Most homeowners focus on system size and panel brand when going solar. But there's a question that matters even more: when do you use electricity?
If you get this wrong, you'll either overpay for a battery you don't need — or buy a grid-tied system that leaves you powerless after sunset.
| Profile | Day/Night Split | Typical Household | Best System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly Daytime | 80% day / 20% night | OFW family, working parents, empty house during day but with daytime appliances running (AC, fridge) | Grid-Tied — fastest ROI |
| Balanced | 60% day / 40% night | Work-from-home setup, family with school kids at home, small home-based business | Hybrid with small battery (4.8 kWh) |
| Mostly Nighttime | 40% day / 60% night | Family that's out all day, uses AC primarily at night, heavy evening entertainment | Hybrid with larger battery (9.6+ kWh) |
| Heavy Nighttime | 20% day / 80% night | Restaurants, convenience stores, call center homes, families with sleeping-pattern reversal | Hybrid + oversized battery or bigger system |
Solar panels only produce power during daylight hours — roughly 6am to 6pm in the Philippines. What happens at night depends entirely on whether you have a battery.
Without a battery (Grid-Tied): At night, you draw from the grid at ₱11-14/kWh. If 80% of your consumption is during the day when your solar is producing, you barely need a battery and your savings are maximized.
With a battery (Hybrid): You store excess solar energy during the day and use it at night. Every kWh you use from the battery at night instead of from the grid saves you ₱11-14.
A balanced household spending ₱8,000/month uses roughly 21.8 kWh/day. At 40% nighttime = 8.7 kWh at night.
With 80% DoD on a LiFePO4 battery, you need at least a 10.9 kWh battery bank to fully cover nighttime needs — that's roughly 2 × Pylontech US5000C or 1 × LvTopSun 51.2V 200Ah.
Our free Solar Quotation Tool has a built-in energy usage pattern selector. Choose your profile and it automatically adjusts whether it recommends grid-tied or hybrid — and how much battery storage you need.
Takes 2 minutes. Saves you from over- or under-buying.
Engr. Jason Morales — Founder, SolarEnergyPH