Power Outages & Solar Panels
In the day-to-day rush that we call life, we take electricity for granted; we come home and we expect that when we flick the light switch, the lights will turn on.
Today, we depend upon electricity for everything from breakfast to bedtime and recharging our devices while we sleep. But according to popular science, the United States “experiences more power outages than any other developed nation.”
With several major and unprecedented power outage events having taken place in just the last 12 months, home and business owners are starting to look for solutions to become more energy independent by generating their own power.
Solar power is a great solution! But will solar power protect you from power outages?
The answer is, yes they can.
But instead of leaving it at that, I feel it’s important to discuss how and also to clear up a common misconception about solar.
In Florida, regulations do not allow you to be completely independent of the power grid. While a solar PV system can generate all the power your home needs in order to operate and then some, you’re still required to be connected to the power grid. This is what is called a “grid-tied system”.
The simplest way to explain a grid-tied solar system is that the system is still reliant on the power grid to produce usable power. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still producing your own power, but you’re channeling it through the grid so that you can take advantage of excess energy through net metering and so that you can have power at times when the sun is not shinning.
Here is a quick video we found that explains this:
So will you lose power during a power outage if you have a grid-tied solar system?
The answer is yes and that’s because your solar system has nowhere to store power. But therein lies the answer!
If you are looking for a solution to maintain power during a power outage, all you have to do is install solar battery storage.
Having storage batteries connected to your solar system gives you more independence from the power grid, but more importantly, the solar batteries power your home when the sun isn’t shinning when your home requires more power than your panels are producing, and will keep your home essential in full operation during a power outage.
Solar batteries can be added to an existing power system or designed as part of a new installation. For more information about solar storage batteries please contact us at (800) 340-0681.
Article by:
Ricardo Sol
Senior Editor
sales@expertsolarfl.com
