DIY SOLAR, batteries not included.

DIY GRID TIED SOLAR

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED

So often when I perform a solar estimate for a potential customer I hear “Where are the batteries”?  It seems to me that there is a preconceived notion amongst the populace that batteries and a solar system go hand in hand kind of like a burger and fries. It is true that if you have an isolated cabin on the side of a mountain down stream from Jeremiah Johnson you will need batteries if you plan to have a solar system generating your own electricity. For the rest of us folk who live in suburbia or metropolis and  receive a electric bill every month ( and would just as soon not ), Grid Tied Solar is with out a doubt the way to go. By interconnecting your solar system to the utility system’s grid, you get the best of both worlds. Not only to you have the reliability of your utility company’s power that is available rain or shine, you also have your solar system generating  clean green power with every nanosecond of sunlight.

Here’s how it works. Moment by moment throughout the day your homes energy needs fluctuate up or down dependant on how many appliances, devices, or lights you have in operation. Your home first looks to the solar system to provide the needed energy. If in that moment the solar system is generating insufficient energy to meet the current demand, the home then goes to the grid for the balance needed. There will also be times when your solar system is generating more energy than your homes current demand. This excess energy is then sent out on to the grid for others to use, for which you get paid. Once your solar system is up and running, your utility co will come out and install a bi-directional meter (for free) that keeps track of the electricity both coming in and going out. At the end of the month both amounts are tallied and you are either billed or credited the difference. The goal is to correctly size your solar system so that at years end you owe little or nothing at all.

With a grid tied system, batteries are not needed. Did I mention you don’t need batteries? Yes that’s right! Say bye bye to those nasty, expensive, acid filled, potentially explosive, toxic, environmentally unfriendly, maintenance intensive monsters!

The choice is yours, You can install a stand alone solar system with batteries ( at a much higher cost ) and, yes, zero out your utility bill, or You can install a grid tied solar system ( “batteries not included” ) and achieve the same result ( of zeroing out your utility bill ) at a much, much cheaper cost.

For those of you who are DIY motivated and don’t mind saving thousands of dollars, stay tuned. Coming late February I will be posting a link to an Energy Educational site that will have Grid Tied Solar DIY instructions. MY name is Dan and I am a solar man.