Metro Manila, 2021 - A lot of residential and business solar energy systems in the Philippines are connected to the electricity grid, or “grid-tied”. That means, when the system is producing more electricity than what your building needs, the excess is fed back into the grid through net metering. And when your building needs more electricity than your solar panels are producing, you can draw power from the electric grid. This type of solar energy system is what PHILERGY German Solar recommends to its clients especially in those living in the metro where electricity supply is relatively stable and outages are rare.
But with a majority of the Philippine provinces experiencing both scheduled rotational blackouts as well as sudden power outages, coupled with one of the highest electricity rates in Asia, many Filipinos want the choice of being independent of the grid and solely generate their own electricity needs from the sun.
Here are some facts you should take note of about off-grid systems and how solar batteries work in the Philippines:
A good solar battery is a professional, usually lithium-ion, energy storage solution. It is not recommended to connect lead acid-based, e.g. car batteries, to solar systems. Quality solar batteries are expensive (starting at PHP 100,000) - no reliable solar battery can be cheap.
A special inverter and other additional accessories are required in an off-grid system. In comparison with a grid-tied system, an off-grid solar system’s price increases remarkably, with a minimum of 30%.
1kWh of solar energy is worth PHP 9-11 in the Philippines. If the 1kWh is stored in a solar battery, it can only supply around 70% of the stored 1kWh back to your appliances due to physical losses. With net metering, a utility provider pays you the generation charge of up to PHP5.5 for each solar kWh sold back to the grid.
Most modern batteries only perform at their best in temperatures of less than 30 degrees Celsius. We mostly have higher temperatures than this in the Philippines, causing the battery to lose efficiency.
Grid-tied solar systems with net-metering perform for more than 25 years, fully automatic and with no maintenance costs. A battery, on the other hand, has limited charging cycles and has to be fully replaced after 8-12 years which means reinvestment.
In the Philippines, investing in a solar system guarantees a secured payback per year of >15% IRR and a return on your investment (ROI) between 4-7 years. A solar battery decreases your investment case remarkably with an ROI of up to 15 years. Since you have to replace the batteries after 8-12 years, your investment most likely won’t have a return at all.
So when does using a solar battery in the Philippines make sense?
If a return on your solar investment is not a priority, but electrification
If you want to overcome electricity shortages and power interruptions
If you are located in a rural area with no grid
Contact us to get a free German expert consultation and have the most efficient solar system that is best for you.
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PHILERGY German Solar Philippines is your reliable, high quality solar energy installer, solar power system, and solar panel supplier in the Philippines with German-made solar equipment combined with experienced German Solar engineering. All installations come with up to 25 years warranty for homes and businesses, and options for flexible solar financing without collateral and additional fees. We are the nation’s top solar company with headquarters, office and showroom in Manila, Philippines with German management and German head solar engineers setting top of the line solar standards. All our solar energy systems are customized according to every client's needs via free expert solar consultation and professional onsite analysis, and are installed by trained teams that are headed by at least 1 German engineer with over 20 years of solar experience.