Solar battery backup in Maine

The state-specific part

What a battery is actually worth in Maine

We have not verified a dedicated residential storage incentive in Maine, so we are not going to quote you one. That leaves two honest reasons to add a battery here: riding through outages, and using more of your own production instead of exporting it. Export credit in Maine works as follows: 1:1 retail net metering. Check the current terms with your utility before budgeting for storage.

What a battery does and does not do

It does keep selected circuits running in an outage

Not the whole house, in most designs. A typical residential battery backs up a critical loads panel: refrigeration, some lighting, outlets, internet, a well pump, sometimes a single heat pump zone. Whole-home backup requires either much more storage or careful load management.

It does not, by itself, make solar work at night

It shifts daytime production into evening use. How much depends on the battery's usable capacity and how much surplus your array actually makes.

Solar without a battery shuts down in an outage

This surprises people. A grid-tied inverter is required to disconnect when the grid goes down, for the safety of line workers. Without storage and the correct switching, panels on a sunny roof produce nothing for you during a blackout.

Sizing, honestly

Start from what you want to survive rather than from a product. Add up the loads you actually need for the duration you actually experience. A household that loses power for four hours twice a year has a very different answer from one at the end of a rural line that goes down for three days after every ice storm.

Who you would be working with

SolarAmerica

We design your system and manage the project; installation is performed by vetted licensed partners in your area. SolarAmerica is not itself the installing contractor.

Questions

The things people actually ask