As solar power battery banks have grown in popularity and importance, they’ve also grown in smart technology – energy intelligence. That means, intelligent solar energy storage provides energy bill management and backup energy in the event of a grid outage.
Solar energy storage is configured for both whole-home and critical load backups. And, it satisfies a comprehensive array of home energy needs,. This done through a combination of built-in hardware and software that can be as simple as a phone app.
Continue reading to learn more about how intelligent residential solar energy storage works. Then, discover how this solar energy storage system benefits your solar power installation.
Intelligent solar energy storage technology
Using MLPE, or Module Level Power Electronics, which include solar panel optimizers, an internal smart system can now be used to manage every aspect of your solar system in real time. That means, it can keep it running at an optimal level and at optimal efficiency at all times.
This latest solar energy storage technology provides better ease-of-installation, more efficient system maintenance and management, and increased flexibility for installers. It provides the freedom for you to choose the features and components specific to your custom solar installation.
Using intelligent solar energy storage technology, it’s convenient to maintain through a mobile app or a browser-based program. And, it provides real-time system diagnosis. Additionally, energy production is clearly monitored and analyzed for greater visibility and understanding of various solar energy systems.
Within an intelligent solar energy storage system, the battery bank and solar power inverter work together to ensure efficient solar panel power generation along with better net metering.
SOLAR ATS: Automatic Transfer Switch
If you’re using a hybrid solar power system, which uses grid power, your ATS or Automatic Transfer Switch powers your household until your solar battery bank runs low. Then, it will switch to grid power to keep your household power alive. It can also switch to your backup generator if one is installed in your system.
Your solar energy storage system’s ATS has AC inputs that include a primary input along with a secondary and sometimes a third AC input. The primary input is prioritized, meaning that it will always use that primary power AC source when available. However, if the primary source fails, the ATS automatically switches to the secondary input to supply power to your household.
To summarize, your ATS connects to your inverter, panel array, battery bank, generator, and the grid. It sues all of these sources to ensure your household remains powered at all times. It isolates every energy source and connects to only one at a given time. Then, it switches sources as needed.
Solar panel optimizers regulate energy
When you install solar power optimizers, you gain solar panel improvements by maximizing solar energy harvesting. To explain, they individually tune the performance of each panel of your solar system. Once installed, these power optimizers provide solid benefits when there are variances between solar panels.
Variances between solar panels EXPLAINED
Solar panel variances occur when panels face different directions. That means the energy they produce from sunlight varies slightly. Also, these variances happen when spotty shading blocks sunlight on some panels but not others. Finally, debris like leaves and dust cause solar panel power variances as well.
Improvements using solar power optimizers
Attaching solar power optimizers to each solar module allows installers to easily monitor solar system performance. That means, they can track, pinpoint, and resolve issues at any point along a string of solar panels with surgical precision. This lowers maintenance costs dramatically over the life of your system.
Additionally, solar power optimizers contain industry-leading safety mechanisms. For example, they automatically reduce occasional high DC voltage spikes to a safe level, by design. Voltage spikes occur when solar system components are temporarily disconnected for maintenance.
This solar panel optimizer connects between each solar module within your solar panel array. As such, it converts each panel into a smart module that tracks MPPT or Maximum Power Point Tracking increasing energy production throughout your entire solar system.
Solar panel optimizers provide maximum protection for both your property and you along with improving power efficiency throughout your solar panel array. This is the most difficult and complicated of the solar panel improvements if you already own a solar system, but is well worth the investment.
Many types of inverters for solar
Throughout recent history, solar systems have clearly achieved an enduring favorable notoriety. As such, even the most basic solar systems have proven themselves beneficial and reliable.
While you may find many variations and custom options that go into a solar system, there’s an assortment of essentials to identify and explain in simple terms. As such, let’s take a walk through each part to understand the basic system and what essential solar components go into it prior to installation.
A sufficient solar system is a self-sustaining household solar system that also connects to the power grid. That means, it provides power from three sources: solar energy, battery bank backup, and your electrical utility grid.
Off-grid systems are enormously more complicated than common grid-connected solar systems. But, over 300,000 homes use them for their energy needs around the world. They know that when connected to the grid, they’re dependent on an external supplier for all their power. And when that power grid goes down, so does their power supply.
Check out the following components that make up a solar system. In this section, equip yourself with important knowledge while learning how to design a solar system. That way, you won’t run into surprises when purchasing you own off-grid solar system or hybrid solar system.
