Keep the lights on when the grid goes down

What a battery is for in Alberta

Backup. Not savings. The grid already banks your summer surplus as credit and gives it back in winter, and residential rates here don’t change by time of day, so a battery has nothing to arbitrage. What it does is keep the house running when the grid doesn’t: the furnace fan in a January outage, the freezer, the well pump, the internet, the medical equipment. If that’s worth money to you, a battery is a good buy. If it isn’t, put the money into more panels and we’ll say so.

How it’s sized

We don’t size a battery to the whole house. We ask what has to keep running, put those circuits on a backup panel, and size the battery and inverter to carry them for the time you want: overnight for most homes, or indefinitely with solar recharging it by day. Whole-house backup is possible, costs a lot more, and is rarely what people actually want once they’ve thought about it.

How it goes in

A hybrid inverter or a separate battery inverter, a lithium battery in the mechanical room or garage, a backup panel for the circuits you chose, and a transfer arrangement so the house can safely disconnect from the grid during an outage. It often needs a panel upgrade, which we quote at the same time rather than finding out mid-install. The permit, inspection and utility paperwork are all ours to handle.

With solar, or added later

Installed with a new system, the battery and solar share one hybrid inverter and the whole thing is designed together. Added to a system you already have, it takes its own inverter and some rework at the panel. Both are normal jobs; the second costs a little more for the same result.

Common questions about batteries

Will a battery save me money?

Usually not, and we'd rather say so now. In Alberta the grid already acts as your battery: summer surplus is banked as credit and spent in winter. Residential rates don't change by time of day, so there's nothing to arbitrage. A battery is for keeping the house running when the grid doesn't. If that's worth something to you, it's a good buy. If it isn't, spend the money on more panels.

What will it run during an outage?

Whatever we put on the backup circuits, for as long as the battery lasts. Most homes choose the fridge and freezer, the furnace fan, the well pump if there is one, internet, some lights and a few outlets. Running the whole house including the dryer and the oven takes a much bigger system and usually isn't worth it.

How long will it last in an outage?

It depends on the battery size and what's on the circuits. A typical home battery carries the essentials overnight; with solar recharging it by day, through a multi-day outage. We size it to the loads you actually name, not to a brochure figure.

Can I add a battery to solar I already have?

Yes. It takes a hybrid inverter or a separate battery inverter, a transfer arrangement so the house can island from the grid safely, and usually some panel work. We'll look at the existing system and tell you what's involved.

Does my solar work during a blackout without a battery?

No. A grid-tied system shuts off when the grid goes down, by design, so it can't feed power back onto lines a crew is working on. A battery with a proper transfer arrangement is what lets the house keep running.

Most batteries need more electrical capacity than the house has. Panel upgrades are usually part of the same job.