08/21/2026
🦫 Wattson's Solar Fact! ☀️🔋
Think you need a battery to have solar? Think again!
Many grid-connected solar systems operate without batteries. When your panels are producing electricity, that power can be used by your home. When you need more electricity than your panels are producing, you can draw power from the electrical grid. When your system produces more than you’re using, the excess can be sent to the grid, depending on your utility's program.
Batteries are an optional addition to a grid-connected system and can be useful for storing solar energy for later or providing backup power during an outage.
But there's an important exception: off-grid solar systems don't have the electrical grid to fall back on, so they require battery storage to keep power available.
So, if you're connected to the grid, you don't necessarily need a battery to go solar. But adding a battery can give you even more control over your energy. Instead of sending excess solar to the grid during the day, you can store that energy and use it later when your panels aren't producing—helping you make more use of the energy your system generates before drawing electricity from the grid.
Learn more about solar:
https://www.riversideenergy.ca/resources
