Do solar panels need battery storage?

Absolutely! In fact, most home solar systems are currently operating without battery storage. If you’re fine with drawing from the grid and not particularly worried about power outages, you might not need a battery. However, there are benefits to having battery storage for your solar panels — and they are becoming increasingly common.

Should you retrofit your home with battery storage?

Solar batteries can provide added resiliency during outages or enable you to use solar energy even at night. Often, you can take advantage of incentives — both federal and state — to help offset the cost of purchasing battery storage. There are some things to consider when it comes to retrofitting your home with battery storage.

How does a solar system work without battery storage?

Without battery storage, solar systems typically to use the utility grid as a battery. Solar energy is first used to directly power your home and the excess energy is pushed onto the local grid to power neighboring systems. When the solar system is underproducing, the home draws electricity from the local grid.

What is battery storage & why is it important?

Battery storage means you don’t have to rely on your utility to deliver electricity to your home most days of the year. And you can always keep some battery capacity in reserve, so that if the power goes out in your neighborhood, your house will be the one with the lights on.

Why do you need a solar battery?

A solar battery can help you save money if your utility has demand charges, time-of-use rates, or doesn't offer net metering. By storing solar electricity onsite in a battery, you can avoid pulling expensive electricity from the grid when your solar panel system isn't generating enough power to meet your needs (like at night).

Do you need a solar battery bank?

You essentially use the local utility grid as a battery to “store energy” without needing a solar battery bank in your home. If you have your own battery storage, you likely won’t transfer much energy to or from the grid. You store your own energy and pull from that, and the grid serves as a backup to the backup.