What is the Relationship Between Solar Energy Storage Systems and the Power Grid?

As more homeowners and businesses adopt solar power storage, the interoperability between these systems and the electricity grid becomes an important consideration. A well designed battery storage system will transform your approach to the purchase, sale and use of electricity. JOZOKING (TIANJIN) TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. offers integrated energy storage battery products that are compatible with both grid-tied and off-grid systems. However, the connection between solar panels storage and the power grid is not always straightforward. The answer will depend on the type of inverter you are using, and how you set up your battery power storage system.

The Three Types of Solar Storage Connections: Off-Grid, On-Grid, and Hybrid

The solar power storage system's interface with the grid is through the inverter. Inverters take direct current (DC) electricity from solar panels and batteries and switch it into alternating current (AC) electricity that is used in your home or business. There are three types of configurations:

Off-Grid Inverter (Standalone): It is an off-grid system that is not connected to the electricity grid. An energy storage battery is charged by your solar panels and all your loads are powered by the battery storage system. This configuration is usually used in remote cabins, rural farms or areas where the power grid is not dependable. If no battery power storage unit is used, off-grid solar could only work during daylight hours. Off-grid inverters are simple and robust, but they require adequate sized solar storage to cover multiple days of low sunlight.

On-Grid Inverter (Grid-Tied): An on-grid system connects directly to the utility grid without a battery storage system. If your solar array generates more electricity than is needed, your surplus will be fed back into the electric grid (net metering). Power is purchased from the grid at night. This is a straightforward, business-like arrangement. However, there is one problem: your system turns off for safety in the event of a power loss. This means that without solar storage, you have no backup power.

Hybrid Inverter (Grid-Interactive): This is a hybrid inverter that has the best qualities of both of the above. It controls solar panels, the battery storage system and the grid at the same time. Normally, solar energy is stored in your battery for home use, while excess energy is sent to the grid. If the grid is down, the hybrid inverter automatically disconnects (islanding) and power is taken from battery power storage. This seamless transition prevents disruption to critical loads. Another benefit of hybrid inverters is time-of-use shifting, where electricity is used from the solar panels during peak hours when it's more expensive.

How to Build a Complete Solar Energy Storage System

A complete solar power storage system consists of three main components that must function as an integrated whole. At JOZOKING, we simplify this by offering many of our lithium energy storage battery systems with a built-in hybrid inverter —an all in one, easy to operate solution.

Solar Panels: Photovoltaic (PV) panels are used to convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. The capacity of your panel array depends on a number of factors, such as how much electricity you use each day, the capacity of your battery storage system, etc. When placing solar panels for energy storage, these panels need to generate sufficient electricity to enable the use of the electricity during the day as well as charge the battery power storage to use it at night or in the event of a failure.

Inverter (The Decision-Maker): as explained above, it's a device that will decide how you will interact with the grid. Most of today's houses and businesses will be best suited to a hybrid inverter. This allows the grid storage to be used for storage (exporting surplus energy), in the event of a power failure and for arbitrage. JOZOKING's lithium energy storage battery systems often have a high-efficiency hybrid inverter built into the same housing. This battery+Inverter system offers lower installation costs, space saving, and improved system reliability.

Energy Storage Battery (The Core): This is the battery storage system that holds energy for future use. JOZOKING offers a variety of battery power storage solutions: Rack mounted, Wall mounted and fully customizable LiFePO4 batteries. Our integrated units are a solar power storage system in one box – all the energy storage battery, hybrid inverter, BMS, monitoring systems are already integrated. This plug-and-play method is particularly preferred for battery power storage in solar energy storage applications, such as homes and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).

The Practical Relationship: Grid as Partner or Backup?

A hybrid inverter and a powerful battery storage system create an alternative and beneficial connection between you and the grid:

During normal conditions: The grid has the effect of a virtual battery. Your solar power storage system will first supply your home's power needs, and then charge your battery power storage, and finally sell excess electricity to the grid.

During peak pricing hours: Use energy stored in your battery instead of expensive grid electricity.

During a blackout: Your battery storage system is self-contained and is able to deliver power without interruption. Until the service is restored the grid becomes irrelevant.

This smart relationship optimizes energy savings, allows for energy independence and offers real energy backup security, which a grid tied system with no storage for solar panels cannot provide.

Why Choose JOZOKING for Your Solar Power Storage Needs?

JOZOKING (TIANJIN) TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. has extensive experience in manufacturing batteries and offers reliable energy storage battery systems to satisfy the needs of homes, businesses and industrial sites. Our lithium battery power storage systems are available as standalone batteries or as integrated battery + inverter systems. From off-grid independence to grid-tied savings and hybrid flexibility, we've got a battery storage system that fits the bill for your application. Our products are trusted in over 60 countries, including Europe, North America and Australia.

Call JOZOKING today to talk about your solar power storage, grid storage or storage for solar panels project. Make an intelligent connection with the grid.