is not a full-scale replacement for grid power or even your solar panels. It’s there to primarily maintain emergency power during blackouts. Technically, you can add more batteries to meet the power needs of even high-draw appliances, but batteries aren’t cheap, and the costs of setting up such a system would be enormous.
Whenever you switch to battery power, make sure that you use only low-draw appliances like lighting, television, fans, smartphones, computers, and so on. Appliances with resistance coils such as AC, oven, electric stove, etc. should not be used on storage power.
