Home Battery Backup Generator Systems: 3 Types of System for a Functional Home In Case of Power Outage
COMMERCIAL SOLAR IN QUEBEC | Quebec Solar + Volvo Park Avenue
August 18, 202312/05/2023
One concern every homeowner has is keeping their home safe and functional year-round. As the power grid continues to experience serious reliability issues, this can seem like more and more of a challenge. Especially in the advent of recurrent power cuts.
As too many homeowners are finding out, often to their great detriment, being entirely dependent on the grid when the power goes out can prove risky.
In every season, being able to power essential home infrastructure such as sump or well pumps, freezers, home alarm systems and IT related to a home office can be critical, and even a short power outage can cause major disturbances. So what are the best options for when the power goes out?
On this page:
- Home Battery Backup Generator Systems
- Here is a list of some of the most common critical loads requiring electricity during a power outage:
- Home Battery Backup Generator
- Home Battery Backup Generator with Solar Panels
- Home Battery Backup Generator with solar panels and traditional generator for extended length power outages
- Good to know about home battery backup systems
Home Battery Backup Generator Systems
A home battery backup generator system is the best solution for homeowners ready to enjoy peace of mind regardless of day-to-day power grid performance or eventual outages.
Home battery backup generator systems can be tailored to any specific home situation.
Some systems are 100% pollution-free, maintenance-free, noise-free and fuel-free.
With advancement in battery technology allowing for always greater capacity, these systems are now more affordable than ever. These backup systems are the best solution to ensure home functionality and safety year-round.
Let’s look at the 3 main types of systems available and compare their respective advantages and disadvantages to see which could be the best fit for you.
All system types may be professionally installed by Quebec Solar. Please reach out to us for your personalized quote.
Read here about our customer’s experience during last ice storm
Here is a list of some of the most common critical loads requiring electricity during a power outage:
1. Sump pump
2. Well pump
3. Fridge
4. Freezer
5. Lights
6. Modem/router (Internet access)
7. Computers (IT), for working from home
8. Alarms
9. Cameras
Note: Home battery backup generator systems are not meant for central heating of the home.
See for example the list of appliances that can be powered daily by a system employing a 10 kW/h battery, below:
Not sure what battery size you need? Use our Battery Sizing Calculator here.
1. Home Battery Backup Generator
This system is best suited for homeowners who have no space for a solar installation, or in cases where the roof of the home isn’t suitable for solar panels. This home battery backup system is also recommended in municipalities that do not allow the installation of solar panels.
This fully automated solution consists of 3 main components:
- Hybrid Inverter
- LFP Battery/ies
- Auxiliary critical loads electrical panel
Advantages:
- Kicks in automatically and instantly (0.1 ms) without your lights even blinking.
- Noise-free.
- System stays at 100% state of charge at all times, ready to deploy whenever there is a power outage.
- System comes with real-time monitoring data available on your smart phone or computer.
- No roof space needed for solar panels.
- Easily relocatable if you decided to move or sell your house as it can be moved with you to your new place.
- Easy to upgrade, and to increase system capacity.
- Least expensive of the 3 systems.
- Usually installed in less than a day by our professional and experienced team of certified installers.
Disadvantages:
- Only works while battery charge lasts. The system needs to be recharged from the grid (when available) before being used again.
- No possibility of offsetting a percentage of your Hydro-Quebec bill.
- No Federal grant available (at the time of writing, Nov. 2023)
Cost:
With a 10 kWh LFP battery, 50 Amps continuously during power outage. Cost per turnkey home battery backup installed starts at: $22,595.00
2. Home Battery Backup Generator with Solar Panels
This backup system is best suited for homeowners who have sufficient and suitable space to install solar panels, are looking for extended backup recharged by solar energy and are located in municipalities that allow the installation of solar panels.
This fully automated solution consists of 4 main components:
- Hybrid Inverter
- LFP Battery/ies
- Solar panels
- Auxiliary critical loads electrical panel
Advantages:
- Kicks in automatically and instantly (0.1 ms) without your lights even blinking.
- Noise-free.
- System stays at 100% state of charge at all times, ready to deploy whenever there is a power outage.
- No fuel needed. (The sun is your new fuel.)
- No maintenance needed.
- System comes with real-time monitoring data available on your smart phone or computer.
- With solar panels recharging your system, you remain independent of the grid as the batteries are perpetually being emptied and recharged.
- Eligible for a full 5000$ Federal Grant (at the time of writing, Nov. 2023.)
- Ability to offset a percentage of your annual hydro bill (depending on the system size and your consumption.)
- Ability to feed home energy loads and charge batteries at the same time during a power outage.
- Ability to continue charging (your electric vehicle, for instance) if your system battery is fully charged.
- Loss-free. DC power produced by your solar panels is charging the batteries (in DC as well) without any losses due to transformation (AC to DC and DC to AC) as is the case with Tesla’s Powerwall.
- Additional savings thanks to the solar panels generating electricity (leading to a decreased Hydro-Quebec bill.)
- Easy to upgrade, and to increase system capacity.
Disadvantages:
- System requires roof or ground space suitable for the installation of solar panels
- More difficult to relocate (however totally possible) if you decided to move or sell your house as it can be moved with you to your new place.
- Certain extreme weather conditions may interfere with battery charging. For instance, if the solar panels are covered in snow, they will not be charging the batteries. During prolonged power outages, removing snow from the solar panels may be required.
- More expensive than a system without solar.
Cost:
With a 10 kWh LFP battery, 5 KW of solar panels (10 x 500W) 50 Amps continuously during power outage. Cost per turnkey home battery backup installed starts at: $28,580.00
3. Home Battery Backup Generator with solar panels and traditional generator for extended length power outages
This backup system is best suited for homeowners that have sufficient and suitable space to install solar panels, are looking for extended backup recharged from both solar energy and a conventional generator and are located in municipalities that allow the installation of solar panels and conventional generators.
This fully automated solution consists of 5 main components:
- Hybrid Inverter
- LFP Battery/ies
- Solar panels
- Auxiliary critical loads electrical panel
- Conventional generator
Advantages:
- Kicks in automatically and instantly (0.1 ms) without your lights even blinking.
- System stays at 100% state of charge at all times, ready to deploy whenever there is a power outage.
- System comes with real-time monitoring data available on your smart phone or computer.
- With solar panels recharging your system, you remain independent of the grid as the batteries are perpetually being emptied and recharged.
- Eligible for a full 5000$ Federal Grant for systems of 4 kW of PV and more (at the time of writing, Nov. 2023.)
- Additional savings thanks to the solar panels generating electricity (leading to a decreased Hydro-Quebec bill, depending on system size and home consumption.)
- Ability to feed home energy loads (your EV, for instance) from solar without discharging the batteries.
- Ability to continue charging (your electric vehicle, for instance) if your system battery is fully charged.
- Loss-free. DC power produced by your solar panels is charging the batteries (in DC as well) without any losses due to transformation (AC to DC and DC to AC) as is the case with Tesla’s Powerwall.
- In case of extreme weather interfering with battery charging (for example, solar panels are covered in snow), the conventional generator will kick in automatically to recharge the batteries only. All automated.
- Our Hybrid inverter can accommodate a generator and also manage it remotely (if needed.)
- Easy to upgrade, and to increase system capacity.
Disadvantages:
- System requires roof or ground space suitable for the installation of solar panels
- More difficult to relocate (however totally possible) if you decided to move or sell your house as it can be moved with you to your new place.
- Conventional generator requires maintenance.
- Fuel needed for the conventional generator to recharge the batteries.
- Makes noise during charging (very limited use.)
- The most expensive solution.
Cost:
With a 10 kWh LFP battery, 5 KW of solar panels (10 x 500W) 50 Amps continuously during power outage. Cost per turnkey home battery backup installed starts at: $28,580.00 Plus traditional generator cost and its installation.
Good to know
We are certified by Enphase, Sol-ark. Our systems use only LFP batteries (5 kWh or 10 kWh each), which come with a 10-Year Warranty (or 6000 cycles of 80 % SOC).
Our Hybrid inverters come with a 10-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty.
Our solar panels come with 10 to 30-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty.
Unsure about battery sizing? We created this handy tool to assist customers assess battery sizing: https://quebecsolar.ca/solar-battery-sizing-calculator/
Looking for peace of mind for you and your loved ones? We have customizable solutions to fit with your needs!
Still on the fence? We have many cherished customers here in our beautiful province of Quebec.
Consult our gallery of projects here.
These customers are happy to share their experience with their home battery backup generator installed by the absolute leader in backup solutions: Quebec Solar Inc.
Read testimonials here.
Interested in hybrid backup solar systems? Quebec Solar Inc. is a leader in PV market in Quebec with emphasis on hybrid backup solar power systems. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you to get your home back solar power!
