Understanding Battery Storage!

AC-coupled or DC-coupled battery storage? There are a few different ways of adding a battery storage system to your home depending on your circumstance, if you already have solar panels and are looking to add battery storage then an AC Coupled installation may suit you best, where as if you are looking to put solar panels up at the same time, then DC Coupled battery storage may be more suitable.

There is also of whole home back up, keeping your whole house powered during a powercut with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) The Tesla Powerwall and the new Givenergy All In One (AIO) are built with this in mind. Read on below to see the benefits and disadvantages of each set up.

AC Coupled Battery Storage

AC-coupled batteries are a very popular way of incorporating battery storage into an existing solar installation. The reason for this is because it allows you to leave the existing solar inverter where it is and simply add a separate AC charge controller with the batteries.

This gives flexibility when it comes to the location of the battery storage system in your home as you do not have to place the batteries with the existing inverter which are often found in lofts. AC- coupling the battery storage system means you can place the batteries in a more suitable location.

With an AC-coupled battery you can protect any existing solar Feed in tariff currently being paid as you are not altering your existing installation. this is a consideration if you already have panels and another reason that AC - coupling battery storage is very popular.

The only draw back with an AC Coupled battery storage system is that because the stored energy is converted 3 times it is slightly less efficient than a DC Coupled battery.

DC Coupled Battery Storage (Hybrid Inverters)

DC-coupled battery storage is a slightly newer way of adding energy storage to your home. With a DC-coupled solar battery a hybrid inverter is installed, The hybrid inverter is the brains of the whole set up as it has a charge controller built into it, Whereas with an AC - coupled system the charge controller is added in,

With the hybrid inverter acting as both the main inverter for the solar array and also the brains behind charging and discharging the battery storage system, this means that the batteries have to be located next to the hybrid inverter and reduces the flexibility in terms of picking an adequate site to locate. Batteries and hot loft's are not a good combination.

With a DC-coupled battery storage system as there are less conversions of the stored energy, the battery storage system is slightly more efficient than an AC Coupled battery. A DC-coupled aids a brand new solar installation where as a AC-coupled system would aid a retro fit adding a battery to an existing set up.

Whole Home Back up! (UPS)

Technology moves quickly and a new phrase in the solar battery storage industry is "whole home back up" or a "UPS" (uninterrupted power supply) at Cambridge Battery Storage we like to be ahead of the curve. A whole home back up does what it says on the tin. In the event of a power outage the energy storage system will keep your home fully powered and backed up with the energy coming from the battery.

With an AC or DC-coupled battery it is possible to back up a small load in the event of a power outage but this would just be a fridge/freezer or your lighting circuit. If you want the whole property to remain powered during an outage then whole home back up is for you.

A whole home backup battery storage system is an AC-couped system at its core but goes a step beyond as it acts as uninterrupted power supply during a power outage where as a traditional AC-coupled battery would not although both an AC & DC-coupled installation would be able to power your whole home in normal circumstances, just not during a power outage.

Both the Tesla Powerwall 2 and Givenergy All In One (AIO) systems give the benefit of whole home backup. At Cambridge Battery Storage we are approved installers of both Tesla Powerwall 2 & the Givenergy AIO. Contact us today to find out more