If you are looking for a battery solution, you have three main options:
- You have solar, use grid power, and want a battery for solar self-consumption at night: K32A Lithium Range.
- You occasionally have blackouts, and want a battery for backup power: K32A Lithium Range or K32C AGM Range.
- You are offgrid, or want to disconnect, so need a remote or offgrid system: K32 Lithium Range or K33 Lithium Range.
On-grid solar self consumption: K32A Range
You need about a 5KWh battery to cover average night time consumption, and about 4-6KW of solar to recover the battery the next day with some to export to the grid.
Your total solar generation depends on the season, where you live in Australia, and the solar orientation. A good energy system designer will give you a graph of annual generation and consumption that looks a bit like this, showing average solar generation and power use, month by month: (For explainers of energy terminology see our Energy FAQ)
All you really need to remember is:
- A 5KWh battery is enough for average night power use
- You don’t even need that, once the battery is empty you go back to grid power
- Nighttime battery power used comes from solar, its wasteful to charge from the grid
- So batteries makes sense if your solar system allows a bit more to store extra for night
If you think you could use our on-grid K32A lithium battery contact us below, for a chat. Or go to the K32A range here, and select a model that suits. You can also review our energy calculator ‘here’, to get that solar/battery/grid balance just right, to choose a battery.
Batteries for Backup Power: K32A & K32C Range
Sometimes having a battery is also about backup power, for blackouts. You will need a battery which can remain on when the grid is down, or ‘island’, like our K32A range. Or you might just want a small or larger UPS type backup power system, which only delivers power when the grid is down, like our K32C range.
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Generally, you have to decide what level of power you want when the grid is down, and that comes down to 3 main aspects:
- The size of the battery: 5KWh will last about 10 hours, while you are using 500W of power, the larger the battery, the longer the backup
- The size of the battery inverter determines the upper limit for your electrical loads, too small and it will overload when you use large loads like ovens, so 3-6KVA is typical
- The number of circuits that the battery backs up, is it one power circuit or two, or most circuits, or all of them?
Take a look at the K32A range, for on-grid solar self consumption and power backup. And our K32C range for infrequent power backup, our larger K32C’s offer budget solar self consumption as well as backup.
Remote Buildings & Offgrid properties: K32 & K33 Range
Transportable buildings like site offices, tiny homes and container-buildings need packaged power systems like ecoCool’s K32 range:
- High Quality Lithium Battery
- Upgradable in 5KWh modules
- IP Rated Enclosure IP54
- Quality Victron Inverters, Cerbo GX, Victron Display options
- Generator inlet, 10/15A Plug Outlet
- External Access DC isolators & AC breakers
- Energy Management dash boards: E30 / Victron Touch
- Designed & Assembled in Australia
- MPPT included as standard
- Victron ecosystem options
For offgrid residences large and small, try ecoCool’s excellent packaged K33 range, with similar features, and more solar options: K33 offgrid range.
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