As one of the cleanest sources of power in the world, solar energy presents a totally renewable and environmentally pleasant way to generate electric-powered power. Do you know how solar energy is stored? In this article, we will talk about different ways to store solar energy.
What Is Battery Storage
Batteries are by far the most common way for residential installations to store solar energy. When solar energy is pumped into a battery, a chemical reaction among the battery factors stores the energy. The response is reversed when the battery is discharged, allowing current to exit the battery. Lithium-ion batteries are most generally used in solar applications, and new battery technology is expanding fleetly, which promises to yield cheaper, more scalable battery storage solutions. In fact,U.S. energy storage is anticipated to reach nearly7.5 GW annually by 2025, a sixfold growth from 2020, representing a request worth$7.3 billion.
What Is Thermal Storage
Thermal energy storage makes use of a range of mediums -such as water or molten salt -to absorb and maintain heat from the sun. This heated medium is saved in an insulated tank till the electricity is needed, usually to boil water for power generation.
What Is Mechanical Storage
Mechanical energy storage takes advantage of the implicit energy of an object to generate electricity. Mechanical storage methods convert supernumerary electrical power into mechanical power, which is converted back into electricity for later use. There are three prominent mechanical energy storage systems
Flywheel. This method uses surplus electricity to spin a flywheel, which latterly generates electricity to supply quick energy during peak demand times.
Pumped hydro. With pumped hydro, water is pumped uphill to a reservoir located above turbine generators. The water is allowed to flow through turbines and induce electricity when demand is high.
Compressed air. With this energy storage system, compressed air is pumped into large vessels similar to a tank or resistance conformation. The air is released to generate electricity during peak demand.
The Benefits Of Solar Energy Storage
Backup Power
Despite what numerous people believe, solar panels won’t power your home during a power outage. In order to keep your lights on when the grid goes down, you need to pair your solar system with a solar battery. This is why energy storage is most popular in places like California, where wide power blackouts are commonplace.
As an added bonus, solar batteries are a much quieter backup power option than gas-guzzling generators. Plus, you don’t have to worry about refueling a battery, you just let your solar panels do their thing and the energy is ready for you to use!
Energy Independence
Having solar energy storage means you’re less reliant on the utility grid. We formerly know that means that you’ll be protected when the grid power goes out, but it also means that you’ll be less beholden to the utility all around.
For one thing, solar energy storage protects you from the electric rate increases that are nearly guaranteed to be every year. A battery lets you pull electricity from it instead of taking power from the grid and paying precious rates.
Also, you know exactly where your power is coming from. With a utility, the energy can be generated from foregin gas and oil. You can rest assured that your home is powered with solar energy made right on your roof!
Electric Bill Savings
In numerous places, a solar battery won’t give you redundant utility bill savings because of a utility rate structure called net metering. With full retail net metering, your mileage will pay you the full retail rate of electricity for any redundant solar energy that your home doesn’t use. Basically, you use the utility as your “ financial battery ”.
Still, not all utilities offer full retail net metering, and rather they buy redundant solar electricity at a lower price. This is where solar energy storage can give extra utility bill savings. rather than transferring your redundant electricity to the grid and getting paid a low rate, you store it for later and get the full retail value out of it.
How Is Solar Energy Stored
Thermal Energy Storage Systems
A thermal energy storage system( TES) generally consists of a storage medium in a reservoir or tank, a built-in refrigeration system, piping, pump( s) and controls.
Depending on its operating temperature, TES systems can be classified as either low-or high-temperature TES, where low-temperature TES typically uses cold water and reheating processes, whereas high-temperature TES systems are grounded on idle and thermo-chemical heat storage. With a minimum diurnal tone-discharge loss of 0.05-1, the TES system is suitable to store large amounts at a fairly low capital cost, while also avoiding the product of any major hazards.
Compressed Air Energy Storage
An analogous generation storage technology is Compressed Air Energy Storage( CAES), in which the elastic implicit energy of compressed air is stored until its release to produce electricity. As solar energy enters the CAES system, an electric motor drives an air compressor in which compressed medium air is also stored under pressure in an underground cavern until its desired release.
Due to the high pressures being applied to the air, heat generation within the CAES system occurs, which can lead to unwanted energy discharge. In an effort to reduce discharge temperatures to 300/350 °F, inter and after coolers are present within the CAES system, in which heat is either uprooted during the contraction process or removed fully by an intermediate cooler.
Hydrogen Gas As A Storage System
Dehydrogenation processes occur following the junking of the six imitations from cyclohexane, allowing this chemical to come available for use in energy storage devices and other applications.
Platinum-based nanoparticles are an essential aspect of the dehydrogenation response, in which these nanoparticles act as photocatalysts by furnishing a temporary donation of their photoexcited electrons to being cyclohexane motes. This donation breaks the carbon-hydrogen bonds, releasing hydrogen titles without causing redundant heat to be released.
While utmost suitable for stationary operations, similar to solar energy and wind turbines, this strategy allows for over 97 % of benzene to be converted back to cyclohexane, furnishing one of the most effective options for energy storage.
Pumped Hydroelectric Storage Systems
Pumped hydroelectric storage systems store solar energy by pumping water into the upper reservoir when supply exceeds demand. In an event where demand exceeds supply, water within this original reservoir is released by running upward into a lower reservoir through turbines, allowing for the generation of electricity to occur.
An analogous transmission energy storage technology is pertained to as a flywheel, in which this cylindrical-shaped device contains a large rotor inside a vacuum. After drawing in power from its energy source, the rotor accelerates to veritably high speeds, storing electricity as rotational energy within the device.