Home Solar Power System Batteries
If you’re wondering what kind of battery is the best to use with a solar power system, this article will tell you the answer. Most people who install a solar power system want to use electricity at night when the sun isn’t shining, and so will require some way to store the energy generated during the day. The way to accomplish this is typically with batteries and a proper charge controller. So, what type of battery is the best for use with solar panels?
Many people would probably first think of the new battery technologies used in devices like cell phones, laptop computers and also in hybrid cars. There are reasons these batteries are a good fit for those devices, but as you’ll see they don’t apply to solar power systems.
These types of batteries are much smaller and weigh significantly less than older battery types. The biggest drawback to these batteries is cost versus the older batteries. For devices like ipods, being small and light are more important than cost, so these newer technologies are a good fit in these devices.
Your solar power system, though, isn’t going to move around. What is going to be important is having as large a capacity as you can. For this reason, cost per amp/hour of capacity is a lot more critical than being small or light.
Regular sealed lead acid batteries are tops in cost for capacity. The battery in your car is sealed lead acid. Sealed lead acid batteries will be 50-25% the cost of the newer battery types for similar capacity. Sealed lead acid batteries are rugged, cheap and safe.
In most solar power systems you will find 12v sealed lead acid batteries. 12, 24 or 48 volts are the most common voltages for solar systems. Any of these voltages can be conveniently produced by tying together the right number of 12 volt batteries in series. You can then begin to increase the number of appliances you can supply electricity to and also increase the amount of energy you can store by combining the groups of batteries in parallel.
Since you are using 12 volt batteries, a 12 volt solar charger. The charger will make sure the voltage going to the batteries is correct, and will prevent overcharging.
A power inverter will allow you to supply power to devices you would normally plug into the wall . You’ll need a grid tie inverter if you plan to sell excess electricity back to the power company. A regular power inverter will power all your appliances and be less expensive if you don’t need to tie into the grid.
So there you have it. While the newer, high efficiency technology is best for solar panels, old fashioned technology is best when it comes to batteries for a home solar power system. Sealed lead acid batteries are the best choice for home solar power systems.
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