How to choose the best battery for solar inverter in 2024

I have noted that installing the panels is fairly easy but pairing them with battery storage is slightly complex due to the many types of batteries and what they can do.

In this article, we will give you a brief description of the best battery for solar inverter. We will look at three possible uses of solar batteries and describe the batteries which work best for each of the purposes.

• Best battery for cost saving.
• Best batteries for solar inverter.
• Are solar batteries worth it?

Solar batteries are usually beneficial to homeowners in the following situations; 

• High electricity tariffs.
• No net metering policies are in place.
• Constant power blackouts or restricted hours of sunlight.

What Is A Solar Battery

Now that we know the best battery for solar inverter for your system let’s first know what’s a battery for a home solar system and why you need one.

In the case of a solar system, the battery commonly known as home battery backup is utilized to store energy that is produced by the solar panel in a reserve. In the absence of battery storage, any surplus power generated by the solar panels is fed back into the utility grid for another user to consume.

That is why you have one as a part of your solar power system, the energy that you collect only belongs to you and that is the truth. It is unavailable for anyone else to use. They are also ideal for generating backup power which is very essential if your home is to remain powered during a storm or other natural calamities.

What Kind of Batteries Are Used with Solar Inverter

Four major types of batteries are suitable for use in home solar power systems.

• Lead-acid batteries: Lead acid batteries these are the oldest and one of the most often used types of rechargeable batteries. furniture stuff is cheap, but has a large size and is rather heavy. hey are usually used in cars and golf carts, or any vehicle which has to be moved with great precision.

• Lithium-ion batteries: Lithium ion batteries these here are the lightweight champions! They deliver high power density in compact packages and are well-suited for laptops, phones, and electric vehicles. However, they are typically costlier compared to lead-acid batteries nonetheless have many advantages over the latter.

• Nickel-based batteries: This category consists of Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, which are a widely used type, in products such as digital cameras and power tools. Generally, it is regarded that they provide an optimal relation between price, mass and power.

• Flow batteries: These are of a different kind of battery. Some batteries contain liquid solutions that move through them as opposed to using chemical compounds to store energy. Due to this, they are well suited for applications such as large-scale energy storage like in solar or wind power plants. They are not incorporated in portable gadgets mainly because they are large and are composed of several components.

All these battery backup power technologies come with distinct qualities that make them optimized for various solar systems.

How To Choose a Solar Battery

The selection of the best battery for solar inverter depends on the energy requirements of the home or area to be powered. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in the United States, the average consumer used 10, 632 kWh of electricity in the year 2021; one month’s consumption is 886 kWh. Understanding your monthly electrical consumption will assist you in identifying the right battery capacity, meaning how much energy the battery can store.

Lithium-ion batteries are advised for home solar systems since it has a long service life equal to a daily charge cycle. However, lead-acid batteries are suitable for the emergency power supply, which is used from time to time or an independent power supply system.

Best battery for solar inverter and cost savings

• Highest usable Battery: SunPower Sun Vault
• Best for Customization: Sonnen Eco
• Lower Power Option: Enphase IQ

Battery Name	Battery Type	Usable Capacity	Battery Warranty	Depth of Discharge
SunPower Sun Vault	LFP	12 to 24 kWh	10 years	N/A
Sonnen Eco	LFP	5 to 20 kWh By Model	10 years	90%
Enphase IQ	LFP	3.36 to 10.08 kWh	10 years	96%

SunPower Sun Vault

As mentioned vice chairman and CEO of SunPower Max, the company specializes in supplying efficient solar panels, and its particular storage system is known as the SunPower Sun Vault. It offers two types of batteries for homes; 

Hence, to ensure that Duracell becomes the preferred battery brand in residential buildings, the company needs to come up with new solutions. Continued power, that is, the Sun Vault Storage 13 has 12 kWh of capacity and the maximum continuous power output is 6. 8 kilowatts (kW). Power capacity is the extent of backup power a battery offers to your home, and how continuous the power is.

The SunVault Storage 26 offers a much higher 24-kWh capacity; however, the continuous power rate remains the same. The 26 model has an AH capacity of 229 Ah and is a Lithium Iron Phosphate item, which makes it the largest battery on our list. Compared to the other types of batteries, LFP batteries are longer-lasting and safer as well.

Sonnen Eco

Sonnen Eco batteries are larger and denser than the majority of other solar batteries, so the solutions are not suitable for those who have restricted space in their houses. For instance, the smallest model has a weight of 394 lbs, and the Eco 20 on the other has a weight of 830 lbs.

With regards to the horsepower, all of the Eco models deliver 81. An acceptable round trip efficiency of 6% and a 90% DoD. 

The life of every battery is backed by a 10-year warranty while the end-of-warranty capacity is guaranteed to hold 70%. They also come with one of the largest clause sizes on the market, the 10,000 cycle clause.

Enphase IQ

As the similarity between such units increases, you equally have the opportunity to complementarily add your stored energy capacity. 

For instance, you can join the 3 and 3T models or the 10 and 10T models among the product range. These batteries have different continuous power ratings to meet the customers’ needs appropriately. The accompanied 3 and 3T models offer one type of support. 28 Kw with the 10 & 10T batteries providing 1. 85 kW. 

They all are characterized by the same round-trip efficiency of 96% and DoD of 100%. This puts the Enphase efficiency above Sun Vault in terms of efficiency and DoD also.

Enphase of course stands behind its batteries with a full 10-year warranty with 4,000 cycles thrown in for good measure. However, the throughput warranties are model-dependent. 

The general assessment of the 3 and 3T models for TPA is composed of 9. 8 MWh clause. The IQ 10 encompasses ideal models that go to the extent of providing 29. 4 MWh for the throughput clause for the contractor. You will also have an end of warranty of 70 per cent for each Enphase IQ battery’s capacity.

AC vs DC batteries

Another relatively crucial difference is the difference in the nature of the battery which can be AC-coupled or DC-coupled. Some batteries can be charged by Direct Current (DC electricity) while others are charged by Alternating Current (AC electricity).

Overall, DC batteries are a little bit more efficient than AC batteries, but AC batteries are simpler to install in existing solar systems.

Feature	AC Coupled Batteries	DC Coupled Batteries
Compatibility	Works with almost all solar and inverter setups	This is hard to integrate with existing solar systems particularly those with microinverters
Round-trip Efficiency	85 to 95%	Up to 95%

You can find more detailed information about the cost of the energy provided by our company by using Our Cost Calculator to get the exact value based on your Energy Needs. Still, it is challenging to identify the exact requirements with respect to input, output, and accuracy.

In order to provide you with the most accurate get a quote suited to your particular Field, our expert team is always here to help. It is time to learn more about our tools and take the next step toward voluntary energy independence.

Are Solar Batteries Worth It?

Overall, it is beneficial to install a solar battery whenever the savings for this type of battery are more than the expense of it.

• You can avoid the highest kWh prices under the TOU tariff structure or when the electricity price varies with the time or day of the week
• You can minimise energy demand charges where these are factors in electricity costs.

Conclusion

Solar batteries are meant to help store excess solar power for use at night or during a power outage; the increased efficiency of a solar system. Select a lithium-ion battery according to the energy requirement of your house, where on average, a home in the United States uses 886 kWh per month. 

The SunVault is a high capacity followed by Sonnen Eco for customization while the Enphase IQ is a low power system. The following subtypes can be used; AC batteries for simple wiring or DC batteries more efficient and ideal for new systems. Are they worth it? Yes, if they assist you in dodging peak-hour electricity tariffs or cutting down energy demand tariffs. Thus, the best battery for solar inverter can only be defined by what you require and how much you are willing to spend.

FAQS