Solar and Power Outages

What happens during a power outage? Does having solar panels prevent power outages?

During major power outages or shortly afterwards, Solar Energy World’s phones ring more than usual. Homeowners want to know if they will be immune from power outages if they go solar. The answer depends upon what type of solar system they decide to purchase or lease and whether or not they have a solar battery storage unit as well as solar panels.

If you have solar panels installed on your roof or property they will continue to generate electricity during power outages, as they do every day because the panels still absorb sunlight and solar energy. However, if your system is grid-tied, and you do not have a solar battery, you will not be able to use that energy to run your home during a power outage because you solar system will automatically shut off for safety reasons.

However, if you also have a battery backup system, you won’t have to worry about that.

A Solar Battery Keeps Your Electricity Going

All the solar systems that Solar Energy World installs are battery ready but the majority of solar powered homes do not have a battery back-up system and are still connected to the power grid, which is how net metering works. When solar panels produce electricity, it flows into the grid, and the production is monitored and credited to a homeowner’s account (this is when your meter will roll backward).

This is how excess electricity is stored, and it is how a home that may not be 100% powered by solar panels maintains power. Being connected to the grid means that the power supplied by the solar panels on your home flows back into the electrical grid.

Power outages are usually due to a disruption somewhere between the electricity supplier and homeowners. The power plant may still be fully capable of producing electricity, but there is a breach in the system (such as a broken power line) that prevents the supply from reaching the consumer in that service area. Solar powered homes that are connected to the grid contribute to the production of electricity, but are not immune to blackouts that affect the entire community.

The only way to reduce your risk of suffering through a blackout is to store the solar power your system generates on-site. Doing so requires the installation of a solar battery backup system. This can add to the cost of going solar, but it does mean that your home will continue to run on electricity even when the rest of the neighborhood cannot.

Be Battery-Ready to End Power Outages

If you are interested in learning if your home is solar-eligible, we can help you. Solar Energy World offers a variety of Best-in-class solar energy storage brands including Tesla, Enphase, and SolarEdge with solar panel installation so you never have to worry about power outages again.

How much does it cost to add battery storage to a solar system?

Our solar battery storage system pricing varies depending upon how much power you would like available to you when the grid goes down, the type of solar panel brand you purchase or lease, the size of your solar system and several other factors. When you schedule a free solar evaluation with us, it includes a detailed cost benefit analysis so you can decide if adding storage to your installation would make economic sense for you.

Should you wait to go solar if you are not ready to get our solar battery backup?

There really is no good reason to wait. You can start saving money right now, without battery backup. Solar Energy World has thousands of customers without solar battery back-up and they still save 20-100% on their electricity.

Homeowners who own their solar systems are generating extra income and making profits from the excess energy their system produces. Typical ROI is 125% in 5 years and just keeps going up after that. Homeowners who choose our RateGuardian Solar PPA, pay $0 for solar panels and installation to lock in an electricity rate that is lower than their utility. The longer you wait to go solar, the more money you give away to your utility company with no hope of ROI or savings since never-ending utility rate hikes are a fact of life.