How solar panels, inverters and batteries work together

The three main parts

A home solar system has three main parts. The panels on your roof turn daylight into direct current (DC) electricity. An inverter converts that DC into the alternating current (AC) your home uses. And, optionally, a battery stores spare solar power for later.

• Solar panels — generate DC electricity whenever there is daylight, more in bright sun.
• Inverter — converts DC to AC and manages where the power goes. SOFAR's inverters include Wi-Fi monitoring so you can see what your system is doing in an app.
• Battery — stores surplus solar so you can use it in the evening instead of buying electricity from the grid.

Where the power goes without a battery

During the day, your home uses solar power first. Anything you are not using at that moment is exported to the grid. You can be paid for exported electricity through a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff from an energy supplier, but export rates are usually lower than the price you pay to import electricity.

In the evening, when the panels stop producing, you buy electricity from the grid as normal.

What a battery changes

With a battery, surplus solar charges the battery first instead of going straight to the grid. In the evening the battery powers your home, so you import less. Many households also use a time-of-use tariff to charge the battery from the grid overnight when electricity is cheaper, then use that stored energy during the day.

A hybrid inverter manages solar and battery together in one unit. SOFAR PowerAll goes a step further: the hybrid inverter and battery modules stack into one all-in-one system.

Backup power

Some systems can keep selected circuits running during a power cut. PowerAll can switch to backup power in 10 ms. Backup needs to be designed in at installation, so mention it to your installer if it matters to you.