Here is another common question from our customers: “Can solar panels power a house during a power outage?” Well, there are different scenarios. Here is a quick overview of how solar panels work during a power outage.
Key takeaways
90% of solar systems in the US are grid-tied
Most solar systems in the US are connected to the electrical grid. This is super convenient as you can cover your home's electricity needs during the day when the sun is shining, and at night, when the panels are not working, you can pull power from the grid. The only weak spot in this pretty plan is power outages.
When an electric grid goes down, all solar systems that are connected to it shut off. It’s not the panels’ fault — if it were up to them, they would keep on working. Instead, it’s the safety anti-islanding mechanism of your inverter that turns off, automatically disconnects your solar system from the grid and prevents the modules from powering your home as they were.
On one hand, the inverter protects the panels and your equipment from the damage that the sudden outage may cause them. On the other hand, the inverter prevents the system’s current from flowing into the grid. This is a crucial safety measure to protect utility workers who may be repairing power lines. If the solar panels were to continue generating power during a blackout, it could pose a serious risk of electrocution to the people fixing them.
Power outages strike unexpectedly, leaving you without electricity for hours or even days. Yet, a power outage is not a sentence. There are several ways to provide your home with electricity even if there is no power on the grid. But prepare in advance, not when the lights go down.
First, identify and calculate the key loads. The average American household consumes around 30 kWh of electricity per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But how much do you really need? You can go a few days without doing laundry, but when your fridge is off, surviving gets a bit trickier. Smartphone, work laptop, kettle - which devices you can do without and which are vital and calculate their consumption.
Next, figure out for how many hours or days you want to spare the power. Shutdowns for a couple hours or less are one thing, but hurricanes knocking out the electricity for days or even weeks is a completely different matter. Once you've answered these questions, you can move on to choosing a backup plan.
Solar generator is a two-in-one kit – solar panels and a power station. A power station integrates an inverter, a battery and a charge controller to store and distribute energy. When you add PV modules to it, you can charge it wherever the sun shines and supply your home with power in case of an outage.
Another advantage of the generator is that it’s portable. You can use it not only during power outages, but also take with you to the outdoors to charge your fridge, phone or even your car battery. In general, it’s a great way to survive without electricity for a couple hours, providing the bare minimum you need.
When you have a hybrid inverter, it’s a different story. Hybrid inverters are designed to be paired with batteries, as well as connected to the grid. When a power outage happens, a hybrid inverter switches your home to battery support. In an off-grid mode, this inverter keeps solar panels on during power outages and makes them charge the batteries that you have.
Standard grid-tie inverters don’t support DC energy storage at all — for this, you would need a hybrid inverter. However, there are also AC batteries, such as the Tesla Powerwall, which are designed to work with standard grid-tied solar inverters. If you have a grid-tied solar system with a standard grid-tie inverter and an AC battery, the solar system will typically turn off during a power outage but the battery should keep the home powered.
The best way to prepare for a power outage is in advance, or better yet, consider it when planning your solar system and choose the right equipment.
Sol-Ark SA-12K 12.0kW Hybrid Pre-Wired Inverter System
Pickup on Fri, Jan 17 from Orlando, FL
Delivery on Jan 23–28
Sol-Ark 12K Pre-Wired Hybrid Inverter System is an all-in-one system that includes an inverter, charger controller, and a display with remote monitoring. This inverter is easy to install to any solar system – grid-tied, off-grid, or hybrid.
Enphase Ensemble IQ8 Plus Microinverter Residential
Pickup on Fri, Jan 17 from Millstone, NJ
Delivery on Jan 23–28
To date, IQ8 is the smartest microinverter ever produced by Enphase. The brain of the IQ8 is a powerful 55 nm chip allowing it to work both in grid-tie and off-grid modes. These microinverters are part of the Enphase IQ family, which means they can be easily integrated with the battery, gateway and Enphase App for performance-tracking and analysis.
MK Battery Deka 5.3kWh 100Ah 48V Lithium Iron Phospate Battery DD5300
Pickup on Fri, Jan 17 from Sacramento, CA
Delivery on Jan 23–28
The MK Battery DEKA 5.3kWh 100Ah 48V Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery is a good option for a home solar system if you are looking for a long-lasting, safe, and efficient battery. LFP batteries have high efficiency, meaning they can store and discharge energy with minimal losses. They are also considered safer than other types of lithium-ion batteries, as they are less prone to thermal runaway. Their only drawback is their cost. LFP batteries are generally more expensive than other types of batteries.
SolarEdge 10 kWh Home Battery SE-BAT-10K1PS0B-02
Pickup on Fri, Jan 17 from Millstone, NJ
Delivery on Jan 23–28
The SolarEdge 10kWh battery is another good option to store solar energy. This battery is DC-coupled, meaning it works with direct current from the solar panels before it’s converted to alternating current by the inverter, which improves the overall efficiency of the system by reducing conversion losses.
The eventual answer to the question “Can solar panels power a house during a power outage?” depends on what kind of system you have. If you want to learn more about different types of solar installations and how they behave during blackouts, check out our article “When the light goes out: Solar panels and power outages”.
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Andrey had been a news editor and freelance writer for a number of medias before joining A1 SolarStore team. Climate change and its impact on people's lives has always been among his interests and it partially explains his degree in Philosophy and Ethics.
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