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How to Make Your Electric Meter Run Backwards What is a solar grid-tied system? How fast will a grid tie system pay for itself? Will a grid tied solar system provide me back up power if the grid goes down? Will my utility company do net metering with my grid tied solar array? Will hail damage solar panels? Could a strong windstorm blow an array of solar panels off my roof? I can't afford a system large enough generate all my power, so why bother? What are Thin Film Laminate Panels? What are solar micro inverters? What is a solar grid-tied system? Solar grid tie systems allow you to to generate your own renewable, non-polluting energy and distribute it back on to the electric grid. Granted, unless you've over-sized your system, you are only likely to be turning your meter backwards in the spring and fall, but the concept is the same. Consumers today have the opportunity to make their utility companies distribute clean solar and wind generated power, regardless of how unmotivated the utility company may be to do so. Grid tie electric systems consist of two primary components. The first is the solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) panel array. The other is the grid-tied inverter. The inverter is responsible for converting the DC electricity being generated by the solar panels into the AC electricity that your home uses. How fast will a grid tie system pay for itself? Investing in a solar electric (photovoltaic) system is something that is more comparable to investing in a home than it is to investing in a mutual fund or stock. It is something tangible and not speculative. Its energy generating ability is not tied to currency so it is not impacted by inflation. And unlike bank investments, a solar investment does not carry a tax liability- instead there are major tax breaks. In the past century it was always considered that cash or low yielding, low risk bank investments were the safest place to preserve wealth. But this is a new era. Our currency is no longer based on any gold standard and it has become something that is more speculative than fixed in value. And on top of this, our politicians seem to think printing more money without increasing revenue or cutting expenses is a legitimate way to improve our nation's economy. Most signs would seem to indicate that there will be greater and greater levels of inflation and devaluation of the US dollar in the next several decades than there has been in the past. And all other currencies in the world are tied to the US dollar. So considering that, what will be the safest way to preserve wealth going forward? The answer that I come up with is to look to things that are tangible and produce something which will be of increasing worth over time. So what things will be the most destined to increase in value going forward? If you ask me, not bank investments or anything linked to currency. Instead, I look to the basics that we all require to live: energy, food, and shelter. Photovoltaic energy generation is a form of renewable energy that requires no moving parts. It involves the least amount of maintenance and expense to keep operational when compared to all other sources of energy generation, both renewable and non-renewable. With photovoltaic power, zero maintenance for decades is the norm, not the exception. And the value of energy will only increase over time. It will not decrease in value like currency. So the things that replace the old gold standard are: solar electric technology, energy efficient and energy generating homes and buildings, and food production systems in the form of farms, gardens, and greenhouses. These are assets with a solid foundation to them that pay out useful, increasingly valuable, and tangible dividends. Will a grid tied solar system provide me back up power if the grid goes down? Not by itself. To have back up power you can use a battery bank and a separate back up power inverter for this task. Normally backup power systems are designed to supply backup power to critical loads (like refrigerators and lights) which are routed to a separate sub panel in your house. A battery backup system is actually something that can be installed without having any kind of solar or wind power source present. It works by charging a bank of batteries when the grid is up and drawing power from the batteries when the grid is down. Will my utility company do net metering with my grid tied solar array? Unless your power company is an electric co-op, they are required by law to do net metering. Fortunately most larger-sized electric co-ops do support net metering anyway, but some smaller ones may not. Sometimes this is because they have not had any customers ask them to. If your local power co-op does not support net metering, you might see what it would take to get them to. It actually requires very little on their part, since most electric meters will run backwards with out any modifications required. Will hail damage solar panels? The glass used in solar panels is high strength tempered glass that is roughly as strong as a car window. If it were to hail hard enough to where it breaks automotive glass, then your panels might be at risk of damage, but this kind of storm doesn’t happen very often. If you add a purchased solar array to your homeowner’s insurance policy, hail damage should be covered. Thin film laminate panels, which don’t involve glass in their design, are one option you can choose to alleviate this concern. Could a strong windstorm blow an array of solar panels off my roof? Pre-engineered racks, mounting, and anchoring systems are engineered to withstand at least 110 mph wind speeds. I can't afford a system large enough generate all my power, so why bother? Has the miles per gallon of a vehicle ever been an influence for you when purchasing a car or truck? When you were looking at the MPG ratings and you couldn't find a car for sale that didn't use any gas at all, did you think “Well, I can't find anything that will prevent me from buying gasoline, so if I'm going to be supporting big oil anyway it doesn't matter how inefficient it is.” If you’re reading this, probably not. Think of your house as something with an efficiency rating like a car. Just because new houses aren't advertised with a value on them telling how much power they consume per occupant, doesn't mean that statistic isn't there and isn't important. Wouldn't the possibility of converting your house from a 25mpg home into a 45mpg home be something worth considering? This is essentially what you are doing when you make energy saving improvements to your home and/or install different means of harvesting free and renewable energy... you're improving its fuel efficiency. If I buy a small grid tie solar system now, is it difficult or expensive to add on to it every year or at a later point? It is actually quite easy once the components of grid tie system are installed to add on to it incrementally. There are several different means of expanding a system: You can purchase a larger capacity inverter (in relation to the size of your PV array) up front. Or you can swap out your inverter for a larger one at some point in the future and receive credit back. Or you can use the new micro inverter products which totally eliminate all the sizing considerations that central grid tie inverters carry. Solar shingles are a type of thin film laminate solar panel that mimics the appearance of a regular asphalt shingle and can be installed in a patch on your roof among your regular shingles. But there is a major price premium to pay both for the product and the installation of solar shingles. The typical installed cost of grid tie solar systems ranges from $6.50 to $8.00 per watt. The installed cost of a system using solar shingles could be as high as $12 per watt. If you have a home owner's association saying only solar shingles are allowed in your neighborhood, there is probably an alternative involving panels on the back of your house or in your backyard that can be negotiated that would have no visibility from the front of your house. What are Thin Film Laminate Panels? Thin film laminates are now making a major debut in the solar industry with prices comparable to traditional panels now for the first time. Unlike traditional PV panels which are made with silicon, thin film laminate panels by layering several different microscopically thin metal oxides. These panels have several advantages over traditional panels: -Can be made with no glass, adding hail resistance and making them lighter weight. Traditional panels have the advantage of a smaller surface area per wattage rating. In other words, a 64 watt panel silicon panel is smaller than a thin film panel of the same wattage. People like wind power. There's a definite cool factor involved with seeing a wind generator frantically spinning around, showing in a clearly visible way how it's turning something as common as wind into something as useful as electricity. And Oklahoma and Texas are notorious for as windy states. But before you decide that wind is a better choice than solar, consider the following: - Despite the most people thinking that Oklahoma is an extremely windy state, the majority of locations in Oklahoma have a wind speed that is considered to be merely average in the wind industry. However, certain areas around the Wichitas, the Ouachitas, and the northwest part of the state have very high average wind speeds, which make wind an option worth considering. What are solar micro inverters? A new product that has come on to the market is the Enphase micro inverter. Instead of having a central grid-tied inverter, this product involves having one small inverter for each panel on the roof. This allows for several unique advantages: |
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