Solar And Energy Storage
One of our solar homeowners, Omar Shahine, initially went solar in 2015, with a 5.415kW PV system and then expanded his PV system by 2.48kW and added energy storage in 2019.
After figuring out what electrical loads he considered critical (to power during an outage) he had us install two Tesla Powerwalls, which store ~28kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity. (Omar also drives an all-electric Tesla.)
We encourage you to check out Omar’s blog posts about his solar PV system and his Tesla PowerWalls at:
As Omar noted in his blog post about the PowerWall, he wasn’t expecting it to be useful right away, however “The day after my PowerWall was certified we lost power. A tree fell in our neighborhood and took out power for an estimated 4-6 hours.”
When homeowners are considering energy storage, they need to determine what loads (electrical devices) they consider essential as batteries are only capable of storing limited amounts of electricity so the goal is to design a system that can cover these loads without fully depleting the battery before it can be recharged by the sun. In short, how much electricity do you really need and for how long.
In his blog, Omar shared that the devices he selected for his critical loads were his furnace, sump pump, refrigerators, garage door, lighting, and AV/internet equipment but not his dishwasher, air conditioning, dryer, or ovens.
Some people want energy storage to need to keep the power going for medical devices like dialysis machines or oxygen tanks. Others want to provide power for exotic fish tanks that need constant circulation and heating. Everyone’s needs are unique.
As the prices decrease and availability increases, more and more people like Omar are making the decision to pair solar with energy storage. Check out our page on Energy Storage to learn more.