Household loads first, grid export last.
Most hybrid inverters’ default operating mode, or power flow direction, is from the solar panels directly to the household loads via the inverter. If the solar array generates more power than is being used, excess solar energy is diverted to charge the battery. Once the battery is full and if the loads are lower than the solar output, excess power is exported to the electricity grid. The reason for this order is very logical: to reduce grid electricity consumption and associated costs. However, most hybrid inverter software settings allow some flexibility in this power delivery and can also be adjusted to limit the export power to the electricity grid, which is a requirement by some grid operators. Battery time-of-use (TOU) settings are also available with some inverters to allow charge and discharge schedules to be pre-programmed so the battery use can be optimised to maximise savings.
