Most solar electric systems installed today are what’s known as grid-interactive photovoltaic systems. These power generation systems work in tandem with the utility grid to supply seamless power to your home and deliver excess power to the utility grid. To have power during utility outages, you would need a battery backup system. Learn more about battery backup systems by clicking the button below.
There are many companies pitching what they call plug-and-play solar panels and temporary solar solutions that you can take with you when you move. Don’t believe what you read. You can’t just plug the output of a solar panel into an outlet and expect it to work, and there are very serious safety concerns with the advertised products on the Internet. Solar panels connected to a structure’s electrical system must be permanently installed in accordance with strict building and electrical codes for safety reasons. The building codes that will be in effect for the next decade and beyond in Florida have no provisions for plug-and-play solar, and there is no product on the market the comes close to meeting existing codes. It would be impossible to develop a product that can safely plug into any standard household outlet because a circuit could easily be overloaded with multiple solar panels. Our whole system of wiring homes and businesses revolves around protecting wiring circuits with circuit breakers and fuses.
Think of it this way: if you plug ten hair dryers into an outlet, you will simply trip a circuit breaker. If you plug too many solar panels into an outlet, you will burn your house down. There is nothing protecting the wiring from being overloaded.
