The Solar Battery Revolution

Hawaii leads the nation when it comes to installing a solar system with a solar battery. 85-95% of all new solar permits included battery storage in 2021, why is this the case? In California for example, a big motivating factor for people to purchase a battery with their solar system is to give them peace of mind during a power outage. With rolling blackouts becoming increasingly more frequent customers want to make sure they can keep the necessities running when power is out for days and sometimes weeks. For being an island in the Pacific we generally have great grid services and very few sustained power outages. So if power outages aren’t the motivation, what is?

How a Solar Battery Improves ROI

A solar battery has a cost associated with them. If solar panels produce all of the power and batteries only serve to store the power, why would you increase the cost of your system? With the current state of solar programs in Hawaii, HECO no longer allows solar customers to send back their power for the retail rate. This program is referred to as the NEM program and was shut down in 2015 for new customers. To read more about this, visit this link.

With the loss of net metering, the best customers can get for their exported power (kWh’s) is $0.108 cents per kWh. With current retail rates as of September 2022 varying from $0.43 cents per kWh to $0.45 cents per kWh customers are only able to get back about a quarter of the energy they send back to the grid.

This is where a battery comes into play. Most homes use around 40% of their power when the sun is out, and when their solar panels are producing power. Without a battery that would mean 60% of all of your home’s solar production would be exported to the grid. By capturing that power with a solar battery you can use that power that would’ve been exported, for yourself. By using solar batteries to store the extra solar energy produced during the day homeowners can improve their return on investment. Not only do they help to save money, battery systems allow you to power the essentials during an outage scenario and improve your homes resilience.

For more information about our Solar Battery installation services, click here.