benefits of a grid-tied solar panel system. When connected to the existing power grid and
producing energy, your solar panel will pump all excess clean energy you produce into the
grid. Through a program called net metering, which many (but not all) communities now
have, you will get credit from your local utility for all of the power fed into the grid. In
essence, the meter will spin backwards during these times!
Conversely, at night and during times when your solar system doesnt make enough energy
for your home, you can draw power from the local utility grid. As a result, most gridconnected solar system do not include a battery since all of the energy is consumed as it is
produced.
So how does an off-grid solar system differ from a grid-connected one? It collects solar
energy in the same way and then converts it into an electrical (DC) current, but in this case, it
can either funnel the electricity into your home or the battery system. It does not ever send
electricity into the local electric utility grid.
In a stand-alone solar system, sometimes the DC energy is pumped straight into the DC
battery, but it can also send the energy through an inverter to convert the DC energy into AC
energy, just as before. Most often the electricity is then piped into your home or the batteries
which can either store the energy for later use or be consumed immediately by your home,
depending on the time of day and the amount of energy being produced and used. As with a
grid-tied system, your off-grid solar array will also have a DC disconnect to allow you to shut
the system down in an emergency and for maintenance, but it will also have a rectifier which
is like a reverse inverter for changing AC to DC power for charging the batteries.
Batteries are finicky pieces of equipment, and as such they require some additional
components to ensure they run well and last a long time. A system meter, for instance, will
measure how full your battery is and how much energy is being produced by your panels
versus how much you are using. This will give you a detailed look at how well your system is
performing and whether or not you have any problems.
Another important component for battery health is the charge controller which also monitors
and manages the charge coming from the panels into the batteries. For homes that are
completely off the local electric grid, a back-up generator is usually part of the energy
package as well. This gas or diesel-powered system provides electricity during periods of
sunlessness and at night as needed. These can, however, be very noisy and produce a lot of
fumes, so are often not preferred by solar owners.