Generating your own electricity is a great way to reduce your energy bills. Despite the typical Scottish weather, solar panels still generate a sufficient amount of power.
They can even produce more electricity than what your home requires at times. This excess electricity can be sold or stored but what should you do with your excess solar power?
Read on to find out whether you should sell or store your excess solar energy.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Solar panels, also known as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, are a renewable technology designed to convert sunlight directly into electricity using the photovoltaic cells in the panels.
The Benefits of Solar Power?
Solar power is a clean, green way to power your home as it is a low-carbon, renewable energy source. It can help reduce your energy bills by reducing your reliance on the national grid.
What Is Excess Solar Power?
Excess solar power is any electricity that your solar panels have generated but is not required by your home. This electricity can be sold to the grid or stored in a solar battery.
So, what should you do with your excess energy?
Selling Excess Solar Power
Selling excess solar power is a popular way to generate some extra cash from any unused electricity generated by your solar panels.
The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a scheme for homes and businesses. The scheme allows for those who generate electricity to be paid for any unused electricity they send back to the grid.
If you have installed solar PV panels or other small-scale microgeneration in your home or business then you may be able to earn money for any excess electricity you generate and send back to the grid.
Households will not be automatically enrolled in the scheme. If you are interested you will have to enrol to be paid for the electricity you are sending back to the grid.
Your solar power system must also be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) to qualify for the SEG scheme. You can read more about this here.
Pros of Selling Your Excess Solar Power
Generate some extra money
By selling your excess solar energy you can generate some extra cash.
Support the Grid
By selling your excess solar energy back to the grid you are helping support it for when energy consumption is high.
Cons of Selling Your Excess Solar Power
Compensation rates could be much lower than electricity prices
Compensation rates are often lower than electricity prices. This means that when your panels aren’t generating electricity (such as through the night) you may find yourself paying more for electricity than what you sold it for.
You May Need to Shop Around For the Best Tarrif
To get the most out of your excess energy you may need to shop around. Tariffs can fluctuate.
Storing Excess Solar Power
Alternatively, you can also store excess solar electricity for later use using a solar battery.
Solar batteries, or solar power storage, allow the energy generated from your panels to be stored and used at a later time. This means that when your panels aren’t generating electricity – such as through the night – your appliances and devices will still have power.
The two main batteries currently used are lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries. They are both designed to handle the cyclic charging and discharging required for solar energy storage.
When sunlight hits a solar panel, the solar cells in the panel convert the sunlight into electrical energy. It does this in the form of direct current (DC).
This DC electricity then flows to the inverter which converts the DC into alternating current (AC). This then can be used to power household appliances and devices.
If you are generating more electricity than your home currently requires then the DC can be taken from the solar panels and used to charge the battery.
During the night when your home demands electricity, the solar battery releases the electricity needed. It releases the electricity to power the appliances and devices that require it. This means you are making full use of the electricity your solar panel system has generated even when it isn’t generating any energy.
Pros of Storing Your Excess Solar Power
Energy Independence
By investing in a solar battery you can gain energy dependence when your solar panels aren’t generating any electricity. This is because you can rely on your solar battery to power your home instead of the grid.
Maximise Solar Energy Use
Investing in a solar battery to store your excess electricity is a great way to maximise your use of the solar energy you produce. It means instead of any unused solar energy going to waste it can be stored and used when it is required.
Financial Savings
Using stored energy during high-cost electricity periods (like evening peak hours) can lower your electricity bills.
Cons of Storing Your Excess Solar Power
High Initial Cost
The main con of storing your excess solar power is the high initial cost. Solar panels themselves have a high upfront cost and solar batteries can only make the investment even more expensive. That being said, it can be a worthwhile investment for almost all households especially if you are out of your home during peak generation hours.
Lifespan
Solar batteries have a limited lifespan (typically 10-15 years). This means they will often need to be replaced well before your solar panels will.
Can You Benefit From Both?
Yes! You can sign up for SEG and have a solar battery benefiting from both selling and storing your excess solar energy. However, keep in mind that not all energy providers who purchase solar electricity will accept it if it has been stored in a battery.
Looking for Solar Panels?
At Homeshield Scotland, we have been providing homeowners with ways to make their homes more energy efficient.
We have been installing renewables such as solar panels in customers’ homes for a number of years.
Get your free no obligation quote here today!
