The Essential Guide to Home Solar Batteries

What to consider when choosing a solar battery

When on the hunt for the perfect solar battery, there are a few key factors to keep in mind beyond chemistry alone, including capacity, lifespan, and cost.

Energy storage capacity

A solar battery's rated capacity measures how much energy it can store, usually expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh) or amp hours (Ah). To calculate the amount of storage capacity you should install, you will first need to establish your energy goals, as in, how much of your property you would like to be run with stored solar power.

If you are going completely off the grid (or as much as that is possible in your neighborhood), large amounts of battery storage will be necessary to keep your electricity as green and cheap as possible. On the other hand, if you are primarily interested in battery storage as a solar backup during local electric outages from hurricanes and other extreme weather events, a smaller reserve may be enough to run your home's essentials.

Whatever your goals, Enphase IQ batteries are easily "expandable," which means that you can customize your total backup capacity and even add extra storage later in the lifetime of your system.

Cost and expected lifespan

Although cost and expected lifespan are separate buying factors, they are both pieces of the same puzzle: value. When considering the value of your solar battery, you must look at how its upfront cost compares to its performance over time.

Upfront, home solar storage usually costs between $5,000 and $10,000 for each battery, including expenses for hardware and installation. While costs vary depending on product type, capacity, and elected brand, adding multiple batteries to a full-home system can also increase total storage costs up to $20,000.

In most cases, the expected lifespan of a solar battery is expressed in a "cycle count," which refers to the number of complete charges and discharges the system can handle before its capacity falls below a certain level. Expected solar battery lifespan can also be determined by the manufacturer's warranty period and the company's longevity to serve the warranty.

Therefore, when evaluating solar battery choices with similar performance and costs, a product with more expected lifecycles may be a better value. As a long-term investment in your property's energy costs, it is also important to consider the warranty of a solar battery before making your final design and purchasing decisions.

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