Home Battery Backup Explained

All grid-tied solar PV systems in Canada are required to have an inverter that can sense power outages and de-energize the solar PV system when the grid is down. This requirement is known as “anti-islanding” and is primarily for the safety of utility workers, who could be injured by solar PV systems that push electricity into the grid as they are working to restore it. So even if the sun is shining, your grid-tied solar PV system will not produce power that you can use during an outage, unless you also have a back-up battery with islanding capability.

Our home battery back-up systems work with your solar PV system to turn your home into a little energy island. This allows you to power your home during grid outages with electricity produced by your solar array. You can charge your battery with any extra energy that you generate. Safety features prevent excess electricity from going back to the grid, so there is no risk to utility workers.

Roost Solar offers several different options of home battery backup systems to suit your unique needs!

Benefits and Economics

Generally there are three main benefits to battery back-up systems:

1) Storing extra power produced by a solar PV system for later use
2) Providing control over the time that electricity is drawn from your utility
3) Enabling your grid-tied solar PV array to continue to produce power during grid outages.

Of these, only the third benefit really applies in BC.

 

Fortis Electric and BC Hydro already offer a Net Metering program that allows owners of grid-tied systems to export any excess solar energy to the grid for later use. In essence, Fortis and BC Hydro act as a big (and free) battery for their grid-tied customers. Because of this, in BC back-up battery systems are not really necessary for storing excess energy when solar production can’t meet household energy demand (such as during cloudy days or at night).

Controlling the time that you draw electricity from your utility really only matters if you live in a jurisdiction that has time-of-use rates for electricity. In these jurisdictions, electricity rates are highest when energy demand in high and are lowest when energy demand is low. Batteries allow people to save money by controlling when they draw electricity from the grid – charge up when cheap, and discharge when expensive. We do not (yet) have time-of-use rates in BC.

In BC, the main benefit of back-up batteries is that they allow your solar PV system to continue to produce power during grid outages. Back-up batteries make a lot of sense for people who live in areas with frequent grid outages, and for people who have critical loads that need to remain powered even if the grid goes down.

At Roost Solar we stay on top of the evolving home storage innovations to offer our customers the best balance of reliability and value. Meet rising outages due to utility and increasing weather challenges.

SolarEdge Energy Hub Solution with LG Home batteries

The newest offering from SolarEdge - the SolarEdge Energy Hub solution has several great extras that make this offering a real winner!  As a preferred partner, Roost Solar has been amongst the first in North America to install this award winning technology.

Whole Home Backup

Connect directly to EV Charger

Generator Compatible

Higher efficiency: one conversion with DC vs three with AC coupled system

Compatible with LG Chem Home Batteries. LG Chem is a leading supplier of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, and is becoming a leading solution for clients seeking powerful battery storage solutions for their solar PV systems.

The marketing brilliance of Tesla has made the AC Coupled Tesla Powerwall batteries to be known mainstream.  If you are already own a Tesla, these might be a good addition with their modern and sleek look.

 

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