Hybrid Battery Solar Systems
HYBRID SOLAR SYSTEMS
Battery Capability
Nearly all of the major companies in the market have just released or and in the process of releasing their own options in the market. These include ABB Aurora, Bosch and BYD. Also Tesla and LG
Hybrid Solar
Definition and Costs associated?
To change a normal solar installation into a Hybrid Solar system just add batteries. No its not that simple but for all intensive purposes adding batteries to an existing solar system gives the system the ability use use an alternative source of power and making it a Hybrid solar system, often used to store excess power so that it can be used to offset peak load or night time use. Hybrid Solar systems are not intended to be off grid solar systems though, they may have capability to be adapted in the future but require the supply of solar from the grid.
Solar PV
Solar power – PV (Photovoltaic) refers to the solar panels, domestically these would normally be placed on a roof or a household, these are connected to a standard inverter and this system is called a ‘Grid tie Solar PV’ system. A slight alteration on this setup is a Micro inverter AC solar system where each individual solar system has its own inverter to produce power. The best example on the Aus Market is the Enphase micro inverters
Choosing the correct solar system for you
Why install hybrid?
Which batteries suit your purpose?
Setting up a standard standard solar system ( already existing solar systems for most people will be the common scenario going forward . With the purchase of a Hybrid solar system such as a Schneider Connect XW allowing the facility of battery connection and ability to be fully off the grid compatibility in the future.
1 Max draw required. Use from solar system
Solar power is measured in KWH (kilowatt hours)
It is important to know how much power is required to supply the maximum power of your household. imagine you have a pool pump running a cloths dryer and general appliances. This will be a large draw on the inverter. This makes for a limiting factor when designing a hybrid system.
2 Battery Storage Required
There is 2 parts deciding what battery storage is required. If is a necessity to know what draw from the battery is expected overnight when the sun goes down and the solar is no longer available sufficient power can be drawn from the batteries until the sun comes back up again in the morning.
Secondly the terminology ‘days of autonomy’ refers to the amount of days that the battery has to last if there was poor solar production due to bad weather conditions and you had to rely purely on battery storage. This is a lot more important if looking at going fully of the grid in the future.
Storage is generally measured in amp hours, but can easily be converted to kWhrs by multiplying amp hours by the battery bank voltage. Example a 100AH battery at 48V gives 4.8kWhrs of storage.
3 Battery Life – Depth of Discharge (DOD)
Depth of discharge – One of the most important things to get your head around, without knowledge of this installation companies could take advantage of your limited knowledge. The basics are as such, the standard concept and industry standard is that a 20 % discharge will give you the best and longest lifespan out of a lead acid battery system. It is also denoted that lead acid batteries should not be taken below 50 % discharge on a regular basis as the differential in life span of a battery set could be depleted by 3 times. There is economical benefit from depleting the batteries to 50% but a customized approach should be taken with every installation.
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