How Many Batteries (Inc. Car Batteries) Do I Need To Power My House

The majority of household power equipment may be incompatible with the source of electricity you're relying on. 

When the weather is mild and still , wind turbines are pretty much  useless, and even   solar panels are ineffective at generating power if they're blanketed in a layer of snow.  

Most properties have been connected to the power grid at one point or another. If your main sources of energy breakdown, you can use a rechargeable battery to power your home.

It’s not always easy to figure out just how many batteries you’ll need to power your home, as it varies from family to family and household to household.

However, there are a few factors to take into account to help you get the right amount.

In this article, we’ll explore these factors and give some examples of how many batteries are appropriate for certain situations, as well as how many car batteries would be sufficient. Let’s dive in!

Why Would You Need To Power Your Home With Batteries?

Thanks to  its array of backup power capabilities, the domestic battery power solution or home battery bank has become increasingly popular in recent years, and is expected to become more common as time goes on.

Whenever the grid as well as other major sources of energy, such as solar and wind energy equipment, are unavailable, a rechargeable battery pack will provide emergency  power to your home.

A backup battery power source can make a massive difference in a property during severe weather events like hurricanes.

Larger storms are projected in the next few years as a result of ongoing climate changes, rising temperatures, and rising sea levels. 

Following Hurricane Sandy's devastation in 2012, 7.9 million households and companies in the District of Columbia and 15 other areas were without power.

Fast forward just a few short days  the US Energy Administration stated that about 67 percent of gas stations in New York had run dry, rendering generators in households and workplaces virtually ineffective.

Families who expected and therefore prepared for such an occurrence by installing a home battery power solution fared much better.

This is primarily because they found themselves able to extend their time and keep their lighting on, at least until the power was restored or their supplies were fully depleted, whichever happened first.

Battery electrical generators are particularly useful for individuals who use solar or wind power to offset the impacts of power supply fluctuations from these alternative energy sources. 

So, How Many Batteries Will I Need To Power My Home?

There are several things you'll need to take into account when deciding how many batteries are required to power your home.

The Length Of Time

It is not possible to build a rechargeable battery solution that can supply an average household energy demands over many days.

For just a few days, any main power system that has been disturbed will be able to function as a stable solution. 

When designing your battery system, you'll pick how many days you want to be powerless.

For instance, in a rural area where strong hurricanes cause power cuts on a regular basis, you might just have 3 days or so of electric power.

Battery Type

A specific amount of amp-hours of battery power is required to generate a specific voltage. For instance, a 500-amp-hour battery will provide 5 amp for 100 hours of power supply.

The rechargeable battery's voltage is usually pretty stable, however when the device is recharged, the voltage drops gradually.

The average voltage will continue to rise by the amp-hour amount to 1,000 in order to assess battery power capacity in kilowatt-hours.

A 6 volt battery with a 400 amp-hour capacity should provide approximately 2.4 kilowatt hours of battery life.

Usage

The amount of energy in homes is calculated in kilowatt-hours.

1 kilowatt hour's energy demands are similar to one hour of one kilowatt or ten hours of a 100 watt unit. 

The quarterly electricity bill reveals how many kilowatt hours you've used and may possibly provide insight and details from the prior quarter.  

According to the Energy Information Administration, the average American home uses 901 kilowatt-hours every month, or roughly 30 kilowatt-hours per day.

So you should take these figures into account when determining how many batteries you’ll need.

Batteries

An average American family would generate 90 kilowatt-hours of power from a 3-day battery system.

The battery in the example mentioned above can supply 2,4 kilowatt hours, but 38 batteries would be required. 

In reality, a few more batteries would be required to compensate for energy defects as well as the converter's power consumption.

What About Car Batteries?

If you're considering a power storage solution for your home, this is a reasonable question.

It won't be easy to rely on just car batteries, but not possessing an emergency supply of power could end up being more costly and reckless, so a car battery is certainly better than nothing.  

This is particularly true if you live somewhere where power cuts are common.

A typical family in the US that consumes 90 kwh of electricity for 3 days would require as many as  38 6 volt battery packs with a capacity of 400Ah and a power output of 2.4 kWh per unit.

The 90 kWh is for a rechargeable electricity system that will last three days. This is a reasonable estimate of the amount of time a household would need an emergency power system in the event of a power outage.

Bottom Line

As you can see, the amount of batteries you need to power your home will all depend on your own circumstances and usage.

However, you can use the information above to help you work out how many batteries you’ll need, including car batteries, in reference to the average American household.