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How Do Solar Panels And Batteries Work Together?

With solar panel system rapidly becoming an ubiquitous phenomenon within the modern society, several homeowners in the UK are just coming to terms with the numerous benefits offered by the system. The solar power’s popularity has even led to the rise of another renewable technology - solar batteries able to store excess solar power that can be used later. Now several companies such as Tesla are now building solar batteries that can be fitted alongside solar panels for your building. So how exactly do solar panels and batteries work together? Let’s have a look!

Solar panels make use of the sun light to generate electricity and as a result, they can’t function when sunlight is absent - giving a big issue of how to power your house when it’s dark. In the event whereby this occurs, you’re afforded two options which is either to contact energy providers to buy electricity or purchase a battery storage system.

So what’s the function of the battery storage system? Basically when your solar panel provides electricity which is not needed right away, a solar battery will work to convert the DC electricity into AC energy which is going to be stored for later use (when you actually need it). in other words, your solar panels charge the batteries when you do not require the energy they’re generating right away.

As a result, when it’s dark and the solar panels are no longer functioning, your system will tap into the energy that’s already been stored by your battery for later use. This way, you can be totally independent of the National Grid, which implies more savings on your electricity bills.

No – solar thermal doesn’t generate electricity. Unlike solar PV, solar thermal panels harness the sun’s energy and convert it into heat which is then transferred into your home.

You can have evacuated tube solar thermal panels or flat plate collectors; evacuated tubes are thought to be more efficient that flat plate collectors. They both work by using the sun’s rays to heat a transfer fluid, usually made from water and a type of antifreeze, which is pumped to a heat exchanger inside a water tank in your home. The heat from the exchanger heats the water inside your tank, then when the liquid releases its heat it’s transferred back to the collectors to start the whole process again.

You’ll need to use your solar thermal panel system with a boiler, collector or immersion heater. This is so that the water can be stored and used for your hot water and heating, and also because in the UK, people generally need to rely on another source of heating in the winter. There are fewer sunlight hours in the winter months, so it’s not often possible for solar thermal panels to generate enough heat from the sun to get your water up to temperature.

Whatever the time of year it is, you might want to heat the water up further than your solar panels can manage. That’s why you’ll still need a form of traditional hot water heating, but you should see savings on your energy bills. If you’re currently using natural gas, you can expect savings of around £60 per year on your fuel bills, while if you’re using LPG it could be as high as £100 pr year

Solar panels are a great source of energy with numerous benefits that comes with it. However, the main thing that puts off most homeowners or potential buyers is the fact that the equipment are usually very expensive. So if you’re planning to purchase solar panels to be installed in your home, then you’d probably want to know if it’s actually worth the investment or otherwise. In this article, we aim to give you a good insight into how solar panels works and if its a viable investment.

Generally, the length of time it will take for your solar panels to payback and whether you’ll be able to make money from them will be based on the following factors:

✓ The solar panel PV system’s cost.

✓ The amount of the generated electricity that you’re able to use.

✓ Whether as well as the amount you’re paid to the electricity you’re able to generate and export.

To know whether your solar panels are truly worth it, then a higher initial cost to fit the system will require to be settled with the amount you’re able to save through the use of the renewable electricity it produces, rather than making purchases from your electricity company. In other words, the more renewable energy you’re able to use, the more savings you make. If you’re registered for the FIT and paid per kWh of electricity produced, for 50 percent of that, which is assumed to be exported to the grid. Therefore, if you’re able to use more than 50 percent, you’ll be able to benefit from the investment.

If you’re thinking about getting a solar thermal system for your home, it’s normal to consider the possibility of using the system for central heating. So is this viable? In this article, you’ll learn how solar thermal panels can be incorporated for heating. Let’s have a closer look!

Heating and hot water systems, on the average, takes up a sizeable part ( up to 70 percent) of our energy bills. Now take a moment to imagine how cool it’ll be to generate your own hot water for free without having to depend on any supplier which in turn significantly reduces your energy bills. Well, this is exactly the work of central heating systems that are powered by solar. That’s super cool, right? Well, let’s have a look at how this works.

While solar panels generates electricity, solar thermal panels produces heat for hot water production. However, what’s important is the fact that they both make use of the sun’s natural energy to provide us with a free and renewable energy we can use in our homes. Here’s how it works.

Solar thermal panels directed at central heating incorporates the sun’s natural energy to heat water in a storage cylinder which is then available for use at home. These solar thermal panels are exposed to the sunlight by fitting them on the roof of the home. Generally, they’ll include tubes that contains liquid whose job is to collect the heat and then transfer it to a hot water cylinder that’s solar compatible in your home. The heat is generated for free and is also renewable. This is help you save lots of money on oil, gas and even electricity which you purchase to power the cylinder.

In theory, you can fit solar panels yourself. In practice, it’s worth leaving it up to the professionals.

If you get DIY solar panels and install them on your roof yourself, you won’t be able to apply for the government-backed Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). The SEG pays you for every unit of electricity you generate and send back to the grid, so it’s a scheme well worth signing up for. However, you must have your solar panels installed by a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)-registered engineer or company, so you’ll miss out if you install the solar panels by yourself.

The other thing to consider about installing solar panels yourself is that you’re dealing with electricity. Electricity is extremely dangerous if handled incorrectly, so if you don’t have any qualifications in working with electricity you could be putting yourself and your family at risk. Connecting DIY solar panels yourself and doing it incorrectly could mean that you give yourself an electric shock or cause a fire. If your home is damaged due to a fire caused by solar panels you’ve installed yourself, it’s unlikely that your home insurance company would pay out.

Before having a go at installing your own solar panels, do some quick sums to see how much money it could really save you. A 3.5kW DIY solar panel kit will cost around £4,000-5,000. According to the Energy Saving Trust, a home in the South East of England where most occupants are out all day until 6pm would save around £100 a year on their electricity bills. That means that you wouldn’t break even until 40 years, but solar panels last around 25 years on average. However, if you have your solar panels installed by an MCS-registered installer and they cost £4,500, you could save £220 a year including your SEG payments. That brings the payback time to around 20 years.

So although the initial outlay is slightly less when you install solar panels yourself, it’s much better to have them installed by an MCS-registered engineer so you can take advantage of the SEG payments.