Local Grid is Secondary

You have made a wise choice to become grid-interactive, but you may not know that the local power company is still dedicated to providing power to you at any moment if your primary system (solar) isn't able to carry the load. It isn't necessary to remain connected to the electric grid, but if you don't how would you provide power to run your home appliances at night, or during days of insufficient sunlight? You need to have a "bank" of energy, and that's exactly what the grid is-a reserve that you can tap into when you need it. Therefore, consider the grid as secondary to your primary source-your solar system.

Your grid-interactive system must always be synchronized to the grid and if the grid fails, your primary source of power must immediately and purposely shut down. The reason for this is to protect the technicians from being harmed when working to re-establish the grid power.

The Wind Option

Just like the solar option, you may elect to install a wind turbine to offset some or all of your energy needs. The wind is a good source of power, but it generally is not as reliable a source as the sun. Before considering the wind as a source for your home or business or ranch, be sure to have completed a long-term analysis of the wind at your site. REM can help you to assess your site and estimate the cost to employ the wind. Wind turbines are usually more expensive to install and maintain than a solar array, and resultantly, the cost to provide that energy per KW-hour is higher.

Net Metering

Your renewable energy system, be it solar, wind, or other means, will be supplying power to your home appliance loads primarily, and then to the grid if excess power is available. To account for this excess sent to the grid, a "net meter" will replace your current electric meter (regular meters only account for energy taken from the grid). Whether you plan to offset a portion or all of the energy you use over an entire year, the renewable energy system, solar or wind, will produce more power during certain seasons of the year, and less power during other seasons.

Because the days are long in the summer, your solar system will produce more in those months, and in fact, you'll produce more than you need. Therefore the excess is sent to the grid and the energy credits are placed in your bank. The net meter accounts for this, and your monthly bill reflects your bank balance.

During the winter months, the days are short and your system will likely under- produce what you need to run your appliances. So, your system turns to the grid for support, and takes some of the credits you had in your bank-produced in the summer months. Again, your monthly bill will reflect the credits that were taken and show your bank's balance.

If you choose to employ a wind turbine, note that the windy season in different areas around our country may vary from the solar season. This can be a distinct advantage and provide for a more balanced renewable source of energy.

Controls/Monitoring

The control and monitoring components of your renewable energy system can be quite sophisticated and your choices are many. Because solar generation is always DC power, it must be converted to AC if you wish to be grid-interactive. However, if you elect to live off the grid, you can use the DC power to charge your batteries directly. Either way, you will necessarily be using a charge controller and/or an inverter.

Monitoring a system for its performance is important. Though failures or errors are extremely rare with the modern day components, it is desirable to be alerted to a problem enabling a prompt repair. The technology you choose plays into your financial decision, and the ability to monitor each individual solar module is possible. The controls have the ability to notify you through remote panels, and via web based monitoring with email or text alerts.

Political "Winds"

Not to get political, but you certainly are aware that renewable energy is a hot topic these days. Fossil fuels have been the traditional and abundant source of most of America's power for well more than a century. Many of our neighbors, and certain regions of the country, are heavily dependent on the traditional fuels for employment. But, in recent decades, a slow growing movement toward renewable sources of energy has been gaining traction. And the movement is accelerating! Costs to install renewable energy are remaining steady, if not declining.

Benefits of renewable energy are many, and include the fact that it is just that- renewable! Fossil fuels, however, are limited and are getting to be more difficult to extract from the earth by mining or drilling. Renewable energies do not pollute the environment. But fossil fuels, when burned, produce mostly water and some level of carbon based contaminant.

For many years the federal government has been promoting a transition to renewable energy through tax incentives. But those incentives are slowly being reduced, so be sure to talk to your tax advisor about the ITC (investment tax credit) and how it can greatly benefit your financial impact. Also note that all 50 states have some level of incentive to assist you as well. See more information on this topic on this website under TAX INCENTIVES.

There is some financial and / or job related re-training assistance available in most areas of the country if you, or someone you know is being displaced by the transition to renewable energy.

All 50 states in America are required by federal law to make lawful provision for their citizens to connect grid interactive renewable energy systems. It is in your best interest to talk with your local electric supplier prior to contracting for a system to be installed as not every electric supplier is created equal. Each supplier will have varying concerns / demands, and some are entirely resistant to the subject of renewable energy connections to their grid.

Battery Backup

Battery backup is necessary if you elect to live off the electrical grid. Your renewable energy generating devices, whether solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, or other, are used to charge your batteries, also known as your "fuel tank". If you are living grid-interactively, the grid, as noted before, is your secondary energy source. Several types of batteries are available, where only a few short years ago, lead acid batteries were THE choice.

Lead acid battery technology is the oldest and most commonly used of the options we have. The technology is solid and reliable if the owner exercises good care and regular maintenance of the system. There are safety and care guidelines that must be followed to ensure safety and promote the longest lifespan of the system. However, the lead acid battery has an expected life that is highly dependent on your system design. Your system installer should be a good resource referencing batteries.

Other battery technology has taken giant leaps forward in recent years and has exploded on to the off grid living scene. Lithium Iron Phosphate is one of those recent entrants. These batteries are expensive in comparison to lead acid, though thankfully don't require the maintenance nor the quantity when designed into your off grid system.

Battery backup is also great asset for grid interactive, or even for homes or businesses that are not employing renewable energy at all. A battery array can be utilized to backup a grid failure in homes with critical care equipment, or freezers / refrigerators, or well pumps, etc. A business with critical computer systems may elect to have battery backup with an inverter to allow time for the be shutdown without losing data.

Standby Generator

A standby generator can be much like a battery backup in that it provides power when the grid fails. The ATS, or automatic transfer switch, is constantly monitoring the grid, and if it fails, the ATS starts the generator and brings it on line to power your home or business.