With rising energy prices and worries about power cuts and supply issues, now is a better time than ever to add EPS for solar batteries.
EPS stands for Emergency Power Supply. This is the solar system’s ability to power your essential circuits using your battery in case of a power cut. Some of these will be manual and some automatic, but the general function is to provide a backup energy source in case the grid fails to provide it.
If you need EPS for your solar energy system, in this blog, we’re going to myth-bust some of the questions you may have about the importance of EPS for solar energy.
What Does A Solar EPS Do?
A Solar EPS, or emergency power system, acts as a backup if your home needs energy. It allows power to be moved from your solar battery storage system to your home and offers benefits such as:
- It gives you backup power in the event of a blackout
- It helps you to safely run your solar panels and battery
- It ensures your essential appliances keep working
This can be very important for people who require energy for work, medical equipment or appliances within their home.
What EPS Options Are There For Solar Panels?
There are five main EPS options that you can choose from when setting up or upgrading your solar system. These options include:
Easy Automatic Sockets
Automatic sockets are a simple, low-cost upgrade to any solar PV system. They allow the inverter to disengage from the grid and connect to sockets in case of an outage. This is useful for having a backup power supply for smaller appliances such as lamps and phone chargers.
Easy Automatic Circuits
Having an EPS connected to your circuits helps ensure that your lighting and other appliances keep running in the event of a blackout. This is slightly more expensive than automatic sockets, as it requires some effort to link the battery’s power with the sockets.
Manual Whole House Circuit
If you want to choose whether to turn on your emergency power or not, a manual system could benefit you. A manual whole-house circuit will require some rewiring but will offer you the option to turn down high-power loads and turn on a full-house switch.
Automatic Whole House Circuit
Similarly to the above, a whole house circuit can be set up to power your home in a grid outage. This system can handle lots of power and automatically switch to solar battery energy in case of a power outage.
This power system will require a large battery to work to its full capacity.
Automatic Whole House Off-Grid Circuit
The final and most effective system is an off-grid circuit. These systems can power your home without any grid energy. So long as there is the sun for the solar panels, the energy will be immediately transferred from the battery storage to powering the home.
Do You Need EPS For Solar Panels?
It’s always highly advised to get an EPS with your solar set-up.
If there is a power cut, the flow of the electricity can change, preventing it from flowing normally to and from the grid. Once the power cut ends, and the grid energy comes back on, it can cause a surge which can damage the solar system and your home.
A safe EPS set-up or inverter can help prevent this by ensuring that your power is handled correctly, preventing any electrical damage or explosions.
Do All Solar Batteries Include An EPS?
No. Not all solar batteries provide an emergency power supply. Some inverters lack the necessary hardware and will require you to attach a mechanical contactor and manual changeover switch to add EPS capabilities.
How Is EPS Installed?
The type of EPS you get will affect how it’s installed. Generally, it will require a specialist to do some rewiring to ensure it’s safe, especially if you choose a circuit system. You may also need to build a new external earth and a fused down distribution board, which a professional can do for you.
Get An EPS Solar System With Smartly
If you would like to get a solar panel system with EPS backup installed, Smartly can help advise you on everything from purchasing high-quality solar panels and batteries to EPS installation.
Speak to us about EPS for solar batteries today. Our knowledgeable advisors are always happy to advise you on all of the options available and what may be the best solution for your needs.
