Whether the electrical storage is powering the home, the vehicle, or the grid, batteries are quintessential in helping Australia turn towards a greener future and are paramount in assisting the country in becoming carbon neutral, and even possibly, carbon negative.
Battery storage such as those found in homes can be charged by various external sources of energy, what that source happens to be is very important. If batteries are storing energy created by fossil fuels, then the journey to carbon-neutral becomes more difficult. If battery storage is charged with renewable energy, then the road to decarbonisation becomes a reachable goal for everyone.
Residential home storage can play a part at home in helping us reduce our carbon footprint. Batteries are usually connected to solar panels, which allows for the storage unit to store excess power during the day for it then to be released during the evening or at times when there is a blackout. Home batteries can also be used in virtual power plants (VPP) where multiple batteries from different locations are all connected online to make a distributed energy system, you can read more about how it works and what its benefits are here.
Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a 2020 report which revealed the lifecycle emissions associated with residential solar PV with battery systems.
Their study finds that the “greenhouse gas emissions of PV electricity amount to 53.6 g CO2-eq/kWh. For the three storage capacities (5, 10, and 20 kWh), the total greenhouse gas emissions from 1 kWh of electricity generation for self-consumption via a PV-battery system are 80, 84, and 88 g CO2-eq/kWh, respectively”.
In this, the production of the PV panels accounted for roughly half of the greenhouse gas emissions of all three battery types, with batteries contributing roughly 25 per cent of the total emissions.
In contrast, coal has a carbon intensity of being around 1,000 CO2-eq/kWh, oil being 800 CO2-eq/kWh, and natural gas contributing 500 CO2-eq/kWh.
Furthermore, the report discusses that when PV energy is stored, greenhouse gas emissions are further reduced in comparison to using natural gas backup electricity generation.
Solar panels and residential batteries do still emit carbon emissions, mainly during the production phase. However, overall, they emit much less than their fossil fuel counterparts such as coal which Australia still heavily relies on.
Reducing carbon emissions is only one benefit of home storage units but there are many more reasons. We have compiled a list that contains a few more benefits that discuss why homeowners across Australia are deciding to go solar with home storage.
If you would like to hear from an LG RESU certified installer about how you can reduce your emissions and electricity bill, fill out our quote form and one of our specialists will get in contact with you about the best storage solution for your home.
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