The incredible growth in battery technology is bringing an enormous benefit to homeowners as the price of backup systems tumbles.
“The cost of a battery backup system has dropped by roughly 50 percent in the past year,” says Francois Byrne, owner of Hybrid Power Solutions.
“We can now install a whole-home battery backup system for a price that is comparable to a similar generator.”
Francois is an engineer who launched Hybrid Power Solutions eight years ago with two main areas of focus: generating power through solar panels and storing it onsite in batteries. Once a fairly niche product, high-capacity batteries have become more and more widespread, thanks in part to the rise of electric cars. That has brought many more suppliers into the industry, driving down prices.
Although solar panels and batteries naturally complement each other – one generates power in the day and the other stores it for use at night – the two systems can also be installed independently of each other. You can have solar panels, or batteries, or both.
“If your home is on the hydro grid, then a battery can serve as a perfect backup system for those times when the grid goes down,” Francois says. “It’s always ready, it’s maintenance-free, it’s silent, and it uses no fuel. If the power grid goes down, you might not even realize it because the battery just kicks in seamlessly and keeps everything running as it always has.”
Similarly, solar panels are often installed on homes that have no battery backup system – any excess power the panels produce is sold back to the hydro utility.
But the best system of all combines both systems. “If you’re installing a battery backup, then why wouldn’t you spend a bit more and also install solar panels? They will pay for themselves – typically in eight to 10 years – and you’ll have reliable power all the time.”
That payback projection, he notes, is based on current hydro rates. As prices rise, the payback time becomes even shorter.
Hybrid Power Solutions offers some of the best warranties in the industry, ranging from 10 years for the power inverters to 25 years for the panels. And they have a team of local installation crews, operating all across Ontario. Don and Elliot, owners-operators in the Muskoka Region, travelled to an island in Lake Nipissing to complete the installation seen here.
“Our installers are independent experts who know and understand local conditions. With them, we can offer support before, during, and after your system is installed,” says Francois.
TEXT A. WAGNER-CHAZALON
PHOTOS ANDREW FEARMAN
