Solar and wind facilities use the energy stored in batteries to reduce power fluctuations and increase reliability to deliver on-demand power. They store excess energy when demand is low and release it when demand is high, to ensure a steady supply of energy to millions of homes and businesses.

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There are many different types of batteries that have large-scale energy storage potential, including sodium-sulfur, metal-air, lithium-ion, and lead-acid batteries.

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Solar batteries work by storing energy produced by your solar panels and storing it as for later use. In some cases, solar batteries have their own inverter and offer integrated energy conversion. The higher your battery's capacity, the more solar energy it can store.

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When you install a solar battery as part of your solar panel system, you are able to store excess solar electricity at your home instead of sending it back to the grid. If your solar panels are producing more electricity than you need, the excess energy goes towards charging the battery. Later, when your solar panels aren’t producing electricity, you can draw down the energy you stored earlier in your battery for night use. You’ll only send electricity back to the grid when your battery is fully charged, and you’ll only draw electricity from the grid when your battery is depleted.

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What this means in practical terms is that homes with solar-plus-storage can store excess solar power onsite for use later when the sun isn’t shining. As a bonus, since solar batteries store energy at your home, they also offer short-term backup power in the event that there’s a power outage in your area.

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Whole Earth Tools recommends three storage batteries picks: Tesla Powerwall, LG Chem RESU10, Sonnen Eco10, Trojan Battery, Generac generators & storage.