Clean energy is the latest buzzword all over the world. The main power grid for electricity depends mainly on burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. There is nothing much you can do about this. But, you can  generate clean electricity for your home by harnessing solar energy. All you need are solar panels, solar batteries and an inverter. The only hesitation most people have about turning to solar energy is the initial solar battery price and cost of panels. If you’re planning to make the move towards solar powered electricity here’s all that you need to know.

Solar battery price increases with capacity and power

Not all solar batteries are priced the same. A with other types of batteries, the higher its capacity, the higher the price. Battery power capacity is measured in terms of kilowatt-hours (kWh). Most solar batteries are designed in such a way that multiple solar batteries can be used together. While capacity refers to the total amount of electricity that can be stored in the battery, its power rating will indicate how much power it can distribute at any given moment. A battery’s power rating is typically measured in kilowatts (kW). 

If your battery has a high capacity but a low power rating, it will be able to deliver low amounts of electricity for a long period of time. On  the other hand, if your battery has a low capacity but a high power rating, it can run all your appliances but will provide electricity only for a short period of time.

Depth of Discharge (DoD)

To function for their entire lifespan, solar batteries need to retain a minimum amount of charge at all times. A battery’s Depth of Discharge (DoD) refers to how much of the battery’s capacity has been used. Most battery manufacturers specify a maximum DoD to ensure that the battery maintains optimal performance. The higher the DoD, the more you can utilize your battery’s capacity. 

For example, a 10 kWh battery may have a 90% DoD. This implies that no more than 9 kWh of the battery should be used before it needs to be recharged. 

Round-trip efficiency

Not all the energy used to charge a battery can be used. The percentage of energy that can be used out of the energy it took to charge a battery is referred to as the battery’s round-trip efficiency. If your battery needs 5 kWh of electricity to be charged and you can use kWh of this electricity, your battery’s round-trip efficiency is 80%. The higher the battery’s round-trip efficiency, the more value for money it offers. 

Other aspects of a solar battery that influence its pricing are the battery life, warranty and the brand the battery is produced by. Unbranded solar batteries can also be found in the market. However, though branded solar battery price is higher than the unbranded batteries, these should be avoided as unbranded batteries have no guarantee of the quality of materials being used or the lifespan of the battery.