How to decide which battery specs matter for your needs

There are a number of different potential decision criteria and comparison points to make when evaluating your energy storage options. Here are a few of the most common decision criteria, as well as which battery specs matter most if these criteria match your situation:  

If you want to power more of your home at once, look for a solar battery with a high power rating

If you want to be able to power a more energy-intensive appliance (like a sump pump), look for a battery with a high instantaneous power rating

If you want to run your home with your solar battery for a longer amount of time, look for a battery with a higher usable capacity

If you want to get the most out of every kilowatt-hour of electricity you put into your battery, look for batteries with a higher roundtrip efficiency 

If you are space constrained and want to get the most amount of storage out of the least amount of space, look for lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) solar batteries

If you want a battery with the longest lifetime that you can cycle the most amount of times, look for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries

If you want a battery with the absolute highest safety rating possible (don’t worry, they’re all safe!), look to LFP solar batteries