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Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them
- tencentshill 8mo agoI found it very difficult to find ANY information on google about US plug-in solar a few months ago.
- toomuchtodo 8mo agohttps://solarunitedneighbors.org/resources/what-to-know-about-plug-in-solar/ https://solarunitedneighbors.org/resources/what-to-know-abou... https://www.brightsaver.org/ https://www.brightsaver.org/ https://www.brightsaver.org/publicly-filed-states https://www.brightsaver.org/publicly-filed-states
- alpaca128 8mo ago> So far, utilities have won over lawmakers in five states and convinced them to delay votes on plug-in solar bills They'll change their mind once so many people use panels without permit that they cause difficulties with grid stability due to the unregistered solar panels making it less predictable. That was a reason they massively loosened the requirements where I live.
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]
- Kim_Bruning 8mo agocan you expand on that?
- alpaca128 8mo agoOriginally it was required to collect a signature from every tenant living in the building in order to be permitted to install a plug-in solar panel. As a result people living in rented apartments just did it without asking, but that meant more energy generation that the supplier doesn't know about which supposedly made it more difficult to manage the grid. So they decided to instead flip it around so anyone opposing installation of a panel has to submit a written statement.
- Kim_Bruning 8mo agoI see! So you're saying the opposite of what I thought. They're going to WANT regulation in the long term!
- rcxdude 8mo agoThey're going to want to know about panels being installed, and regardless of whether the regulation says they can be installed, they will be, so the regulation will tend towards allowing installation but at least encouraging reporting it (while regulation that forbids installation will mainly just discourage reporting).
- onlypassingthru 8mo agoNo doubt the utilities are concerned about safety, the safety of their revenue stream.
- hyperhello 8mo agoI love the small effects, but this is actually less efficient in the large. A power grid still has to exist, and that means transformers blow and trees knock down wires, and you are going to be billed for that. It's not that different from using a septic tank to get off the sewage grid; you might not appreciate when your neighbors all do it too.
- Kim_Bruning 8mo agoEh? what's the downside if lots of people install small solar installations like this? it drops the grid load by a small amount, and saves the owner a few dollars. Which seems useful to me in general as a nice to have.
- BizarroLand 8mo agoThe only real downside is that it decreases the amount of control that your power company has over your local grid, which doesn't sound like a downside until there is an electrical emergency and unregulated solar starts dumping into the grid and puts line workers at risk. At the same time, it is a fairly small downside when 1 person does it, but the effects increase quite a bit when everyone does it.
- eliaspro 8mo agoThis won't simply dump power into the grid (unless the used inverter would violate codes right and left), since those inverters need to sync to the grid first before allowing for any output. So if the grid is down - nothing will happen.
- BizarroLand 8mo agoYes, and that is good, but it's not what I mean. Overproduction is a possible issue for the grid operator. It's not a huge risk, but if there is an issue where the grid is producing too much energy, and at the same time homeowner solar is also producing a lot, then it becomes a potential issue for the grid to have to figure out how much production to cut to minimize the risk of damaging the grid while also not browning out the grid. It's a small risk, but one to consider when UL listing cheap solar for everyone.
- exabrial 8mo ago"utilities trying to delay them" what a bunch of clickbaity bullshit. Also, from the article: > And since the bills require UL Solutions certification, manufacturers will have to get their products through that process. God forbid we have products that don't electrocute the people buying them. Oh and don't forget to Google inverter vs rotational grid stability. What a bunch of nonsense.
- chaz6 8mo agoThese are nice, but there is a risk if multiple units are plugged into an extension strip with a cord that is not large enough for the current.