It's been a tough month in Southern California, as we experience the wildfire season. Each day, we are hearing terrible news from up and down the state about communities rocked by fire. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who lost their homes, pets, and property.
We were proud to receive this video from one of our customers in Venture County, California. Facing a preemptive power outage from Southern California Edison, this resident was able to keep the lights on, thanks to a Tesla Powerwall battery that we had installed on his house. Other battery customers of ours have been able to monitor their home security systems or Nest cameras during mandatory evacuations because their power remains on.
The peace of mind provided by battery storage is one of the new benefits that the solar industry offers. The batteries are like those found in electric cars and are made by several manufacturers, including Telsa and sonnenBatterie, and soon SunPower’s own Equinox battery will be released. These batteries are filled with excess energy that your solar panels produce during the day, then can be used to power your house at night. They can also be used in an emergency or planned outage to keep the power on.
An expert installer will be sure to tie the battery (or batteries) to a protected load panel. This way, you can choose only the essentials that you want to work. For example – maybe your pool pump is running on a timer – but do you really need that running during a power outage, draining your battery? A protected load panel can designate that only a few circuits stay running – like refrigeration, home office, medical devices, bedroom lights, or other essentials. That way, the battery can provide power for a longer duration, while circuits that control, say, HVAC, outdoor patio lights or other non-essentials remain off.
We hope everyone in our community remains safe from fire during this time of year, and we’re here to answer any questions you might have about how to protect your home with battery storage.
