No jargon, no sales pitch. Learn how solar panels, lithium batteries, and inverters actually work — and why they matter for your home or business.
Start here if you're new to solar and battery storage. These five topics give you enough understanding to confidently evaluate any system — no engineering background needed.
A solar panel (also called a PV panel — photovoltaic) is a flat device that converts sunlight directly into electricity. It does this using layers of silicon cells that release electrons when light hits them, creating a flow of electrical current. No moving parts, no fuel, no noise.
Panels are rated in watts peak (Wp) — the maximum output under ideal lab conditions. In real-world conditions across Africa, a 630W panel typically produces around 500–560W at its peak, and less on cloudy days or early/late in the day. What matters more than peak rating is how much total energy the panel generates across an entire day — that depends on your location's sunshine hours.
Key takeaway: A solar panel's job is to generate electricity during the day. What you do with that electricity — use it immediately, store it in a battery, or feed it to the grid — is determined by the rest of the system, not the panel itself.
A Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) stores electrical energy so you can use it later — at night, during an outage, or during expensive peak-rate hours. Think of it as a reservoir: solar fills it during the day, and your appliances draw from it whenever needed.
Battery capacity is measured in kWh (kilowatt-hours) — the total energy it can hold. A 10 kWh battery can, in theory, power a 1,000W load for 10 hours. In practice, real runtime depends on how many appliances you run simultaneously and how deeply you discharge the battery (more on that in Stage 3).
We use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistry exclusively. It's the safest, longest-lasting lithium type available — no overheating, no fire risk under normal conditions, and a lifespan measured in thousands of charge-discharge cycles.
Key takeaway: The battery's kWh tells you how long your system can run. The inverter's kW tells you how much it can run at once. You need both numbers to properly understand a system.
Solar panels and batteries produce DC (direct current) electricity. Your appliances run on AC (alternating current). An inverter converts DC to AC — that's its core job. But a modern hybrid inverter does far more than that.
A hybrid inverter manages the entire energy flow: it charges the battery from solar or the grid, decides whether to power your appliances from solar, battery, or grid, and switches between sources automatically — often in under 20 milliseconds, fast enough that your lights never flicker. It's the decision-maker of the system.
Inverter capacity is measured in kW (or sometimes kVA). This number tells you the maximum load the inverter can power at any given moment. A 5 kW inverter can run up to 5,000 watts of appliances simultaneously — but it cannot exceed that ceiling, regardless of how much battery capacity you have.
Key takeaway: The inverter's kW rating is your system's ceiling — the maximum load you can run at once. Exceeding it trips the system, regardless of battery size. Always size the inverter for your peak simultaneous load.
This is the single most important distinction in energy storage systems. Every system you'll see on our site is one or the other.
Stays connected to the utility grid. The inverter intelligently switches between solar, battery, and grid — using the cheapest, cleanest source first. If the battery runs low on a cloudy day, the grid fills in. During outages, the battery takes over. Best for: urban and peri-urban areas where grid power exists but is unreliable or expensive.
Completely disconnected from the utility grid. Runs entirely on solar and battery. Must be sized for worst-case scenarios (multiple cloudy days), so it typically needs larger battery banks. Best for: remote locations where grid access is unavailable, unreliable to the point of uselessness, or prohibitively expensive to connect.
Two battery chemistries dominate the market. The upfront cost difference is real — but so is the 10-year cost difference.
90–95% usable capacity. 8,000+ cycles (15–20 year lifespan at daily use). Zero maintenance. No toxic fumes. Thermally stable — no fire risk. Higher upfront cost, but one purchase covers the full life of the system.
Only 50% usable capacity (discharge deeper and the cells degrade). 500–1,000 cycles (2–3 year lifespan). Needs monthly water top-ups. Releases hydrogen gas — requires ventilation. Lower upfront cost, but 3–4 replacements over 10 years.
You know the components. Now see how they work together — how energy flows through the system, how sizing works, and what determines backup duration.
During the day (sunny): Solar panels generate DC electricity → the hybrid inverter converts it to AC for your appliances → any surplus charges the battery → if the battery is full and you're on a hybrid system, excess can feed back to the grid (in markets that support it).
At night or during an outage: The battery discharges through the inverter → your appliances run on stored energy. The inverter manages priority: battery first, then grid (hybrid) or generator (if connected). On an offgrid system, it's battery only — no grid fallback.
On a cloudy day: Solar output drops, so the inverter draws more heavily from the battery. On a hybrid system, it may also pull from the grid to preserve battery charge for a potential outage. On an offgrid system, the battery must cover the full shortfall — this is why offgrid systems need larger batteries.
Every system is defined by three independent capacities, and understanding each one is the key to choosing the right tier:
1. Inverter capacity (kW) — the maximum load you can run at the same time. Add up every appliance you might run simultaneously (not daily — simultaneously). That's your minimum inverter size. If your peak simultaneous load is 4,200W, you need at least a 5 kW inverter.
2. Battery capacity (kWh) — how long you can run that load without solar or grid input. A 10 kWh battery running a 2 kW load lasts roughly 5 hours. Double the battery, double the runtime. This is your backup duration.
3. Solar capacity (kWp) — how much energy you can generate and harvest per day. A larger array recharges the battery faster and produces more surplus for daytime use. In most African locations, you can estimate daily generation as: kWp × 4 hours of effective sunshine = kWh generated per day.
Practical rule: The inverter sets what you can run. The battery sets for how long. The solar array sets how fast it refills. Our Systems page organises all 18 configurations by these three numbers so you can compare directly.
kW (kilowatt) is a rate — how much power is being used or produced right now. It's the speedometer. Your inverter and solar panels are rated in kW.
kWh (kilowatt-hour) is a quantity — how much energy has been consumed or stored over time. It's the odometer. Your battery capacity and electricity bills are measured in kWh.
A 1 kW appliance running for 3 hours uses 3 kWh. A 10 kWh battery can power a 2 kW load for 5 hours, or a 1 kW load for 10 hours. The kW tells you the maximum load at any instant; the kWh tells you the total energy available over time.
The car analogy: kW = how fast the car can go (top speed). kWh = how far the tank can take you (range). A system with a big inverter (high kW) but a small battery (low kWh) is a sports car with a tiny fuel tank — fast but short-lived.
Every appliance draws a certain number of watts. Here are typical ranges to help you estimate:
Low draw (50–150W): LED lights, phone chargers, Wi-Fi routers, laptop chargers, fans, TVs, CCTV cameras.
Medium draw (300–800W): Refrigerators, washing machines (during wash cycle), desktop computers, small water pumps, microwaves (on lower settings).
High draw (1,000–2,500W): Air conditioners, electric heaters, large water pumps, power tools, commercial refrigeration.
Surge loads: Some appliances — particularly those with motors (ACs, pumps, compressors) — draw 2–3× their normal wattage for a few seconds when starting up. Your inverter must handle these surge moments, which is why inverter sizing should account for startup loads, not just running loads.
Quick estimate: Add up the wattage of everything you'd run simultaneously during an outage. That's your peak load. Then estimate how many hours you'd need backup. Peak load → inverter size. Peak load × hours → battery size. Each system on our Systems page lists the appliances it can support.
For those who want to understand the engineering behind the system — cycle life, depth of discharge, BMS, temperature effects, and what the spec sheet really means.
One cycle = one full charge and one full discharge. A battery rated for 8,000 cycles at 90% DoD will complete 8,000 full cycles before its capacity drops below 80% of original. At one cycle per day, that's over 21 years.
Depth of Discharge (DoD) is how much of the battery's total capacity you actually use before recharging. A 10 kWh battery at 90% DoD gives you 9 kWh of usable energy. The same battery at 50% DoD (typical for lead-acid) gives only 5 kWh. This is why a 10 kWh lithium battery delivers nearly double the practical energy of a 10 kWh lead-acid battery — even though the label says the same number.
Always check what DoD the cycle rating is measured at. A "3,000 cycle" battery rated at 100% DoD is actually worse than a "5,000 cycle" battery rated at 80% DoD.
The BMS is a circuit board built into every quality lithium battery pack. It monitors each cell's voltage, temperature, and current in real time. If any parameter leaves the safe range — overcharge, over-discharge, overheating, or excessive current draw — the BMS disconnects the battery to protect it.
Two types exist: passive balancing (bleeds off excess charge from high cells — simpler, cheaper) and active balancing (redistributes energy between cells to keep them equal — more expensive, significantly extends pack life and usable capacity over time). Quality BESS systems use active balancing.
A lithium battery without a BMS is genuinely dangerous. With one, LiFePO4 is one of the safest energy storage chemistries available.
Solar panels don't produce a fixed voltage — their output varies with sunlight intensity, temperature, and shading. MPPT is the algorithm inside the inverter's solar charge controller that continuously adjusts the operating point of the panels to extract the maximum possible power at any given moment.
A good MPPT controller recovers 10–30% more energy than a basic PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller, especially in real-world conditions where cloud cover, partial shading, and temperature changes are constant. Dual-MPPT inverters have two independent trackers, allowing panels on different roof faces or orientations to operate independently without dragging each other's performance down.
Solar panels are tested at 25°C. In tropical African climates, a rooftop panel can reach 60–70°C on a hot afternoon. The temperature coefficient (typically −0.35% per °C above 25°C) means a 40°C rise above test conditions reduces output by roughly 14%. A 630W panel in peak heat may produce closer to 540W.
Batteries are also temperature-sensitive. LiFePO4 performs best between 15–35°C. Extreme heat accelerates degradation; extreme cold reduces available capacity temporarily. Proper installation includes adequate ventilation and shaded battery enclosures — details that separate professional installations from DIY setups.
This is why real-world system design in Mauritius, mainland Africa, or any tropical market should use conservative estimates rather than lab-rated peak figures. We size systems based on practical conditions, not ideal ones.
No inverter converts 100% of energy. A quality hybrid inverter operates at 93–97% efficiency — for every 100W drawn from the battery, 93–97W reaches your appliances. The rest is lost as heat.
Round-trip efficiency accounts for all losses in the chain: solar panel → charge controller → battery (charging loss) → battery (storage loss) → inverter (conversion loss) → your appliances. For a well-designed LiFePO4 + hybrid inverter system, combined round-trip efficiency is typically 85–92%. This means for every 100 kWh of solar energy hitting your panels, roughly 85–92 kWh actually reaches your appliances.
These losses are normal and factored into our system sizing. A vendor who quotes you numbers without accounting for round-trip efficiency is overselling what the system will actually deliver.
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You've learned how solar, batteries, and inverters work. Now find the right configuration for your property — from essential home backup to large-scale commercial.