Recently, there has been an increased need for renewable energy sources like solar. A solar panel inverter is just like your regular inverter except that this one uses energy from the sun (solar energy). Solar panel inverter is highly recommended for every home.

This is because unlike when most homes depends only on electricity, introduction of solar inverter has made life easier. I will say that there is no better way of generating energy for your home, if not with the use of solar panel inverter.

What Is a Solar Inverter?

A solar panel inverter is a device, that functions to change the variable direct current into alternating current. While direct current is used for small gadgets such as iPod, Mp3 players, which has its power stored in the battery, Ac is used for bigger household appliances.

The conversion of this DC to AC is made possible because various electrical and electronic components connected in the circuit. The solar inverter is a very important component of the solar power system.

How Does Solar Inverter Work?

The main purpose of producing solar panel inverter is to be able to get a system that will use solar energy to power household loads. This how it works, it converts the DC (Direct Current) output of a PV solar panel into a utility frequency AC (alternating current) that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid (or) used by a local, off-line electrical n/w.

In this process, the solar energy is stored in the battery from PV cells. This solar energy will be converted to electric energy. During the day, the energy is initially stored in batteries till when needed. The solar inverter utilizes solar energy for home loads.

Why You Should Use a Solar Inverter

  • solar panel inverters make changing of direct current into batteries or alternating current possible. This is very helpful for people who do not use full electricity.
  • Solar energy also decreases the greenhouse effect and global warming to a large extent.
  • Solar panel inverters help in saving both money and energy.
  • The solar panel inverter is not so costly.

Types of Solar Inverters

Different solar inverters are being created all over the world, but the types commonly used in the markets are:

Off Grid Inverters

This type of solar panel inverters is used in remote systems. The source of DC power for the solar inverters are from battery panels. The solar panels are used in charging these battery panels.

off-grid solar inverter image

Several of these inverters are normally to boost the battery from an Ac power source because they have integrated with basic battery chargers. These inverters can’t connect directly to the power grid without a changeover switch.

Grid Tie Inverters

These inverters most times associate with grids, so they are grid-tie inverters.  These inverters supply power in the electricity grid, by corresponding phase and frequency. In India, the range of the frequency is 50Hz, and in North America 60Hz. These inverters shut down once it senses any loss of supply from the utility.

gried-tied solar inverter

This inverter can connect directly to the power grid without any need for a changeover switch. When there is excess energy coming from the panel, compare to what is require in your home or office, a grid-tie inverter has the ability to push the excess into the grid.

Battery Backup Inverters

These inverters draw energy from batteries. To save the battery charge, an onboard charger and an additional charger is transferred to the grid. These inverters can provide AC power during outrages to particular loads.

battery backup inverter image

Micro Inverters

These ones are one of the modern solar inverters in the solar industry. They have high performance despite being very small and compact. You can find all features of central inverters in micro inverters.

micro solar inverter image

Microinverters have several advantages over conventional inverters. The main advantage is that they electrically isolate the panels from each other, so small amounts of shading, snow lines on any solar module, or even a complete module failure, does not reduce the output of the entire array.

String Inverters

These solar panel inverters are connected directly to the device they are to power. They do not support inverter batteries. The inverter also helps in changing the DC solar output of the solar panel to Ac voltage. The entire solar panel arrays can all be connected to a central inverter.

string inverters

Hybrid Solar Inverters

This is usually used in small houses and also for office installations. It is a combination of the standard inverter with solar power support. They are highly flexible, in the sense that your power system can be built gradually.

hybrid solar inverters image
photo Credit: Google image

How Much Does Solar Inverter Cost?

At this point, I know you will be considering buying a solar panel inverter for your home or office. I will give you the prices you should generally expect in the market.

8kVA Solar Inverter

This is a very good solar panel inverter to invest in. It has a high-performance output. Its battery protector has high functionality. It can withstand high usage, which is common most times.

Some of it’ unique features includes:

  • The time for change over is fast.
  • It has a surface mounted technology.
  • This invert has intelligent thermal management.
  • It also comes with pre-loaded battery management software.
  • A built-in digital display screen.
  • It also comes with full thermal protection.
  • Its size is 62×24.5×18.5.
  • Its weight is 9kg.

8kva solar panel inverter cost starts from #300,000. Currently, this is about $770 US Dollars.

2.4kva Solar Inverter

This is a modified sine wave inverter. It can function without a transformer. This means that its weight is light. It can power your phones, fans, television.

It’s unique features includes:

  •    
  • 10A|20A selectable Ac charging current.
  • Off mode charging function.
  • The installation can be in different forms, either vertical, horizontal, etc.
  • This inverter protects against overcharging, overload, surge, short circuit.
  • It has a generator and utility power compatibility.
  • Inbuilt PMW charge controller.
  • It has a weight of 3.6kg. 

2.4kva solar inverter cost starts from #47,000. This is currently equivalent to $120.67 US Dollars.

2000 watts (2kVA) Solar Power Inverter.

 Unique features includes:

  • It’s efficiency is greater than 90%.
  • The input and output are totally independent.
  • It protects against overload.
  • It has universal sockets, suitable for all kinds of plugs.
  • Its weight is 0.9kg.

This solar inverter cost is from #30,500. Which is about $78.3 US Dollars.

100Watt(0.1kva) Solar Inverter

This particular solar panel inverter comes with a radio and Bluetooth mp3 players. (for Nigerian buyers) When in full charge, this inverter can power your laptop, phone, and 2 bulbs.

Unique features include:

  • Battery capacity is 12volts.
  • Built-in inverter: DC 12V to Ac 220v 100w
  • Charging LED indicator.
  • LED bulb:12v 5w-3meter wire with an individual switch 2pcs
  • Solar panel:18v 10W poly-crystalline with 3 meters wire-1pc
  • USB cable 10 in 1 USB cable-1pc

Solar inverter costs starts from #16,000. This is equivalent to $42 US Dollars.

1500 Watts (1.5kVA) Solar Power Inverter.

Unique features includes:

  • Supplies 1500watts of AC power from a 12v battery.
  • An audio alarm warns of low battery.
  • Safely shuts down in case of over temperature or overload conditions.
  • Can operate a 25 inch TV for about 4 hours from a typical car battery.

Solar inverters cost for this starts from #11,000. This equivalent to $28 US Dollars.

NOTE: the prices above were base on the Naira to dollar exchange rate at the time I wrote this article. Please contact us for current prices and any other guild regarding solar inverters or solar power system in general.

Factors to Consider When Buying Solar Inverter

Check that the safety of the inverter is certified

It is very important to check for the level of safety. The inverters have to be certified safe by any independent testing laboratory, before purchasing it and putting it to use.

Be familiar with the important terms

Before buying a solar inverter, you have to be familiar with all the related terms. This will enable you to know what to look out for in an inverter. The terms to note are watt, watt-hours, amp-hour, and efficiency of operations of the solar inverters.

Choosing the correct battery.

The longevity of your solar panel inverter depends on the battery most times. This is because your storage bank determines to some extent the success of your solar power. You can also know the battery capacity by taking the product power requirement in watts, and backup hours, in hours, and dividing it by the voltage in volts.

Know the power rating and the surge.

The power ratings of solar panel inverters are usually different. This is because the surge ratings of a solar panel inverter is define by the number of watts of overload, handled by the inverter over a short period of time.

Consider the peak power and the typical power considerations.

The highest power that a solar inverter can supply for a small duration of time, ranges from a few seconds to 15 minutes. This is referred to as peak power.

Some devices or appliances require a very high power while starting, compared to normal operation. So this is where the peak power comes to use.

Your solar panel system will hardly be said to be complete without a solar inverter hence, it is very necessary that you purchase one. I will be very glad to assist you whenever you want to purchase and install one for your residential or office solar power system.

NAIHCOTECH

Related posts:

Considering the improvements in solar technology, most homeowners are opting for the installation of solar power systems in their homes. This has caused many questions concerning either choosing on-grid or off-grid solar system to install in our homes. Remember that self sufficient energy is a form of security.

Freedom is one essential value that everybody deserves. So if freedom and self sustaninability really makes sense to you, then off-grid solar system is definately for you. Off-grid solar system ensures access to electricity at all times, this means you dont have to worry about power failure usually faced by the on-grid system.

The idea behind off-grid solar system is to build a self-sustaining power that powers all the loads in your house. This means that you have full control of the amount of energy you produce and consume per day. For most people, the feeling of self-sufficient energy worths more than saving money.

What is Off-grid Solar System?

Off-grid solar system is an alternative form of on-grid system which gives you access to store your own solar energy. Off-grid systems have no connection with the utility grid, this why most people call it a stand-alone power system (SAPS).

To ensure access to electricity at all times, Off-grid solar systems operate from the stored energy in a battery bank. Off-grid systems provide power to offset the grid power whenever the sun is shining and will even send excess power to the storage bank for later use. This means that you have full access to the power supply when the sun goes down.

The summary is that when you live off-grid, you simply don’t have to worry about the power failure of the utility grid(on-grid). And in as much as your solar storage bank is in good condition, you have no limit to a steady power supply.

Components of Off-grid Solar Power System

While considering living off-grid, it’s good you know there are components which works together to ensure the success of your solar power system. These devices bring about the conversion of solar power(DC current) into alternating current(AC) which can be used to power your home appliances, maintain safety at home, and store excess energy. They include:

  • Solar Panels
  • Solar Inverter
  • Array Mounting Rack
  • Array Dc Disconnect
  • Solar Performance Monitor
  • Solar Storage Bank
  • Circuit Breaker/Breaker Panel
off-grid solar panel image
Photo Credit: Silicon solar

The explanation and working principle of these components were explained in detail in my previous post “solar power system“. So let talk more about how much an average homeowner can spend in order to live off-grid.

This is because the first step to determining the best off-grid solar system for you is to determine how much power you will need to produce and store.

How Much Does Off-grid Solar System Cost?

This question is of course a common one amongst others concerning solar power systems. But depending on your location, you may have different purchase prices. But I would state the cost based on the power generated. So its let for you to substitute the price in your locality.

According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s s(NERL), the cost of a residential solar power system has dropped with as much as 61% as of the year 2010. However, in recent years the cost solar power has declined significantly. In fact in 2019, off-grid solar system costs about a half of its cost in 2010.

I have taken my time to explain in detail the cost of off-grid solar system in my recent post “the cost of solar panel”. So I recommend you read that.

And if you have questions concerning how your off-grid storage bank costs, do well to read “solar storage bank” in my last post. So lets do a little comparison between “on-grid and off-grid solar system”.

What is On-grid and Off-grid?

The difference between on-grid and off-grid is really far apart. The choice might base on some criteria which I will talk about below. so keep reading!

On-grid power system is when your power supply is connected to the utility company. This means that you pay bills every month. On the other hand, you might as well receive money from the utility company if your solar panel produces more energy than you consume. This process is called net metering.

Living on-grid is beneficial because you don’t have to buy an expensive battery back-up system to store any excess energy. But at same time, its not adviceable to live on-grid if your home is 100 yards from the ultility company. This is due to the high cost of over head transmission lines.

Living off-grid is somehow completely opposite of on-grid. Off-grid solar power system offers 100% self-sustaining power supply. This grid system allows you to store the excess energy to your storage bank for re-use at night. But the disadvantage here is that you have to purchase a complete home solar power system all by yourself.

Living off-grid is advisable if you are living in a rural area. This is because the cost of over head transmission line is high. Off-grid solar system is the sure way to enjoy 100% constant power supply. Make a quote to about “how to install solar power“.

Which is Best On-grid or Off-grid Solar System?

The question of either to live on-grid of off-grid is a challenge to many people. But I will state clearly to you that the choice depends greatly on:

  • Your Location
  • Financial Status
  • Lifestyle
  • Economic Feasibility
  • Availability of Power

However, our individual life matters the most. every individual’s mindset about a particular thing could be entirely different from others. As it usually said “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. So I will explain how this affects your choice of considering “on-grid or off-grid”.

Your Location:

Depending on your location, on-grid, and off-grid may be a good choice. For people living close to the transmission line, living on-grid is better because you don’t have to spend much on the cost of extending power lines.

However, if you are 100 yards away from the transmission line, then living off-grid is better for you. This because the costs of overhead transmission lines range from $174,000 per mile (for rural construction) to $11,000,000 per mile (for urban construction).

Financial Status:

Most people consider the cost of installing off-grid as being high. The truth is that when you install off-grid solar, it can last for 25-30 years. This means you will not pay any utility bill to anybody and you have a constant power supply.

On the other hand, when you calculate the amount you pay every month as a utility bill. You will definitely know that its way too much than living off-grid. Thus, your financial status determines either to install off-grid at once or continue paying the utility bill every month.

Lifestyle:

Personally, our lifestyle affects our choice of either living on-grid or off-grid. Our hobbies are different, as such some people can’t stay with watching the television, playing music and others. And we need a power supply to do all these. Thus, such people definitely need to live off-grid because power backout can occur sometimes in on-grid solar system.

Economic Feasibility:

For homeowners that have access to on-grid, off-grid solar systems are usually out of question. This is because to ensure access to constant electricity at all times. Off-grid solar systems require a battery storage bank. And this batteries are expensive. In fact, batteries need to maintenance as the efficiency decreases over time. Though solar battery can last up to 10 years before replacement.

Availability of Power:

If you are the work from type, then living off-grid is better for you. Power failures on the utility grid do not affect off-grid solar systems. This is only possible if your battery storage bank is in good shape.

Typically, if your home consumes about 30kilowatt-hour(KWh) of energy per day. Then you need about 3 solar batteries because each solar battery produces 10KWh of capacity. For more clarification on how much solar battery to power your home. I recommend you read ” Solar Storage Bank” in my previous post.

Recently, more homeowners are opting for the installation of solar power systems (also known as the solar panel system) in their homes. Unlike in the past decades when there was much dependence on primary sources of energy like coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy as the major source of electricity. Technology has evolved in recent years with even better alternatives and one of these alternatives is solar power system.

The solar power system offers an excellent way of harnessing solar energy and then transforming it into electrical energy, which we use mostly at home. There are different benefits of installing the solar panel kit for home and one of such benefits is that it saves you enormously on your power bills.

Harnessing solar energy seems to be the future of energy in few years to come as it has witnessed much growth across different regions of the world such as China, Europe, North America, and even India. Some regions such as Africa and Nigeria in particular are yet to embrace fully this innovative approach to generate energy for use in the home.


The idea behind the use of the solar panel system is that homes reduce their cost of energy, save more, and maximize their carbon footprint as well. Personally, I would say there is no better way of generating efficient energy for your home than the use of the solar panel system.

What is a solar power system?

The solar power system consists of the solar panel kit which is mounted on the roof of a building. It traps the energy-packed photons from the sunlight and converts them into a usable form of energy. They are also simply referred to as “PV”.

When you install the solar panel kit for home. You have done a great job of reducing your dependence on the local community power grid. This means you can now utilize the solar panel kit to generate the electricity needed to light, cool, heat, and operate your home.

typical working process of solar power system

The summary is that you will get a clean, renewable source of energy, which requires little or no maintenance. Also, you will get the profits from this investment over a span of a few years. Some solar systems come with as much as 25 years’ warranty and this means you get free energy for more than 2 decades.

What constitutes the solar panel kit for home?

You need to understand that the solar power system consists of different components, which are coupled to generate electricity. These components will cause the conversion of power into alternating current. Which can be used for powering home appliances, maintaining safety at home, and even storing excess energy.
Here the very important components of the solar power system.

Solar Panels

These very significant components are noticeable in the solar panel kit for home. They are typically installed on the roof where they can have easy access to the sunlight converting it into electrical energy via the photovoltaic effect. This is how it got its alternative name, “PV panels”.

Solar panel outputs are rated in Watts and delivers between 10 to 300watts per panel. There are majorly two types of solar panels that are ideal for residential home installation- the monocrystalline and the polycrystalline. While both are well suitable for the home, the monocrystalline panel is a bit more efficient and expensive than later.

Solar Inverter

Solar inverters offer a means of converting the Direct Currents generated by the solar panels into the Alternating Current required in powering the home. They are of three types- micro-inverters, centralized or string inverters and power optimizers.
Just by discussing what you want and of course assessing your home. I would tell the ideal type to install in your home.

Solar Array Mounting Racks

Solar panels are coupled into arrays and then mounted either on the roof, directly into the ground, or on poles. It is more common to come across the roof-mounted systems as this seems to be more efficient and better aesthetically. If the roof is too high, there might be an issue with maintenance here.

However, you do not have to worry much about that, as panels don’t usually require much maintenance.
If you prefer your panels mounted on a freestanding pole, that is still okay. I could do the installation such that its height cant affect the maintenance if the need arises. Remember that mounting array on the ground isn’t ideal for areas that accumulate snow regularly.

Mounts are either tracking or fixed irrespective of where you mount the arrays. Tracking arrays move to adjust their angles as the sun moves.

Array DC Disconnect

This device comes in to play when you want to run maintenance on the solar arrays. The solar arrays produce DC power and with the array DC disconnect, you can get it disconnected from the home.

Solar Performance Monitor

The monitoring system functions to verify the performance of your home solar system. While the system shows you how much electricity is produced per hour. It goes ahead to identify potential changes in performance.

Solar Storage Bank

The solar power kit for home produces electricity when the sun is shining during the daytime. However, your home will still need electricity at night or even on cloudy and rainy days when the sun is not shining. This is when you need to add a battery pack to your panel system in order to offset that mismatch.

Circuit breaker/Breaker Panel

The power source which connects the electrical circuits in the house is what we call breaker panel. While a circuit is a continuous pathway that connects all lights and outlets in the electric system.

There is a circuit breaker for each circuit and the work of the circuit breaker is to prevent an unfortunate occurrence such as fire hazard as a result of excessive drawing in of electricity. The circuit breaker does this by tripping off each time the circuit demands much electricity thus, interrupting the flow of current through the circuit.

Benefits of Solar Panel kit for Home

Solar energy is renewable. It is sustainable and is simply inexhaustible. As people have realized the benefits of the solar power system, most people nowadays are opting for it. The good news is that I have a versed knowledge about this system and can have it installed efficiently and at an affordable rate.

Now, what do you stand to gain when you have the solar panel system installed in your home?

It saves cost

This is the number one reason why people opt for solar energy in the home but there is more to it. It offers a great opportunity for people looking to reduce their monthly electricity bills and to go into a longer duration investment with low risk.

You should, however, know that the savings you will get from going solar will depend on certain factors like the amount of energy you consume, the size of the solar energy system, the angle and size of your roof, the local electricity charge rates as well as the number of hours of direct daily sunlight.

Solar Power System Works Everywhere

Solar panel system works almost everywhere in the world. It is surprising to know that even some regions of the world like Alaska and the Pacific Northwest with relatively low solar resources still get to benefit and save some cost using solar energy.

How much more countries like Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, etc. which are located in the tropical sub-Saharan region? These countries could boast of good-to-excellent solar resource and should do well to harness the resource they have.

It Increases Your Home Value

Increase the value of your home by installing the solar panel kit for home. This is like an upgrade to your home. Maybe you don’t know this but studies have shown that homeowners pay even higher rents for a home with solar power system.

According to a study carried out by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It revealed that the solar system on average increased the value of a home by as much as $15,000. This also means that homes with solar installed systems have the tendency of selling more than homes that do not have PV.

It Has Positive Environmental Impact

It is high time we think about our environment as well. We feel the impact of the environment directly or indirectly. The use of fuel, coal, etc. as a source of energy has over the years created much greenhouse effect which has accumulated and has been causing more harm than good to the environment.

Using the solar power system offers an excellent remedy to this. Asides the fact that using the solar-generated electricity doesn’t cause pollution of air, it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions like CO2. It also prevents excessive pollution of air by major pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. It also reduces the need to consume more water.

Installing the solar power system is undoubtedly the best upgrade you could give to your home at this point. It will save you a lot of costs both now and in the future. If you will work with me to have the solar panel installed for you right in your residential home.

By naihcotech.com

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Heading straight to the point. Solar battery storage bank is a well-defined series and parallel connections of solar battery which are stored up for later consumption. The stored electricity is consumed after sundown, during energy demand peaks, or during a power outage.

So the question is, Do you want to buy solar batteries for your solar storage bank? Then you have to know that there are certain specifications you should use when evaluating your solar battery options. These options are very important to consider because dialing in on the right solar battery bank will make your solar power system a success.

solar storage bank
A WELL CONNECTED SOLAR BATTERY

Thus, you have to consider: the battery’s capacity & power ratings, depth of discharge (DoD), round-trip efficiency, and warranty. So let’s dive into how this criteria affect the success of your solar battery bank.

The battery’s capacity:

The battery capacity is the major and first criteria to consider while choosing your solar battery bank. It is the total amount of electricity that a solar battery can store at a time.

This means that when you have a solar battery with high capacity, your appliances will run for a longer hour. Don’t forget that battery capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Battery power rating:

Here, the contextual meaning of power rating is the average amount of current which the battery releases over a period of time under normal use. In other words, i can say its the amount of electricity that a battery can deliver at a time.

This means that a battery with a rating of 200 Ah can deliver 20 amps of power at a constant rate for 10 hours.

The connection between capacity and power rating in solar storage bank is very simple. When you have a battery with high capacity and a low power rating, then a low amount of electricity will be produced which is enough to run a few crucial appliances for a long time.

But when you have a battery with low capacity and a high power-rating, big amount of electricity will be produced to run your entire home, but only for a few hours.

Depth of discharge (DoD):

The depth of discharge is always in contrast to the state of charge (SoC). So in a clear definition, depth of discharge shows the ratio or percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery when fully charged. To make your solar storage bank last long, you need to understand this clearly.

To understand DoB in practical sense, lets take a quick example. When you buy a solar battery which holds 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, and you discharge 13 kWh, then the DoD is approximately 96 percent.

depth of discharge of solar battery

So when purchasing a solar battery, make sure the DoB is 100%. DoB is expressed in percentage. so get yourself a high DoB battery today and enjoy solar power.

The life-cycle or number of charge or discharge cycle of your solar battery depends greatly on the battery’s capacity you normally use. Thats to say, if you regularly discharge the batteries at a lower percentage rate.

It will have more useful cycles than when you frequently drain the battery to its maximum DoD. Please always have this in mind so as to maximize the lifespan of your solar battery. And also to make your solar storage bank worthwhile.

Round-Trip Efficiency:

Most home solar batteries are designed to be “stackable,” which means that you can include multiple batteries with your solar storage system to get extra capacity. So round-trip efficiency is the useful energy we get back after storing it.

I know that this isnt a common word we are use to,but look at it this way.

round-trip efficiency of solar battery

If you store (5kWh) of electricity into your battery bank and can only get (4kWh) of useful electricity back. Then the battery has 80 percent round-trip efficiency (4 kWh / 5 kWh = 80%). Note that the higher the round-trip efficiency, the less energy you loss due to storage, and the more efficiency of the system as a whole.

Battery Warranty:

It is a common truth that age affects productivity. so solar batteries are no exception. Their performance decrease with age. This means that The battery’s ability to hold a charge will gradually decrease the more you use it.

Thus, the warranty of a solar battery is the number of cycles and/or years of useful life. Some solar batteries in the markets today have a warranty of 25-year long warranty (also known as a performance guarantee).

In most cases, this means a guaranteed electrical production for 10 years at 90% of rated power output and 25 years at 80% rated power output. So now you know the factors to consider while choosing your solar storage bank battery. Let’s take a good look at how long your solar battery should last.

But before then, how many solar batteries do you need to power your home?

How many solar batteries are needed to power a house?

The question of how much solar battery that can power a home is very common. So I will split it into two sections for clearer understanding. Firstly we need to determine how long a solar battery can power your home. What this means is that you need to do an exact calculation to determine the amount of energy you consume per day.

So after getting the value of the energy consumed per day. The next thing is the capacity and power rating of your solar battery and whether or not you are connected to the electric grid.

Reports from U.S National Energy Information Administration, an average U.S household consumes about 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per day. Thus, going by this data an average U.S household needs about three solar batteries because each solar battery produces 10 kWh of capacity.

solar battery bank connection
TIGHT CONNECTION OF SOLAR BATTERY

So you can power your entire house throughout the night without support from an electric grid with three batteries. That’s right! choose solar power today and enjoy constant free power supply.

The second part of this question is based on practical methods. In science, there is always a little drift between theory and practical. Going straight to the point, most batteries cannot run at maximum capacity and generally peak at a 90% DoD (as explained above).

As a result, your 10 kWh battery is likely to have a useful capacity of 9 kWh.

This implies that in a practical sense, you might be needing up to 4 solar batteries in order to power your house comfortably.

How long do solar batteries last?

To determine how long a solar battery should last depends greatly on all the above-mentioned factors. For more clarification, I will focus on the lifespan of a solar battery.
Speaking of the lifespan of solar battery, you need to understand properly the maintenance process of a battery. Without proper maintanance, your solar battery might practically not last up to 3 years.

comparing with the normal useful life of a solar battery which is within the range of 5 to 15 years. But your solar panel can last up to 25 to 30 years, thus there will be a need for replacement as time runs out.

Going back to maintenance, temperature is a major problem which affects solar battery significantly. Thus protecting your battery from freezing or sweltering temperatures can boost its useful life.

When a solar battery temperature drops below 30° F, it will require more voltage to reach maximum charge; when that same battery rises above the 90° F threshold, it will become overheated and require a reduction in charge.

To solve this problem, many leading battery manufacturers, provide temperature moderation as a feature. However, if your solar battery does not have any moderation feature. Then you will need to consider other solutions like earth-sheltered enclosures.

What are the best batteries for solar storage bank?

Before choosing the best brand for your solar battery bank, there are some factors to consider such as. How much power does my home consume, how long am I going to use it per day? What is the available battery in the market? How much they cost and how long does each of these batteries last. Here is a list of the available batteries in the market:

lead-acid battery:
Lead-acid batteries remain the best solar battery bank that has been used in off-grid energy systems for years. Healthy lead-acid batteries have a short life and lower DoD than other battery types. They are also one of the least expensive options currently on the market and also the best in terms of home energy.

lithium-ion battery:
The majority of new home energy storage bank technologies, such as the use of some form of lithium-ion chemical composition. The energy density of lithium-ion is typically twice that of the standard nickel-cadmium.

They also have a higher DoD and longer lifespan when compared to lead-acid batteries. However, lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than their lead-acid counterparts. lithium-ion battery causes little harm when disposed of.


Salt-water battery: The new salt-water technology makes energy storage safe and sustainable. Very high cycle life at 100% depth of discharge makes this ideal for long-duration solar applications. This non-toxic off-grid solar battery bank that can last a household over 10 years and can handle up to 3,000 full cycles, or 3,000 days and nights. They are also non-flammable, non-hazardous, and non-explosive. Considering this option for your solar storage bank is more than a good idea.

dept of discharge of solar battery
photo credit: ENERGYSAGE

Related posts: How to install a solar panel, How to check the health of the solar battery, Tesla solar roof tiles, Power supply problems in Africa and the way forward

Heading straight to the point. Solar battery storage bank is a well-defined series and parallel connections of solar battery which are stored up for later consumption. The stored electricity is consumed after sundown, during energy demand peaks, or during a power outage.

So the question is, Do you want to buy solar batteries for your solar system? Then you have to know that there are certain specifications you should use when evaluating your solar battery options. These options are very important to consider because dialing in on the right solar battery bank will make your solar power system a success.

Solar storage bank

Thus, you have to consider: the battery’s capacity & power ratings, depth of discharge (DoD), round-trip efficiency, and warranty. So let’s dive into how this criteria affect the success of your solar battery bank.

The battery’s capacity:

The battery capacity is the major and first criteria to consider while choosing your solar battery bank. It is the total amount of electricity that a solar battery can store at a time. This means that when you have a solar battery with high capacity, your appliances will run for a longer hour. Don’t forget that battery capacity is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Battery power rating:

Here, the contextual meaning of power rating is the average amount of current which the battery releases over a period of time under normal use. In other words, i can say its the amount of electricity that a battery can deliver at a time. This means that a battery with a rating of 200 Ah can deliver 20 amps of power at a constant rate for 10 hours.

The connection between capacity and power rating in solar battery storage is very simple. When you have a battery with high capacity and a low power rating, then a low amount of electricity will be produced which is enough to run a few crucial appliances for a long time. But when you have a battery with low capacity and a high power-rating, big amount of electricity will be produced to run your entire home, but only for a few hours.

Depth of discharge (DoD):

Depth of discharge is always in contrast to state of charge (SoC). So in a clear definition, depth of discharge shows the ratio or percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery when fully charged.

To understand DoB in practical sense, lets take a quick example. When you buy a solar battery which holds 13.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, and you discharge 13 kWh, then the DoD is approximately 96 percent. So when purchasing a solar battery, make sure the DoB is 100%. DoB is expressed in percentage. so get yourself a high DoB battery today and enjoy solar power.

The life-cycle or number of charge or discharge cycle of your solar battery depends greatly on the battery’s capacity you normally use. Thats to say, if you regularly discharge the batteries at a lower percentage rate. It will have more useful cycles than when you frequently drain the battery to its maximum DoD. Please always have this in mind so as to maximize the lifespan of your solar battery.

Round-Trip Efficiency:

Most home solar batteries are designed to be “stackable,” which means that you can include multiple batteries with your solar storage system to get extra capacity. So round-trip efficiency is the useful energy we get back after storing it. I know that this isnt a common word we are use to,but look at it this way.

If you store (5kWh) of electricity into your battery bank and can only get (4kWh) of useful electricity back. Then the battery has 80 percent round-trip efficiency (4 kWh / 5 kWh = 80%). Note that the higher the round-trip efficiency, the less energy you loss due to storage, and the more efficiency of the system as a whole.

Battery Warranty:

It is a common truth that age affects productivity. so solar batteries are no exception. Their performance decrease with age. This means that The battery’s ability to hold a charge will gradually decrease the more you use it. Thus, the warranty of a solar battery is the number of cycles and/or years of useful life. Some solar batteries in the markets today have a warranty of 25-year long warranty (also known as a performance guarantee).

In most cases this means a guaranteed electrical production for 10 years at 90% of rated power output and 25 years at 80% rated power output. So now you know the factors to consider while choosing your solar battery. Let’s take a good look at how long your solar battery should last. But before then, how many solar batteries do you need to power your home?

How many solar batteries are needed to power a house?

The question of how many solar battery that can power a home is very common. So i will split it into two sections for clearer understanding. Firstly we need to determine how long a solar battery can power your home. What this means is that you need to do an exact calculation to determine the amount of energy you consume per day.

So after getting the value of the energy consumed per day. The next thing is the capacity and power rating of your solar battery and whether or not you are connected to the electric grid.

reports from U.S National Energy Information Administration, an average U.S household consumes about 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per day. Thus, going by this data an average U.S household needs about three solar battery because each solar battery produces 10 kWh of capacity. So you can power your entire house throughout the night without support from electric grid with three batheries. thats right! choose solar power today and enjoy constant free power supply.

The second part of this question is based on practical methods. In science, there is always a little drift between theory and practical. Going straight to the point, most batteries cannot run at maximum capacity and generally peak at a 90% DoD (as explained above). As a result, your 10 kWh battery are likely to have a useful capacity of 9 kWh.

This implies that in a practical sense, you might be needing up to 4 solar batteries in order to power your house comfortably.

How long do solar batteries last?

To determine how long a solar battery should last depends greatly in all the above mentioned factors. For more clearification, i will focus on the lifespan of a solar battery.
Speaking of lifespan of solar battery, you need to understand properly the maintenance process of a battery. Without proper maintanance, your solar battery might practically not last up to 3 years.

comparing with the normal useful life of a solar battery which is within the range of 5 to 15 years. But your solar panel can last up to 25 to 30 years, thus there will be a need for replacement as time runs out.

Going back to maintenance, temperature is a major problem which affects solar battery significantly. Thus protecting your battery from freezing or sweltering temperatures can boost its useful life. When a solar battery temperature drops below 30° F, it will require more voltage to reach maximum charge; when that same battery rises above the 90° F threshold, it will become overheated and require a reduction in charge.

To solve this problem, many leading battery manufacturers, provide temperature moderation as a feature. However, if your solar battery do not have any moderation feature. Then you will need to consider other solutions like earth-sheltered enclosures.

What are the best batteries for solar?


Before choosing the best brand for your solar battery, there are some factors to consider such as. How much power does my home consume, how long am I going to use it per day? What is the available battery in the market? How much they cost and how long does each of these batteries last. Here is a list of the available batteries in the market:


lead-acid battery:
Lead-acid batteries remain the best solar battery that has been used in off-grid energy systems for years. Healthy lead-acid batteries have a short life and lower DoD than other battery types. They are also one of the least expensive options currently on the market and also the best in terms of home energy.


lithium-ion battery:
The majority of new home energy storage technologies, such as the, use of some form of lithium-ion chemical composition. The energy density of lithium-ion is typically twice that of the standard nickel-cadmium. They also have a higher DoD and longer lifespan when compared to lead-acid batteries. However, lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than their lead-acid counterparts. lithium-ion battery causes little harm when disposed of.


Salt-water battery: The new salt-water technology makes energy storage safe and sustainable. Very high cycle life at 100% depth of discharge makes this ideal for long-duration solar applications. This non-toxic off-grid solar battery that can last a household over 10 years and can handle up to 3,000 full cycles, or 3,000 days and nights. They are also non-flammable, non-hazardous, and non-explosive. Considering this option for your solar battery is more than a good idea.

depth of discharge
photo credit: ENERGYSAGE

Related posts: How to install a solar panel, How to check the health of the solar battery, Tesla solar roof tiles

Solar glass roof tiles is the new innovation of solar energy. This is actually the third version of solar roof which “Elon musk” has come up with. The idea behind this innovation is to create a beautiful rooftop and at the same time generate energy as well. Isn’t that amazing? That is what is called killing two birds with one stone. Solar roof tiles, no doubt has provided an alternative to conventional solar panels. And instead of installation on the existing roofs with the traditional racking systems, solar tiles are part of the roof itself.

tesla solar roof tiles

Personally, I will say that this is a viable option in new constructions and major renovations since a roof installation and a solar array can be combined into a single component. Believe it or not, this innovation worths it. so, what is this solar glass roof? how much does it cost for installation? I will explain all this to you in clear terms. so let’s get down to it.

What is solar glass roof tiles?

Solar glass roof which is also called “solar shingles” is used to trap radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics cells, etc. This device is more or less like a collection of solar (or photovoltaic) cells. Which can be used to generate electricity through the photovoltaic effect.

The anticipation of this new innovation has been “heart warning”. The billionaire CEO claims that the new roof tiles, which are bigger and more power-dense, will help “make roofs come alive,” Creating a world “where you look around the neighborhood and the roofs are all gathering energy.” In a clear statement, “musk” says and I quote “I think in the future, it will be odd for roofs to not gather energy”. Most times if things of this nature occur, a slogan always comes to my mind which says “to who much is given, much is expected”.

tesla solar glass roof

if solar glass tiles can be your roofing tiles and at the same time generate energy directly from the sun. It will definitely cost more than normal roofing tiles. so how much does this awesome solar glass tile cost?

How much does solar glass tiles cost?

If you want the best then you got to pay for it. Pay a premium over standard solar panels, and you can get a normal-looking tiled roof that will suck up the sun’s energy all the same and light up your home. Many of us will love that, but unfortunately It won’t be for everyone.

Following musk’s words about the solar roof. “It costs a price point that is less than what the average roof costs plus solar panels, and will only make financial sense for new houses or replacement roofs.” He went on to say that if a potential customer’s roof is more than five years away. Then he/she will be needing a replacement.

how tesla solar roof tiles how
photo credit: BOLD Business

Going with the companys’ website report. Installation of 10KW should be around a price of $33,950. This is equivalent to $3,395 per kW. By analysis,a 10 kW solar roof from Tesla requires an area of 2000 square feet, with installation cost slightly under $17 per sq.ft.

This means that to generate a 10KW power, you will be looking at a total cost of $34,000. Which is significantly equivalent to the initial value of $33,950. So from this calculation you will know how much power you need in your home and the exact price for it. But if you think that solar glass tiles are quite costly. I will give you a comparison between “normal roofing cost and solar glass tiles”.

Comparism between normal roofing cost and solar glass tiles

For a clear understanding of this comparison. I want you to keep in mind that there are two different kinds of tiles on the roof; Solar and non-solar tiles. The ratio of solar tiles to non-solar tiles will affect the cost per square foot of the solar roof. Initial reports have shown that non-solar tiles cost $14.2 per square foot, while solar tiles cost $17 per square foot. So you see that we just have a small increase of $2.8

photo credit: Pv magazines

That means the Tesla solar roof is about $2.8 more expensive than a comparable non-solar roof. And these tiles have a 30-year warranty. So I think by now we should be talking about “how to install these solar tiles in our homes”. Or probably make a quick or by clicking HERE.

How to install solar glass tiles

Installing a Tesla Solarglass Roof is very similar to the process of installing traditional solar panels on the roof. It starts with an initial phone consultation. If it’s a new building, Tesla agents will visit your home to check the approved map out and the complexity of the roof. Where it made sense to install photovoltaic tiles versus glass tiles, and the like. This is a unique variable that does not exist in the traditional solar or traditional roofing industry.

installation of tesla solar glass roof tiles

Personally, the look and feel of a Tesla Solarglass Roof are the same. Regardless of whether the individual tiles themselves contain the photovoltaic cells or not. The number of tiles containing photovoltaic cells in a Tesla Solarglass Roof can be fine-tuned to meet the needs of the customer, up to the maximum capacity of the roof based on its size, shape, pitch, etc. So what are you thinking? Tesla solar glass roof or the traditional solar panel? make an order now directly to Tesla.com.

I hope you find this article helpful and educational. In order to serve you better please comment on any mistakes or information which should be added. Check naihcotech for more updates