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When installing a solar panel system you can either choose to hook up into the “ON-Grid” or “OFF-Grid.”
ON-Grid Solar System
Grid tie means that your solar panel system is hooked up directly to your electricity provider. Your system will use the energy produced by the solar panels first during the day and draws whatever else it needs from your utility company during the hours the solar panels aren't producing electricity. During the day, if your solar panels system produces more electricity than is used in your home, the extra electricity is fed into the utility grid generating a credit on your electric bill. When this happens, you will be able to see your meter literally spinning backwards. This is great especially if your on vacation. One advantage of not having battery storage is not having to deal with the regular maintenance of the batteries.
If your budget allows it, you can buy batteries for energy storage as well. If your electricity goes out, your inverter will switch to battery power to supply your homes need. That away you can keep your important equipment running during these blackouts. The battery storage is a great solution for those homes that don't have easy access to a utility grid or is located in an area that has frequent outages.
If your electricity shuts down because of storms or blackouts, your solar panels system without the batteries will shut down with it. This safety measure occurs to prevent surges of power traveling the grid and causing injury to a repair person working on the lines or other types of damage. If you have backup batteries, you won't experience this inconvenience. When the electricity shuts down, your solar panels system will automatically disconnect itself from the utility companies grid and extract power from the battery storage. When the electricity comes back on, your solar panels system will reconnect automatically.
If the ON-Grid option is what suits you best, then there are a couple of things you need to do. First, call your utility company and find out if they allow you to hook up solar panels into their electricity grid. Most do because of the national law that allows connectivity to the grid, however some rural electricity companies are exempt from this law. Second, ask your electricity company if they buy the energy your solar panels produce at the retail rate or wholesale. Ideally you'll want the electricity company to buy back any excess electricity that your solar panels produce at the same retail rate that you buy electricity from them at. This is called “Net Metering” and it's the simplest way to setup a solar panels system. In this particular type of solar panels system you only have one utility kWh meter and it's allowed to spin in either direction depending on if you are buying or selling energy.
If your electricity company buys the energy you produce at wholesale rates, you'll be required to install a second kWh meter to record any excess energy that you will sell back to them.
You can call your electricity company if your state offers either “Net Metering” or wholesale buy back, and while your there, check for other incentives for installing a solar panels system.
OFF-Grid Solar System
Off-Grid means living in a self sufficient manner, producing all of the power yourself without relying on utility companies. Your solar panels are not hooked into the grid and all the electricity you produce is stored in battery cells. All of your electric power is produced using solar panels, wind, hydro, and/or generators etc. Your water source comes from a stream, well or lake that is filtered.
Every year more people are choosing to go off grid, whether it be their residence or vacation cabin. There are many reasons people choose to go off the grid. It can be a very powering and liberating experience knowing your not relying on anyone to provide your power. As the electricity prices keep rising and the cost of equipment to live off the grid is falling, going this route is starting to look like the more economical and cleaner route to take in contributing to a greener future.
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