How much energy can a battery store?

Similarly, the amount of energy that a battery can store is often referred to in terms of kWh. As a simple example, if a solar system continuously produces 1kW of power for an entire hour, it will have produced 1kWh in total by the end of that hour.

What is the energy capacity of a battery storage system?

The energy capacity of a battery storage system is defined as the total amount of energy that can be stored or discharged, and is measured in this report as megawatthours (MWh).

What is battery capacity?

When manufacturers or installers talk about battery capacity (or energy capacity), they usually talk about one of two metrics a battery is rated on: total capacity and usable capacity. We'll get into why those are different further down. For the time being, it's all just "capacity."

Does more battery capacity mean more power?

Like any other battery, the more energy it can store, the more stuff you can usually power with. Of course, there are other factors (like power rating and chemistry), but as a general rule of thumb, more capacity means more devices powered for longer periods.

How are batteries rated?

Batteries are rated for two different capacity metrics: total and usable. Because usable capacity is most relevant to the amount of energy you'll get from a battery, we like to use usable capacity as the main "capacity" metric to compare storage products. Also, from our energy storage glossary, see how the two terms differ below:

What is energy capacity?

Here's a complete definition of energy capacity from our glossary of key energy storage terms to know: The energy capacity of a storage system is rated in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and represents the amount of time you can power your appliances. Energy is power consumption multiplied by time: kilowatts multiplied by hours to give you kilowatt-hours.