Power outages have become the norm here in California as severe weather impacts the grid. For many people, a brief power outage is an annoyance that can leave you bored and a little uncomfortable. But if you rely on plug-in medical equipment or refrigerated medication, a power outage of any length is extremely dangerous.
If you need backup power for home medical equipment, a residential solar panel and battery system is one of the best options. Solar panels with battery storage will give you an uninterrupted power supply during a grid outage so you can keep your essential medical devices running.
How Does Solar with Battery Backup Work?
Solar systems with battery backup combine the power of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with energy storage solutions to provide a self-sustaining energy source that can power your home at any time, even during a power outage.
Without battery backup, grid-tied solar panels are automatically turned off during a power outage. This is a safety feature that prevents grid-tied solar panels from sending electricity to the grid during an outage. If they were not turned off, grid-tied solar panels could send unexpected power surges into the grid during an outage, damaging equipment and injuring workers.
With battery backup, your solar panels can disconnect from the grid during a power outage. The battery gives your solar panels a place to store the excess power they produce, which allows your system to operate like an off-grid system during a power outage. During a daytime outage, your solar panels will power your home as normal and charge your battery. At night, the stored energy from your battery will keep essentials, like medical equipment, running.
Learn more about how solar batteries work.
What Home Medical Equipment Can a Solar Battery Power?
An emergency backup solar power system will provide enough electricity to power or charge most home medical equipment, including:
- CPAP and BiPAP machines
- Nebulizers
- Home dialysis machines
- Oxygen concentrators
- Electric wheelchairs and motorized scooters
- Electric stair lifts
If you rely on refrigerated medication, a solar battery system can also be used to keep your main refrigerator or a secondary mini fridge running during a power outage.
How Long Can a Solar Battery Power Home Medical Equipment?
The amount of time you’ll be able to run a medical device with stored solar energy depends on your battery’s capacity and charge and how much power the device consumes. Most solar batteries can store about 10 kWh of electricity, which is more than enough power to run a CPAP machine overnight (most CPAP machines consume less than 1 kWh of electricity per day).
Of course, all medical devices consume different amounts of power. Six Rivers Solar can analyze your power consumption and design a custom solar battery backup system that will provide the amount of power you need to keep your essential medical equipment running during a blackout.
Get Solar Battery Backup for Power Outages Now!
Solar battery backup is a must-have for home power outages, especially if you need backup power for medical equipment! Six Rivers Solar specializes in solar battery backup design for houses on the North Coast. Our battery systems integrate seamlessly with solar panels to provide continuous and automatic backup power during an outage. The solar and battery systems we install give you more than just backup power—they give you safety and peace of mind!
