There are a few main schemes for how homeowners produce and consume energy. Solar plus energy storage is the ultimate way to control your power and solar without storage is also a great solution. See how these compare to the traditional method of powering your home with the grid in order to further understand how much money you can save and how much control you can have over your energy ecosystem.
Without solar, a homeowner will draw power from the grid. Many people will be subject to time-of-use rates, and all customers of utility companies will have to deal with arbitrary rate increases. In addition, this provides no safety net in the case of a power outage. Time of use rates are based on when most people use power, so it may be very hard to avoid paying the maximum under these schemes.
With solar, a homeowner will avoid arbitrary rate increases and can mostly mitigate the time of use issue. Solar homeowners will power their homes during the day with the power they produce in real-time. Solar is a great solution for avoiding arbitrary pricing from the power company and creates independence. At night, the homeowner will still have to draw from the grid, but a well-designed system will offset this difference year-round. The homeowner will not have control over their usage in real-time.
Solar with battery backup is the ultimate solution for energy control and avoidance of electric rates. The solar covers daytime needs and the excess power stored in the battery or batteries will cover nighttime needs. Time-of-use issues will be totally avoided, and power rates will be a thing of the past. With battery backup, it does make sense for homeowners to overproduce as they will not be dependent on net metering, and can store the power to sell back later. Even better, the homeowner will have peace of mind with regard to blackouts. Total energy control is available at the palm of your hand with solar plus battery backup, and you may even forget the utility company exists.
Find out which one of these systems is best for you, and get away from the electric company’s control with a solar consultation today. Battery backup is making sense for more and more customers, and both solar solutions are far better than paying arbitrary electric rates.
