How big a solar battery do I need to store *all* my home’s electricity?
I have a modest set of solar panels on an entirely ordinary house in suburban London. On average they generate about 3,800kWh per year. We also use about 3,800kWh of electricity each year. Obviously, we can’t use all the power produced over summer and we need to buy power in winter. So here’s my question: How big a battery would we need in order to be completely self-sufficient? Background Let’s take a look at a typical summer’s day. The graph is a little complex, so I’ll explain it. The yellow line shows solar production. It starts shortly after sunrise, peaks at midday, and gradually drops until sunset. The red line shows how much electricity our home is using. As you can see, there’s a large peak about 19:00 when we cook dinner. The blue line shows how much electricity we draw or…
