Home Battery Without Solar

Solar panels are not necessary components for a home battery. In fact, you can have backup power by using a home battery storage system without solar panels by instead taking in power from the grid and storing it inside your battery to give your house power during outages. While this is less common, homeowners doing this typically switch to time-of-use electricity rates to save on their utility bills.

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While you can save solar power within a home battery system to use later, you can also just save the energy you get from the grid, too. Read on to learn more about having a home battery without solar.

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Home Battery Without Solar

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While you can use rooftop solar to charge your home battery, it’s not necessary. Actually, you can purchase your home battery, install it, use it, and then grab solar panels later (if your HOA allows for it or it’s practical, you wouldn’t want to get solar if you do not have direct access to the sun).

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Solar and battery storage solutions can come together to maximize your system but your battery can also be a backup power for your home without solar by staying connected to the grid. This is most common in places where weather is extreme and/or electricity prices are high. Homes with batteries but not solar can decrease their likelihood of blackouts, while saving on their utility bills through energy arbitrage.

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Demand charges on your bills are based on the peak level of electricity you use at any single time during each billing period. This charge can be reduced by using energy from your battery over using the energy directly from the grid. As for peak or time-of-use rates, the price-per-kilowatt hour is higher when electricity use on the grid is highest and lower when it is lowest.

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This is usually reflected by increased rates in the early mornings and evenings versus in the afternoon, when your less likely to be using your electricity. Often, solar is considered to mitigate this, but non-solar home battery solutions can also be used as a means to reduce your peak rate. With smart technology and device optimization, your battery can switch between modes on it’s own like peak-savings time mode or prepare itself for an outage before a storm rolls into your location.

How Much Battery Backup Do I Need for my House?

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Most homes will require more than one battery to power them during a prolonged blackout period, say 8-12 hours. This all depends on the energy you consume, if you have smart devices connected (thermostats, heat pumps, etc.) and how much battery storage you have.

It would be easier to draw power from the grid to supply the energy needed to keep your appliances and lights on but solar would allow for energy independence and potentially longer outage protection if you’re able to draw power from your solar panels during a blackout to go back into your battery and keep your appliances running. A standalone battery works, too.

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What is Standalone Battery Storage?

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A standalone battery storage system, which on average has around 13 kWh of storage capacity, is one in which solar is not connected to it, and it charges from the grid.

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The battery cannot be charged during a blackout and as a result, a grid-outage that lasts for more than a couple of days would result in your battery not being very effective. This is because the battery cannot be charged from solar panels during the day and it has no other source of power except what is already offline.

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Also, there’s now a 30% federal tax credit available for standalone storage batteries installed after December 31, 2022. The batteries should have 3 kWh or more of capacity to qualify for this tax credit. Before, home batteries required a solar connection to qualify for a federal tax credit, so there’s an incentive to purchasing a home battery for your residential house.

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To quantify your tax credit, multiply the cost of the battery system you’re considering purchasing by 30%. 

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Your home can be powered with a home battery that is not hooked up to solar. Your residence can have backup power by pooling in energy from the grid and storing it within your battery. If you're considering installing a home battery without solar, it is very much within the realm of possibility given new battery technologies and decreasing costs every year. Reach out to Currents to learn more.

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Sources

Can You Use Battery Storage If You Don't Have Solar Panels? (panasonic.com)

Can I install standalone battery storage without solar panels? (panasonic.com)

How much battery backup do I need for my house? (havenenergy.com)

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