7 ms·

Only if you are off grid are you insulated from the power companies. If you are grid tie you are subject to whatever rate they will pay you for your power and c

Only if you are off grid are you insulated from the power companies. If you are grid tie you are subject to whatever rate they will pay you for your power and charge you for power.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Storage will only get cheaper, it's only a matter of how quickly [1] [2]. Based on historical renewable generation and storage rapid cost declines, you will be able to be self sufficient faster than utilities will be able to put you over the barrel by moving peak pricing away from the solar "duck curve" [3]. [1] https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-storage-2017/ https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-storage... (Lazard Levelized Cost of Storage 2017) [2] https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/03/lithium-ion-batteries-below-200kwh-by-2019-will-drive-rapid-storage-uptake-finds-ihs-markit/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/03/lithium-ion-batteries... (Lithium-ion batteries below $200/kWh by 2019 will drive rapid storage uptake, finds IHS Markit) [3] https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-how-address-over-generation-solar-energy https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-...
- zaarn 8y ago
  Storage doesn't matter if the solar panels on your roof cannot cover your average power consumption, if they don't you need someone to supply power externally.
  - zaroth 8y ago
    Just because you may need to supplement your supply doesn’t mean “storage doesn’t matter.” With storage you need less supply and you can supplement your supply when rates are lowest.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>Only if you are off grid are you insulated from the power companies. You can be "off grid" by throwing a switch.
- amluto 8y ago
  Very few inverters will do this.
  - jessaustin 8y ago
    Most meter boxes have such a switch?
    - zaarn 8y ago
      Most inverters don't work without connection to the grid. If you flip the fuse or meter box to go "off grid" the inverter will stop working that very same second. You can however get expensive inverters than do work of the grid, but they are, as mentioned, expensive compared to a simple grid-tie inverter.
      - amluto 8y ago
        The “expensive” part isn’t necessarily true. Some grid-tie inverters have limited backup capability for very little cost. IIRC the SMA Sunny Boy series can supply 15A 120V using a dedicated outlet. SolarEdge’s StorEdge is their standard DC-coupled storage inverter, and it can supply 5kW of backup power.

Only if you are off grid are you insulated from the power companies. If you are grid tie you are subject to whatever rate they will pay you for your power and charge you for power.

toomuchtodo 8y ago

Storage will only get cheaper, it's only a matter of how quickly [1] [2]. Based on historical renewable generation and storage rapid cost declines, you will be able to be self sufficient faster than utilities will be able to put you over the barrel by moving peak pricing away from the solar "duck curve" [3]. [1] https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-storage-2017/ https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-storage... (Lazard Levelized Cost of Storage 2017) [2] https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/03/lithium-ion-batteries-below-200kwh-by-2019-will-drive-rapid-storage-uptake-finds-ihs-markit/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/08/03/lithium-ion-batteries... (Lithium-ion batteries below $200/kWh by 2019 will drive rapid storage uptake, finds IHS Markit) [3] https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-how-address-over-generation-solar-energy https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-...

zaarn 8y ago
Storage doesn't matter if the solar panels on your roof cannot cover your average power consumption, if they don't you need someone to supply power externally.
- zaroth 8y ago
  Just because you may need to supplement your supply doesn’t mean “storage doesn’t matter.” With storage you need less supply and you can supplement your supply when rates are lowest.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

>Only if you are off grid are you insulated from the power companies. You can be "off grid" by throwing a switch.

amluto 8y ago
Very few inverters will do this.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  Most meter boxes have such a switch?
  - zaarn 8y ago
    Most inverters don't work without connection to the grid. If you flip the fuse or meter box to go "off grid" the inverter will stop working that very same second. You can however get expensive inverters than do work of the grid, but they are, as mentioned, expensive compared to a simple grid-tie inverter.
    - amluto 8y ago
      The “expensive” part isn’t necessarily true. Some grid-tie inverters have limited backup capability for very little cost. IIRC the SMA Sunny Boy series can supply 15A 120V using a dedicated outlet. SolarEdge’s StorEdge is their standard DC-coupled storage inverter, and it can supply 5kW of backup power.