Installing a solar panel system in your home is one of the best ways to lower your electric bills, improve your house’s energy efficiency and increase the value of your home. When installing the system, you can choose to simply have your solar panels directly installed or to pair it with a battery storage solution to store excess energy your system creates. Having a battery isn’t necessary, but it does provide a number of added benefits. Still, you’ll need to carefully consider the goals you have in mind for your solar system to determine whether you need battery storage, and if so, how much storage you need.
What Is Your Solar Goal?
The first step in determining how much battery storage you need is to think about the specific goal you want to achieve with your solar power system. This will typically fall into one of three categories: energy savings, energy reliability, and energy independence.
If you’re most interested in energy savings, that obviously means wanting to reduce your energy costs and make your home more efficient. While this is something that a solar panel system from GVEC will help you achieve, how much battery storage you have can impact your savings as well. To achieve the greatest possible savings, you’ll need to ensure that you have enough battery capacity to cover your energy needs when your system isn’t producing energy.
The same is also true if your goal is to gain more energy independence. While it’s very difficult to live totally “off grid,” solar options you choose can make it possible to lessen your dependence on your electricity provider by giving you the ability to produce a certain amount of your own energy. Pairing a solar panel system with battery storage can help reduce the amount of energy you buy from your electricity provider even more. Plus, battery storage systems like Tesla Powerwall, sold and installed by GVEC, give you access to determine when and how you use your stored power.
Many homeowners also choose to pair battery storage with their solar panel systems as a way of ensuring they still have electricity in the event of a power outage. In this case, you’ll generally need enough storage capacity to power your major appliances for a few hours and maybe lights in certain rooms of you home. However, having additional storage capacity is never a bad thing, as you can never know how long an outage will last.
Calculating Energy Usage to Determine Your Battery Needs
No matter what your ultimate goal is, how much energy your home uses and how much energy your solar panel system creates will be the primary factors in determining how much battery storage capacity you need. Calculating your energy usage is a fairly easy step since all it takes is looking at your monthly electricity bills to see how much energy you use on average.
Still, it depends on two main factors: the total output of your solar panel system and how much power your household consumes on average. Luckily, the Energy Solutions Specialists at GVEC can look at these factors, listen to your needs, and help you determine the amount of battery storage capacity to satisfy your expectations.
Solar Power and Battery Storage Experts
If you’re considering a solar panel system for your home or have questions about how much battery storage capacity you need, the knowledgeable team at GVEC Solar Services is here to help. With locations in Gonzales, Schertz, Seguin, La Vernia, and Cuero, we provide expert solar services and solutions to customers all across South Central Texas. We specialize in solar design and installation, solar maintenance and battery storage, and we offer affordable financing options for qualifying customers. For more information or to schedule a consultation, give GVEC Solar Services a call at 855.898.8807 today.
