How do the battery, inverters and solar panels work together?
How do you add a home battery system to your home?
A solar panel system usually consists of solar panels & inverter. The inverter is the central device and converts the direct current (DC) from your solar panels to alternating current (AC) for use in your home and fed back into the electricity grid. With serial inverters this is one-way traffic: only DC to AC. No power is supplied from the electricity grid to the inverter, because you cannot store it anywhere.
When a home battery is installed in a home, this can be done in 3 ways:
- Hybrid system: completely new total installation or replace old inverter and connect your solar panels to it
- Retrofit system with solar panels; new (hybrid) inverter with battery (in addition to the current system with solar panels)
- Retrofit system without solar panels: new (hybrid) inverter with battery
The suitable home battery is smartly controlled in every situation.
1. Hybrid system: new installation or replace old inverter and connect your solar panels to it
Many homes already have a solar panel system. If the inverter is not hybrid (not suitable for connecting a battery solution), you can choose to replace it.
In addition to converting solar panel power, a hybrid inverter can also charge and discharge your home battery. In addition, it can choose between power from your solar panels or from the electricity grid to charge the battery. When discharging, it takes the power from your battery and feeds it to your home and the electricity grid.
When replacing, an equivalent or larger inverter is chosen (with the same power in Kilowatts, kW). For example: you now have a serial 5kW inverter, then a 5kW hybrid variant is usually also installed. This way your solar panel system remains optimally sized and you can also connect your home battery to it. If you want a larger storage capacity and your grid connection allows this, you can also choose the 10kW inverter, which results in faster charging and discharging of your battery pack.
An additional advantage is that your entire system is up to date again and will continue to function without problems for longer. The average inverter has a lifespan of 10-12 years. Your solar panels usually last much longer.
2. Retrofit system with panels; hybrid inverter with battery (in addition to the old system with solar panels)
Retrofit literally means ‘retrofitting’. A new cable route will be installed to your meter cupboard, containing its own group. The new hybrid inverter with battery is connected to this.
This method of installation allows you to combine any current solar panel system with a home battery. The wiring of the panels is again connected to the battery inverter.
An additional advantage of a retrofit installation is that the warranty of the existing solar panel system continues to exist. This is because the existing system that was previously installed by a (different) installer is not being broken into.
3. Retrofit system without solar panels: hybrid inverter with battery pack
You can also use a home battery without solar panels in your home. You then only use the hybrid inverter to charge and discharge your home battery. You buy electricity at the cheapest hours of the day and put it in your battery.
You then use this electricity later in the day in your home to keep your consumption as affordable as possible or sell it at a profit when the price is highest.
This type of system works well in situations where solar panels cannot be installed, such as apartments.