Well, I want to explore one more of the reasons why to purchase batteries for your solar system and why batteries are beneficial on any solar system. As we all know there are many power outages in many parts of Costa Rica. It’s a common concern in the expat community. For that reason alone people buy batteries. Today, I want to discuss load shifting, and why batteries can not only be used as backup but they can save you money over the life of your solar system. In the three charts I’ve attached, you will see the typical hours of solar generation, the typical house hold loads vs the time of day hours those loads are used and where a battery can shift those loads to different times when there is no solar production present.
As shown, there are times during the day when solar generation isn’t available or simply isn’t enough to benefit the user. The times between 3 pm and 8 am, these hours have too little or no solar production available.
During the peak hours of solar, your system is generating large amounts of energy that are typically not being utilized without charging batteries. This energy is either being limited by the MPPT functions of the system or being sold to the grid at a fraction of the cost to repurchase it back from the energy providers. Why not use your own produced energy during this time? Knowing the new and old net metering policies in Costa Rica, selling back to the grid may not be an advantage. I believe it is more advantageous to the system owner to store the energy to use later. With the energy costs raising and the poor net metering policies in place, it only makes sense to store the energy for later use.
One thing I have noticed with some solar system owners is that they do have battery storage but not properly sized or programmed to be utilized correctly. It’s true that they may only want the battery for backup. There is nothing wrong with that. However, purchasing the correct size battery storage and programming the inverter to utilize the stored energy when there is no solar production presents, allows the owner to maximize their savings and properly utilize all their solar energy production. As shown in the charts, If your system is capable of producing a certain amount of energy during the day why not utilize it all? Don’t waste it through the MPPT function or selling it for pennies when its worth dollars, store it to use later and not buy the energy from the grid. If you would like more information, or have questions regarding solar products please give me a call. If you have questions on how to best utilize your current solar system or if you are considering purchasing a new solar system, please contact me at sunnysidesolarcr@gmail.com or at 506 6330-5137. I provide quality installations and system services that are similar to what you would expect from North American style installers. Manana isn’t a word that gets used often. I’m happy to help walk you through the process and to give you advise. I look forward to hearing from you. You can also follow me at Sunny Side Solar Solutions facebook page to read my weekly articles on many different solar topics. These same topics can be read at my facebook group at Costa Rica Solar Installation Reviews along with other important information related to solar.
