How do you determine how much energy storage you need?

[Chris McMillan]

I'm going for a DYI solar and storage home system. Would love advice on figuring out how much storage I should buy. Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

[Sol516]

following

 

[SolarPro415]

I typically recommend planning for the storage (battery) size to meet your most expensive utility rate consumption period over the course of a day. For example, this is usually your summer peak energy consumption amount. In California, the battery kWh should be big enough to cover your peak summer hours (4pm to 9pm) since that's the most expensive time. In other states/regions, the peak hours of electricity might be different depending on how utility rates are structured. Of course, I'm assuming that you are also planning to size your solar system to fully charge the battery during the same time and your individual energy consumption needs/patterns should be considered.

 

[Trevor Hall]

Even if you are going the DIY route, you might want to have a few solar/storage contractors give you a quote since that will give you a good idea of what you need!

 

[AlyssaB]

Check out this podcast by Barry Cinnamon on the Energy Show

Which Batteries Are The Best For Your Home?​

 

[Jared_H]

Definitely plan to have enough storage to power your most energy intensive day(s) with no other source of electricity. I think it's as simple as that or figuring out a generator for any shortfall.