Guide: A smarter way to store solar power
10 tips for solar panel owners that you should know about
As an owner of solar panels you have made a conscious decision to contribute to a cleaner more environmentally-friendly future. Now it’s time to take the next step and use all the solar energy you produce year round. Here are 10 tips on how to make the most of your investment by storing solar power in a home battery.
1. Produce energy during the day and use it in the evening
Finally, your solar panels are on the roof. Everything works, the sun shines and the energy flows into your home. But you’re at work and the kids are at school. This is everyday life for most of us, and all that green energy has to be transferred to the grid. Fact: solar panels produce the most energy when you need it the least.
Tip
By storing the energy produced by your solar panels during the day, you can use locally produced green electricity when you get home from work, even if the sun has gone down.
2. Use stored solar power when the mains power goes out
It might seem ridiculous, but your solar panels are reliant on mains power. All those dreams of being able to carry on as normal when there is a power outage quickly fade when everything turns off in your home, just like the neighbors.
Solar panels generate direct current which needs converting to alternating current for use in a house. This is done by an inverter which runs on mains electricity. What’s more, inverters are prohibited from producing electricity if they are disconnected from the mains. Why? Because when the grid is being repaired, it has to be voltage-free, but if your inverter is sending power out to it, there will be a very unpleasant surprise waiting for the electrician.
Tip
An off-grid solution is available as part of the QuiPower system. It automatically disconnects from the grid in the event of a power failure and continues to store your solar production in QuiPower Storage while supplying energy to your home. Smooth, safe and very effective.
3. Store energy when it’s cheap, use it when it’s expensive
Even though the weather varies, the sun’s rays are free, and you obviously want to capture as many of them as possible. On the other hand, the price of mains electricity from the grid varies; costing more when demand increases during peak times. What’s more, the cost of electricity is only going to increase as the demand and need for modernization grows.
Tip
With a home battery solution, you can save electricity from your solar panels when the sun is shining and use it when mains electricity is most expensive.
4. Cut peaks by combining solar and mains energy
Peak-based pricing is a reality for many homeowners. Unfortunately, most of us want electricity at the same time – and as demand rises so do the prices. In attempt to control and spread demand throughout the day, utility provides have introduced peak tariffs for usage based on time of day and weekly or monthly consumption – which can be very costly if you have electric vehicles.
Tip
With QuiPower smart energy storage you can avoid costly power peaks by using a combination of mains and solar electricity. The smart system can ensure there’s always enough stored energy to avoid any peak charges.
5. Boost your car charge with stored solar energy
“How long does it take to charge an electric or hybrid car ?” That’s one of the most common questions we’re asked. The answer is, of course, “it depends”. It depends on how much energy is available, the energy capacity to your home, and the model of car you have.
We strongly advise against charging a car from a regular wall socket (Schuko, type F). Neither the socket nor the wiring is designed to handle high loads for long periods of time, which is exactly what an electric car requires. In the worst case scenario, it can cause a fire. Charging an electric or hybrid car should be done using a Type 2 connector, which is standard for normal charging in the EU. (CSS is the default for fast charging).
How quickly you can charge your car also depends on the property’s master fuse. Many houses have a 16 Amp supply as standard. If you use other power hungry appliances at the same time, such as a hot water boiler, induction hob, or kettle, you further limit the amount of energy available. If you load the house with more than 16 Amperes, the fuse will blow. It’s as simple as that.
In a busy household it’s fairly common for the fuse to blow when charging an electric car, so most people end up dialing down the power that is transferred to the car, just to be on the safe side.
Tip
With QuiPower smart load balancing, you can optimize energy usage to enable faster charging of electric cars. If the ampere limits of a property are being reached, the home battery kicks in, providing energy and ensuring the fuse doesn’t blow. Boost your car charging with QuiPower and avoid power outages.
6. Charge when it’s cloudy, skip the charging station and keep thieves at bay
When you connect your car charger to a QuiPower smart energy storage system, you can prioritize the use of solar energy. This means that when the clouds come out, and your solar panels stop generating power, your energy storage solution can temporarily take over.
The QuiPower system also comes with integrated charging points for electric car charging, which makes it much harder for thieves to steal the charger. The most common car charging solutions involve mounting expensive charging stations to your property with just a few screws. A little too easy for a thief to “acquire” or at least that’s our opinion.
Tip
With QuiPower Storage from Enequi you don’t need a charging station – the only thing you need outdoors is the charging cable itself. The charging box is integrated in QuiPower Storage, which is located safely and securely indoors. Two charging points are available for standard sized storage units, but more added by increasing kW storage size.
7. Warm up the pool with the sun’s rays
Nothing beats having solar panels in summer. During the bright months, when the sun is up for hours, an awful lot of energy is produced. If you are the type of person who only bathes when the thermometer is above 24 ° C then you can use excess solar production to heat the pool.
Tip
During the daytime, you can use energy directly from your solar panels to heat the pool while filling up your home battery. Stored energy can then be used to heat the pool when the sun goes down or the clouds come out.
8. Save energy that you already produce
The energy transformation has definitely picked up in speed lately and storing solar energy is becoming more and more common. Many of those that are investing in new solar panels are choosing to install energy storage solutions at the same time. However, if you’re a micro-producer that had solar panels on your roof for a long time, you may not have considered energy storage yet. But QuiPower works well together with almost every type of solar panels.
Tip
QuiPower can be used together with already installed solar panel installations. What is needed is a QuiPower-compatible inverter, which is the device that transforms the DC-power from the solar panels to AC-power that can be used in the property. With a hybrid inverter you don’t need to worry about installing multiple inverters; one is enough for both PV and energy storage. So you can save both energy and space.
9. Charge your car with solar energy instead of selling the electricity
More and more commuters are beginning to feel self-conscious about driving to work in gasoline or diesel powered cars. A well charged electric or hybrid car is the best way to solve this if you don’t have access to good public transport. But you need to have a reliable way of charging your car to guarantee it’s fully charged for your morning commute.
Tip
Fill your energy storage unit with the sun’s rays during the day and charge your car with stored solar power when you get home from work. It’s a great way to safeguard the environment and reduce your daily energy costs.
10. Become more self-sufficient
With an energy storage system you can become more energy self-sufficient. A smart home automates the control of appliances so that you can us solar energy to power them when production levels are high, and at the same time the system makes sure to store solar energy if the production is not enough for the property needs. That way you maximize the utilization of your solar energy.
Tip
With energy storage in your home you can cook, clean, charge the car and listen to music when you come home from work without worrying about blowing a fuse. When the darkness falls the QuiPower system will keep the lights shining and the TV running. When the sun shines in the morning your energy storage will be filled with energy from the solar panels to make sure it can contribute with exta energy if needed for the morning coffee and the hot shower. Lovely!
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