Solar would be fairly inefficient if you didn’t have a place to transport the electricity your solar panels produce; otherwise, your appliances would only run when the sun is out and your panels are producing energy. The energy would be squandered if you didn’t utilize it, and you wouldn’t be able to use it at night. Bring on the solar batteries, which store the energy your panels produce so you can utilize them when you need them. Solar batteries can let you partially protect your home or facility from power outages or even completely pull it off the grid as an alternative (or addition) to feeding energy back to the grid.
TYPES OF SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEMS
In the realm of solar energy, lead-acid, lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium, and flow batteries are the four primary battery types.
Nickel-Cadmium
Due to their exceptional endurance and unique capacity to operate in harsh temperatures, nickel-cadmium batteries are primarily employed in industrial and aircraft applications rather than in homes. Comparing nickel-cadmium batteries to other battery types, they also need less maintenance.
Regrettably, cadmium is a highly hazardous element that can harm our environment severely if it is not properly disposed of.
Lead-Acid
One of the most popular battery types used in automotive and industrial applications, lead-acid batteries have been around for a while. They have a low energy density, or the ability to store little energy per kilogram of weight, but they are nonetheless affordable and dependable, making them a popular option for use in a home solar setup.
Depending on the intended use and safe depth of discharge, lead-acid batteries can be either shallow-cycle or deep-cycle and available in both flooded and sealed forms (DOD). Lead-acid batteries continue to be a good alternative for many homeowners thanks to recent technological developments that have increased their longevity.
Lithium-Ion
When compared to other battery kinds, lithium-ion batteries have far more recent technology. A smaller, lighter, and more effective alternative, lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density. They are excellent for use in laptops and phones—as well as in your home—because they let the user access more of the energy stored within the battery before needing to be recharged.
The considerable consumer price premium for lithium-ion batteries is its main disadvantage. Lithium-ion batteries may also catch fire as a result of a phenomenon known as a thermal runaway if they are fitted incorrectly.
Flow Batteries
A flow battery is a rechargeable battery in which electrolyte is continuously pumped from one or more tanks through one or more electrochemical cells. It is simple to increase the amount of electrolyte held in the tanks of a simple flow battery to enhance the energy storage capacity. The power of the flow battery system can be adjusted by electrically connecting the electrochemical cells in series or parallel. An essential component of flow battery systems is the decoupling of energy rating and power rating.
