We are contemplating getting a solar panel system, with batteries for storage, to operate most things in our house. We don’t have a generator, so when the power goes out, we are stuck. I’m thinking a solar system, where the power is renewed each day and stored in the battery would be a good solution for us. Any advice? Any particular things we should be concerned about?
I already know I do not want a Tesla battery, because they have to be stored somewhere heated (I’m in the Northeast), and a neighbor had their house burn down when the battery caught fire. There are battery brands that can be stored in our unheated, and unattached garage.
We just signed a contract to get solar installed. We are in California, so the math is a little different. But the battery is VERY expensive.
We were told that, unlike with the panels, the battery technology is still young and the market has not driven down the prices yet. We were advised not to get the battery, but make the system battery ready, and get a solar generator as a back up supply. It would maybe be different if we had a need to be off the grid entirely or experienced a lot of black outs. Or had essential life support machinery in the home. But if the need is limited to needing to keep a few necessary appliances running in a power outage, a generator is a better way to go for now. There are a bunch of options on Amazon to research.
No prob. One other thing I forgot to mention…
You will want to know how solar power is regulated in your state. In California there is a buyback system for any power you generate over your need. There is a true up annually. The buy back rate is not enough to justify getting more solar panels that you need and selling back the excess, so there is no benefit to a battery for storing extra day to day. Unless you are planning to be off the grid.
If you are planning on your electric use to go up someday, like with an electric car, or changing from a gas furnace to electric, then make sure you can add panels later.
Eta: You are New England, right? So less sun than California, especially in the winter. You will want to take a good look at your electric bill over the course of the year and see what your needs are. I suppose that there would be a benefit to storage to get you through darker months. That would be a question for someone who is familiar with your local conditions. Our electric bill goes way up in summer months and is actually pretty minimal in winter. So it maps well with when solar is optimal.
We’ve had solar panels since 2013. In CA there are regulations specifying how much power you can generate (basically how many panels). This is based on past usage. When we had the system installed, we chose the option to buy the generated electricity for the next 20 years based on the expected generation of the panels (with an option to renew, twice, for five more years, each). We do not pay for “over generation“, and get refunded for under generation. We live in a foggy area, but have still done quite well meeting our needs. We do not have a battery backup, but also do not have a real need for it.
Please make sure you understand how solar works in your state/community. In California, a lot of systems are billed based on monthly generation. (Everything the panels generate.) So solar bills are higher in the sunnier months (summer, typically) and lower in the darker months (winter, typically). On the online chat group for the panels we have, misunderstanding this caused folks a lot of headaches.
We are still tied to the grid, so again, understand what that means (or conversely if you’re not tied to the grid…).
We have been very happy with our system - even with the glitches along the way. And it is saving us money each month. We typically receive a small check each year from the local power company (solar true-up) and every two years from the solar company (per our contract).
If you are in the northeast, you may want to do the math on how much electricity you need, how much you can expect to generate, cost of system, and how many years until the balance is expected to be positive (if ever). In many areas of the northeast, solar is not financially advantageous. If the main goal is instead to have backup power when the power goes out, then you may want to consider the time of year that the power goes out. For example, I expect you aren’t going to generate much electricity when winter snow storms knock down power lines and snow is covering panels. However, if it’s more rolling blackouts during summer months from high A/C usage, then the battery is more likely to be useful. I found the site at PVWatts Calculator particularly helpful for this type of calculation , for my solar system.
Perhaps if more vehicle companies offer electric vehicles that can also serve as house backup batteries (e.g. the upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning with that option), that may be something to consider for house backup batteries if you can wait for them.
One thing that this can do that a fixed house backup battery cannot do is if your power is out for a while and it is cloudy enough that your solar panels do not generate enough, you can drive to a public charger to get some more electricity to bring home.
We’ve had solar water heater 1st and now photovoltaic panels for everything else for many years. It reduces our energy consumption and we now have a hybrid car we plug in regularly as well.
We were able to get both a fed and state rebate. The different solar/PV companies examine your bill and inspect your roof and give you quotes based on what your last few months indicate your power needs are.
We would do not have a battery and don’t know if anyone who does, among the many folks who know who have PV.
When folks around here have power outages, it’s rarely for longer than a few hours and most we folks we know don’t have need for 24/7 uninterrupted power due to medical needs.
Our neighborhood gets significant sun and no trees or anything else shade our panels. We feel it was a worthwhile investment for us. Many of our extended family and neighbors have also gotten solar & PV.
One more thing about batteries—H doesn’t want it attached to our tongue and groove single walls as the batteries are too heavy a load to be supported by the walls and as was said, batteries are a fire hazard.
I don’t have any specific advice about what types of panels and batteries, but would strongly advise you to check local regulations on how buyback works. Contact your distribution utility and find out what the rules are for your state. Every state is different (even in New England - six sovereign states each with its own laws). Net metering is a controversial topic. Laws can change with new administrations. ME, for example, used to have no incentives, then they got a new governor and now it’s going crazy. You need to research your local situation.
Does anyone have any updates on this? We are in a similar situation to the OP. We want a reliable backup for power outages, and are considering solar plus battery for its additional benefits. We’ve had one installer come out and give us an estimate, and we’re having a hard time getting an idea whether it’s reasonable (mid-to high-five figures for a 2-story, about 3K sqft house, depending on the extent of the panels/batteries). I’ve found various calculators online but they all require contact info, so I’m a little hesitant. I get the feeling a lot of links lead back to the provider we already talked to. We don’t have natural gas to our home so a “conventional” whole house generator is not a “simple” choice either.
Any suggestions? Has anyone used the calculator in the link @CateCAParent posted above? Anyone willing to share ballpark costs for a system like this?
What matters in sizing of the solar generation system is how much electricity you use. Note that solar generation is lower in the winter, and lower when it is cloudy. Of course, your electricity use may vary seasonally as well.
If you want to go off-grid or handle extended power outages, then the sizing of the batteries needs to account for how long you may go through cloudy days with reduced solar generation, as well as seasonal effects and storage for electricity use at night.
We were early solar adopters (at least 15 years ago) and over time, the almost perfect (but not quite) installation degraded the roof to the point that it needed replacement. We have the space (as I suspect you do too!) to put the panels on the ground.
For backup, we originally had portable generators that we could plug into a main circuit that we had wired to do the pump, heat, fridge, and a couple of lights and small appliances.) We get lots of outages, and often extended (because more densely populated areas get restoration priority) so the big propane generac systems are pretty prevalent in this area and are in our future.
While you are looking for a more solar option, I would consider all these things - where to locate panels, what purpose backup serves, etc. For us, living with the original choices has pushed us in a different direction on the next generation.
A full backup with batteries isn’t really necessary or economical. In a power outage, you don’t really need all the circuits powered. The capacities of backup batteries diminish over time and they’re expensive to replace. I have solar panels for over 10 years on the grid with net metering, but only a small and separate battery backup system to power a few circuits in the event of a power outage. It has worked well.
Bumping up this thread. Our solar system has been operating since late November, and
net metering has been turned on in December, so the darkest time of the year here in the greater Seattle area. We chose not to get batteries because of the added cost. Instead, we went with the biggest rooftop system we could fit on our roof. Just got our January bill… Negative $20. Not bad. Of course it will take a decade to recoup the $$ invested into the system, but it just feels good the roof is not just sitting there doing nothing.
If your bill is negative $20 during January, then your solar system may be far bigger than needed, extending the time to recoup. January has shorter daylight hours and less optimal angle with sun (in northern hemisphere), resulting in much lower solar production than summer months. It’s my understanding the winter is also rainier than summer in Seattle, including some snow days, which further decreases production. If you have negative in January, then I expect you’ll have huge excess production in summer months.
I live in California. In my area, I only get $0.06/kWh for excess production at end of year, compared to saving ~$0.50/kWh for non-excess production at end of year (exact values varies with time of use). The recoup is a lot faster with $0.50/kWh than $0.06/kWh. I have a 4KW system, which is a little more than I need for net ~$0 bill for the year. I generate excess in summer resulting in solar credits that are used for winter months, when I generate less than I use.
It’s interesting that our neighbors here in CA who were enthusiastic about a powerwall initially, now generally don’t keep it charged because cycling the batteries shortens their life and it won’t power the AC on hot days anyway. Due to our problems with power supply in fire season (PG&E tend to turn the power off proactively) they even bought a natural gas powered generator this year for backup power. So all in all I think they consider their powerwall a poor investment.
My experience with comments in my area about solar on Nextdoor is most people are not good at math, or at least not in solar related calculations. I expect this relates to the popularity of adding batteries in my area, in an attempt to reduce overall net cost. It also doesn’t help to have a power provider with overly complicated plans and bills, combined with solar salespeople who like to upsell.
