Going off-grid may not be for everyone; a better route may be to ‘go hybrid’, by adding batteries to grid-connected solar. Andrew Reddaway explores the options. This article was first published in Issue 132 (July–September 2015) of Renew magazine. The solar battery industry is on the verge of disruptive change.
A: Yes, when the Home Battery has been installed with an Energy Hub inverter and the Backup Interface has also been installed and configured then backup is available to power your whole home if the grid fails - assuming you have sufficient battery and inverter capacity available. Q5: Isn't the battery heavy?
Or is it just automatic (read the post again) it kicks power to your house one enough solar power is saved up, then kicks back to grid when you batteries are depleted? Yes. Its an *off-grid* way to consume all PV generated power but yet use the grid as stand-by.
I use several ATSs (automatic transfer switchs) to connect my off-grid solar to the house. When the PV -> battery charges up enough to turn on the Inverter - the Inverter power flips the ATSs from grid to inverter. When the batteries run down and the inverter goes off, the ATSs automatically switch back to grid.
You CAN add a battery if you have a separate inverter and it is connected directly to your home’s electricity circuit. This requires a new AC inverter (to convert the AC power in the house into the DC power in the battery when charging, and vice-versa when discharging).
If you are on a grid tied system you do not need a battery bank. The benefit of having batteries though is that in case of a power outage you have access to power. You cannot use grid tied solar panels because the power company turns them off in case of a blackout.
You CAN add a battery if you have a separate inverter and it is connected directly to your home''s electricity circuit. This requires a new AC inverter (to convert the AC power in the house into the DC power in the battery when charging, and …