Posted on 10/14/2019 9:30:10 AM PDT by rktman
One valuable lesson has been learned from the California blackouts concerning the greens' vaunted solar power.
People with solar panels fitted to their homes have long acted under the impression that these granted them some immunity to blackouts. They now know better. Those who went to the heavy expense of purchasing and installing solar panels are in the same situation as their neighbors: no light, no heat, no power.
How does this make sense? If you've got a system that generates power all by itself, with no outside aid or assistance necessary, then it's a sure thing that it'll continue generating power even after the grid itself is shut down, right?
Ah, but we're dealing here with corporate policy. And when that enters the picture, then sense of any kind quickly departs the stage.
It turns out that solar panels do not supply power to the homes they are attached to. Instead, they transmit power out into the grid itself. A complex system of credits is employed to reimburse the homeowner.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
But the DC is converted to AC so that it can be used by typical appliances... to power the house or to feed back power to the grid.
“The issue is can the panels power the whole home during an outage. The answer is no. You might be able to charge your cell phones but that is about it.”
Wrong.
You need about 1 sq foot of solar panel to power a cell phone.
Cover your roof (assuming it faces a suitable direction), and you can run the whole home AND charge your EV. Not cheap, but doable if off-grid independence matters.
So is gasoline & propane & wood. Proper safety precautions are important.
I remember the TV adds thirty years ago in which they were hawking wind generators for housetops, and they ended the ad with “And you can sell your excess electricity back to the Power Company!”
My system sends excess to the grid after giving my house all it needs and after seeing the batteries fully charged.
The reason for this is two fold. First the power company doesn’t want you putting power on a line that one of their workers thinks is off, two, the power company gives the inverters the signal it needs to operate at the right frequency and phase.
Generated power in a split phase system is -120V for one half of of one cycle in a 60 cycle per second system and then +120 on the next half of the cycle. then it does the same thing on the other half of the split so that if you tie two of the splits together you have 240V.
Without a battery backup the system shuts off for safety protection on loss of grid.
Most people go with non-battery-backup systems. The inverters are less expensive and contain less logic. Adding even a modest battery will allow the inverter to keep working if you have a battery backup style inverter. Batteries however eat up a significant portion of your generated power. I’m thinking of going into grid tied mode without battery backup tied in for several days a week to see if it enhances my production If it does I will probably only hook the battery up once a week to top them off. My battery is not modest it is very large and would last me a couple weeks without sun or grid.
I always recommend battery backup and recommend modest battery if thats all you can afford. You would hate to lose all the stuff you have in your freezers and frig. It is also nice to be able to stay warm in the winter. While a big enough battery can run important loads without sun when the sun is back you would be able to run as much as your panels would make.
I have very nearly 12KW on the roof but feel lucky if I put 5 or 6 into the grid. Because of losses in wiring and battery I feel very fortunate when I’m bringing down 10KW and putting 5 or more into the grid.
No, they're not illegal. I know a couple of people who live off the grid in the Sierra foothills who use them.
People here like to claim a lot of things are illegal in California that really aren't. Someone today claimed it was illegal to trim your trees or clear brush from your property. Neither is true, and in fact you can be fined for NOT clearing brush from around your home.
By law the electric company must buy the electricity you generate, but then it’s no longer your power.
Maybe but why should someone pay $10k+ for a systems that is totally useless during a power outage?
I had not thought of that but I think you are likely right.
Recycling has been a giant scam for the most part. Very little is actually recycled compared to what is saved for recycling.
In some places you have to do one or the other...off the grid or on the grid. If you are on the grid you have to follow their rules.
NV:
“Free solar panels”: Are they really free?
Decoding the sales pitch: The term ‘free solar panels’ is sometimes used to advertise solar lease or solar power purchase agreements (PPAs). Under both types of arrangements, a company will put solar panels on your roof for no money up-front but will charge you for the electricity that they produce.
https://news.energysage.com/free-solar-panels-really-free/
I called on an ad. I can’t remember the figure, but the “fee” was about 3 times what I usually pay for monthly electricity.
Whatta joke.
I think that is a big part of the reason it is being done the way that it is.
If people are not allowed to directly power their own home, they have no idea what it would really take to do it. So they can remain clueless and think they are really doing something by having solar.
I would bet if you asked most of them how much solar they think they produce they would likely tell you enough to power their home and a little extra. I have had some people try to tell me that.
Keeping people in the dark...more ways than one.
That is my question, who buys a solar system and doesn’t buy an inverter and batteries? Was this some kind of Power Company deal. I know that the Tesla/Solar City installs can include a Tesla PowerWall Battery.
This shows how rich some Californians are, that they can buy a $20K system and not know the details of it.
Wrong again — running your fridge, your airconditioner, your stove, your washer, dryer, etc. off of a set of panels? No way.
When a battery burns it burns a lot hotter — lithium. A little cell phone battery destroyed a car and was hot enough to melt the windshield and side window. How many more x one cell phone battery do you need to power your house?
Heck, when you ask the sales person when is the projected ROI for the system, they look at you confused. Some people lease the darn thing and that adds additional cost. A lease is a way for someone who cannot afford something... to afford something.
Plus, they are convinced that they will save money. Only if the cost of power is 4x or 5x (only guessing here). The problem: energy is way too cheap right now for an expensive add on to pay for itself.
Then there is the problem with the life of the panel, power conversion system. Just about the time that you pay for the darn thing (see ROI), 10 years later?, it has to be replaced because of wear out, hail damage, replacement parts are no longer available, etc.
Here is some information.
I witnessed the mentioned cell phone battery destroy the car. I have pictures if you are interested. It was sitting on the passenger car seat when it china-syndromed. It totaled the car and as I mentioned, it melted the windshield and passenger side window. Melted meaning that the windows started to mottle and flow. And of course, the interior of the car was destroyed. One little cell phone battery did it!
an off grid input Transfer Switch should be installed when you put in your system
Yes, indeed.
My peak power use is 1500kWh/month (includes AC in GA).
That works out to 600 sq ft of panels, 1000 to be sure.
Entirely doable on a suitable-angle roof and good insulation.
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