Energy Storage Invaluable Addition To Residential Solar Systems
A new report examining total installed cost and price components for residential PV solar systems equipped with energy storage, was published by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Thanks to the technological innovation in recent years and declining manufacturing costs, solar systems have become an attractive choice both for residents and utilities. Energy storage technology has also been affected by the innovation and lowered manufacturing costs resulting in an enormous interest in combining solar systems with energy storage.
Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have published the most detailed at present component and system-level cost breakdowns for residential solar PV equipped with energy storage.
Energy storage systems are an invaluable addition to solar systems as they enhance their functionality by storing excess electricity for later use.
The report wants to bring a thorough understanding of the costs involved in combining solar systems with battery storage thus separating costs into 13 categories. The data is applied to two cases – a “small-battery case” and a “large-battery case. The results show that the price for the small-battery case is approximately twice as expensive as a standalone 5.6 kW PV system. There are still some differences in the price depending on for example whether the PV and battery system are installed at the same time, or added to an existing array.
The large-battery case is highly priced — after all its expected application is to meet greater backup power and energy demands in case of a power interruption.
If you want to know more about this and other topics directly from end users of energy storage technologies join us at one of these annual events: The Energy Storage World Forum (Grid Scale Applications), or The Residential Energy Storage Forum, or one of our Training Courses.
