A common misconception about solar panels is that as soon as your home becomes a solar-powered place, you’re instantly “off the grid.” While your solar panel system may be designed to take you off the grid, this is far less common than the alternative—and that’s okay. There are several great reasons to stay on the grid, so read on to learn why you should keep your solar panels connected to the grid.
Benefits of Grid Connection
Solar panel systems that have to provide enough power to keep your home lit up 24/7 are generally far more expensive than people are willing to pay. Instead, most homeowners install systems that significantly cut down on their need for grid power. However, this naturally means that you’ll likely need some grid power.
Staying connected to the grid gives you a constant backup. When you need a little more power than your panels provide (like on frigid winter days when you must heat your home), your house has the local grid as a fallback.
Net Metering
In addition, depending on your state, you can also benefit from net metering. Net metering allows you to sell excess power back to the grid when you make more than you need, which reduces your monthly energy bill.
Drawbacks of Grid Connection
While there are many reasons to choose a grid connection, there are a few drawbacks. The biggest is that your connection to the local grid means that your home will lose power in the event of a blackout. This is for the safety of electrical workers repairing power lines; if your home can still send solar power back to the grid, the power lines are dangerous.
When you install solar batteries, which are a feature with pros and cons of their own, you won’t need to worry about outages—your home can instead fall back on battery power.
Now that you know why you should keep your solar panels connected to the grid, contact a local solar installer to get a quote on a solar panel system for your home! Most installers will give you this initial quote for free, and there’s no obligation on your part to go forward, so it can’t hurt to learn more.