Steady growth is nothing new for the solar industry. As manufacturing of solar products has improved and prices have come down, the industry has boomed around the globe, and solar power has become commonplace in most neighborhoods across the US. It’s even being used quite often as a power source for city grids throughout the country. In recent years, however, one area of the solar industry has outpaced the rest of the industry as a whole—solar power storage. Solar power systems with battery banks have experienced incredible growth, and they continue to outpace the installation of new systems without storage. What’s causing this remarkable growth in this particular area of solar? Here are a few factors that are contributing to it.
Improved Battery Manufacturing
Just as improved manufacturing processes for solar panels allowed for the solar industry to grow over the last several decades, improved manufacturing for solar batteries has now allowed the solar storage sector to grow by leaps and bounds. While the cost of a battery bank is still nothing to sniff at, it has come down significantly in recent years. Additionally, batteries are becoming more efficient and reliable, which means that the cost per watt of power that they provide is even lower.
In the past, solar batteries were bulky, and presented the risk of leaks and gas emissions. Modern batteries, however, are more compact, allowing them to be stored more effectively in smaller spaces. Most of them are also now sealed, which not only virtually eliminates the risk of leaks and gassing, but also significantly reduces the maintenance solar batteries require.
All of these factors make batteries much more appealing and accessible to the average homeowner, contributing to the growth of solar storage.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 impacted the nation’s economy drastically, and many of its effects are still felt today. During the first year of the pandemic, solar power and solar storage experienced a surge in demand. With people spending more time at home than ever before, electric bills were rising for families throughout the country, making solar a much more appealing option. The addition of solar storage to a new system also provides the owner with the ability to become more self-sustaining, which can be appealing amid a global crisis.
Rising Energy Costs
Recent inflation has caused everyone to pull their purse strings a little tighter and search for ways to save money. Energy costs have been particularly impacted, due in large part to the Russian war in Ukraine. When Russia launched its attack on its neighboring country, countries around the globe responded with strict sanctions against Russian imports, including oil. Russia is one of the top oil producers in the world, so the loss of that energy source was felt globally.
While the impact of that loss is most obviously felt at the gas pump, it also impacts the cost of electricity, as many power plants use fossil fuels to generate power. With energy costs rising, many people are looking for ways to become more independent of power grids altogether. While solar panels will obviously reduce that dependence on the grid, without storage, you remain reliant on it every night and through periods of cloudy weather.
This has caused many solar users to add solar power storage, creating a more self-sustaining system that relies on the grid only in emergencies, when all other power sources have been depleted. This can effectively eliminate your power bill every month, so that you’re not subject to those rising energy costs.
Concerns over Grid Reliability
Amid all the global tensions and natural disasters experienced in the last several years, the ability to be self-sufficient with your energy production can be extremely appealing. In addition to those rising energy costs and pandemic-related supply chain issues, the world has witnessed many instances in which traditional power sources have failed them.
One prominent example was the winter storm front that left a large number of Texans without power in early 2021. Dozens of people died, and thousands suffered through freezing temperatures in their own homes when the state’s power grids went down. A solar power system with a battery bank would allow a person to disconnect from the grid and rely on their own power production during disasters like these. After witnessing the consequences of completely losing grid power, many throughout the country began to turn to solar-plus-storage as a better solution for their power needs.
The growth of solar power storage continues to outpace the rest of the solar industry as more and more people look for ways to become self-sufficient in their energy production. If you’re interested in adding solar to your home, you should seriously consider adding a solar battery bank and creating a hybrid solar power system in order to optimize your energy production.
