How do I get the most out of my solar panels?
Use or salute solar energy yourself?
Solar panels can be found on more and more roofs, which is very beautiful! They make households more sustainable and reduce energy bills. The large increase in households with solar panels also poses challenges. A large part of the generation is not used by the house itself, but ‘flows back’ to the electricity grid. In the evening, electricity is then requested from the electricity grid. This does not matter in the Netherlands, because it is allowed to balance: at the end of the year, the amount of solar power returned may be stripped off from the annually requested mains power.
But this is going to change, because the netting scheme is being phased out. It is therefore increasingly useful to use generated solar power yourself and to make optimal use of your solar panels. This means that solar panel owners can better look at how much idle power they deliver daily, rather than on an annual basis.
Consumption and generation take place at a different time
Solar panels generate the most during the afternoon hours, when the light is greatest. However, energy consumption takes place at a different time. This can be seen in the figures below, which show the energy balance on a typical summer and winter day.
In the summer there is a large surplus in the afternoon hours, while in the morning and evening there is more supply than supply. In winter, much less energy is generated as the sun shines less. However, the same pattern can be seen: there is a stir in the afternoon, while the most energy is used in the morning and evening. It would of course be very nice to be able to store the energy peaks in the afternoon to cover power consumption outside hours. And that is why it is a good idea for households to invest in a form of energy storage at home level.
Home battery and other storage options
The best known form of small-scale energy storage is the home battery. These batteries are very useful for storing solar power during the day and for use in the evening or next morning. Although the price of home batteries will decrease in the coming years, it is a rather expensive form of storage. In some cases, an electric car can also be seen as a form of storage. If the car is charged during the day, you can use more solar energy. Of course, an electric car was not purchased for energy storage, but for transport! And that is why it will often happen that the car is not on the charger during the day, but is on its way. However, there is another way of small-scale energy storage that is easy to use: hot tap water in a Water Accu.
De WaterAccu ensures storage and saves gas
Tap water is water used for showering, washing dishes, etc. Since tap water is used daily, long-term energy storage is not necessary. Tap water heating is usually on gas, so using solar power instead is not only efficient, but also durable! This storage is possible with the Solyx Energy WaterAccu, a combination of an electric boiler and the Solar iBoost. If there is more energy generation than consumption during the day, the Solar iBoost sends the idle power to the boiler. In this way, the water is heated during the day, so that you can take a warm shower in the evening and morning. The great thing about this is that the iBoost can control the boiler with exactly the amount of energy that is left at a certain moment. Other appliances such as a dishwasher cannot just run at less power, but have a standard power: on or off. The figure below also shows that on an average day of the year, the Water Accu can use a large part of the excess current.
The reduction of the netting control is therefore no reason to panic: excess solar power can easily be used!