Solar and batteries are great. But they are not a way out of prison for bad houses.
Today I saw someone online asking:
“Should I spend $20,000 on double glazing or $20,000 on solar + battery and run the air conditioning 24/7 if needed?”
If you have to ask at all, the answer is simple: don’t build a crappy house and try to plaster it with panels and a battery.
Assemble the cake before adding the frosting
If your home loses heat in the winter and boils over in the summer, solar power and batteries can’t save you. You run the air conditioner at full blast, use up energy, and still feel miserable.
Build it right – insulation, airtightness, double glazing, orientation – and suddenly you don’t need as much cooling or heating. You also don’t need a huge air conditioner or a huge battery. A smaller set means smaller bills and fewer things to break.
And insulation and windows won’t work if a capacitor blows. You don’t need an app, a switch or any mental bandwidth. They just keep performing, day after day, year after year.
Houses should last a century. Yet we build them like disposable shells and hope a solar battery system will cover the cracks.
This is also about health
Living in homes where the temperature regularly falls below 15°C or rises above 28°C is associated with poorer health and wellbeing. And it’s miserable.
You may be able to keep the temperature stable with a full-featured air conditioner, but most people won’t run it 24 hours a day. Even with a huge solar battery system, economy and practicality mean that the house is too hot or too cold most of the time.
A home that stays effortlessly warm in the winter and cool in the summer will keep you healthier and happier. And it’s not just about you: when you build, you also shape the lives of the people who will own the house after you. Maybe old fashioned, but I think you have a duty to leave them a home that is also good for their health and happiness.
Solar energy and batteries still shine – later
Once the house is right, solar and batteries work great. Preheat or precool during the day, bridge peak prices at night and avoid power outages.
But don’t be lazy. If you only have money for one or the other, spend it on the house. Solar power and batteries can be easily added later, often with no upfront costs and cheaper payments than regular utility bills.
Phase Shift is a weekly opinion column from SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock. Subscribe to SolarQuotes’ free newsletter to have it emailed to your inbox each week along with our other home electrification coverage.
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