Different Ways To Compare Your Solar Panel Storage Options

Storage options are part of the California solar initiative. As you consider your solar additional options, you will come across product specifications that are very complicated. The most important ones you should use during your evaluations are power ratings, the capacity of the battery, the depth of discharge, warranty, round trip efficiency and the manufacturer.

Power and capacity

The capacity of a solar battery is the total amount of electric power that a battery can store. The capacity of a battery is measured in kilowatt hours. Most batteries used in homes are stackable. This means that you can install multiple batteries to get extra storage capacity. The capacity of the battery tells you how big the battery is but it does not tell you the capacity of electricity the battery can produce at a given moment. For you to get the full picture, you should consider the power rating of the battery. A power rating is the amount of electric power that a battery can produce at a given time as far as solar batteries are concerned. This is measured in kilowatts. Batteries with low power ratings and a high capacity deliver a low amount of electric power for a long time. On the other hand, a battery with a high-power rating and low capacity can run your entire home but for a few hours.

Round trip efficiency

The round-trip efficiency is the amount of electricity that can be used as a proportion of the power it took for the storage of the charge. Now let us talk and discuss what is California solar initiate all about? The initiative is there to ensure that new homeowners install solar panels on their homes and that the systems have a higher round trip efficiency to ensure that homeowners get more economic value from their batteries and solar panels.

Depth of discharge

Most batteries need to hold some charge at all times. If you exhaust all the charge in a battery, the useful life of the battery will be shortened. The DOD of a battery is the amount of the capacity of a battery that has been used. Most battery manufacturers specify the maximum depth of discharge of a battery for optimal performance.

Warranty and battery life

Your battery will go through a daily circle which is charge and drain. The ability of the battery to hold charge will reduce as you use it. Solar batteries are just like the batteries in your mobile phone. As you use your phone, you will start to notice that the battery of the phone is not holding as much electric charge as it used to hold when it was new.

California solar initiative ensures that your battery has a warranty that guarantees you with a certain number of battery cycles or the minimum years of useful life. It is natural for the life of your battery to degrade over time and most battery manufacturers will also ensure that your battery holds a certain amount of charge over the course of the battery warranty.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *