Where are the batteries? That's one of the most common questions asked about a solar powered system on a house. That was the first question a friend asked at a New Year's Eve party this year. He was surprised to hear that you do not have to have batteries. This homeowner thought you needed batteries with a solar powered system. You do not. Batteries have a warranty of 10 years. In 10 years, you may be too old to worry about changing out batteries. He was surprised. You don't need batteries. Here's why.

You can have a grid tied system without the batteries. You can still cut your electric bill. Depending upon where you live, you don't need a battery backup system. It is better to use the power company as a battery. During the day when you are producing power and you are not at home (or not using it), it's going back to your power grid. Then at night when you come home from work and start cooking and using lights, you are buying it back from them. Why not take advantage of that? That's like money in your pocket. They are the battery. Many people are using them, the power company, as their battery in the evening hours. The idea is you want to break even. You want to be producing, over a 24 hour period, the same amount as what you are using.

If you decide to install a battery backup for your solar powered system, you do need a certain type of battery. Batteries can have different amp hour ratings. Some batteries have a 20 amp hour rating. There was a battery the other day that was rated for a 100 amp hour. This battery for 100 amp hours was selling for $300 for 1 battery. It's a good battery with a 5 year warranty.

How many hours does it take to drain 100 amps? That would be 5 hours at a 20 amp draw but you can't drain it completely so that would actually be 4 hours. Let's also say you can't charge that battery because today was a cloudy and overcast day.

How many batteries do you think that system will need to charge? Let's figure it out. How many hours are there in 3 days? That's 24 hours times 3 days equals 72 hours. Divide that 72 hours by 4 hours a day equals 13. So you need 13 batteries at $300 apiece. That's $3900. Would you pay almost $4000 for batteries? What if you were without sun for 3 days and needed to generate power? After 3 days of autonomy or without sun, you would be dead or without any power unless you had a standby generator to help. You've got to have power coming from someplace. If you generate power from a generator, it's going to cost you more money than the grid. The grid is cheaper than a standby generator.

In emergency situations, some people like having a battery backup system.

Bottom line, grid tie is much cheaper than having batteries. If you really want to get away from the power company completely, then you need to get super-efficient with your house where you use little power. One homeowner saw his power usage as 3 amps, but he generated 15 to 18 amps a day. So he is producing more than what he is using. That's what you need to do. You need to decide if you need to install a battery backup system or use your power company as backup.

And now I invite you to visit my site at http://www.energyconsultantblog.com where I teach homeowners like you different tips and tricks to save energy and save money.

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