Solar and batteries during a power outage

The thing nobody mentions at the kitchen table

Solar panels alone do not work during a blackout

A grid-tied inverter is required to shut down when the grid goes down. This is not a defect; it protects line workers who would otherwise be repairing a line that your roof is energising. So on a bright afternoon during an outage, an ordinary solar array produces nothing you can use.

Getting power out of your roof during an outage requires storage plus the switching hardware that isolates your home from the grid. If a salesperson has let you believe otherwise, that is worth revisiting before you sign.

What a battery actually carries

Most residential designs back up a critical loads panel rather than the whole service: refrigeration, lighting, outlets, internet, a well pump, sometimes one heat-pump zone. Air conditioning, electric ranges, electric water heaters and EV charging are the loads that empty a battery fastest.

Sizing from your real outage pattern

Look up how often and how long your power actually goes out rather than working from a product brochure. Two short outages a year is a different problem from a rural line that fails for three days after every ice storm. Size around the loads you truly need and the duration you truly experience.

With solar, the maths changes

A battery on its own is a fixed reservoir. A battery paired with panels refills each day, which converts an overnight device into something that can carry critical loads through a multi-day event, provided you ration the heavy loads.

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