Over the last decade, more and more people are becoming more and more interested in solar energy independence. One of the big reasons for this is the growing vulnerability of our electrical grids. Back in 2015, Ted Koppel had this in his book called “Lights Out”:
“The notion that the American power grid is vulnerable to cyber attack or an electromagnetic pulse device, launched by terrorists or a foreign nation, is a frightening premise.”
Nowadays, in March of 2022, Josephine Wolff of Time Magazine wrote this in her article:
“In the relatively short and rapidly evolving history of cyber conflict, perhaps nothing has been established with greater certainty and is more widely accepted than the idea that Russia has significant cyber capabilities and isn’t afraid to use them.”
As you can see, our power grid is at risk. But also, there are many other reasons to posses solar energy independence. Examples include saving a great deal of money or maintaining power during a normal power outage. Therefore, continue reading to learn more about the advantages of solar energy independence.
More about foreign power-grid threats
Now that Russia has become a global threat, let’s look at some recent problems they’ve already caused. Back in 2015, Russian government hackers breached the Ukrainian power grid. Then in 207, Russia deployed the notorious NotPetya malware. That virus has quickly spread across the globe.
On March 21, 2022, President Biden warned about potential Russian cyber attacks on the US. This was based on “evolving intelligence” that Russia is considering launching cyber attacks against critical infrastructure targets in the US.
These threats are obviously ominous and scary. Fortunately, you can achieve your own solar electrical independence for your household. Your best two options for this are off-grid solar systems and hybrid solar systems, as we’ll look at shortly. The primary difference between them is electrical grid connection.
Why is our power grid vulnerable?
There are nine power grid “interconnections” throughout the United States and Canada. The largest interconnection is the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). It covers western Canada and the western US States down to the Mexico border. On July 2nd, 1996, the WECC had a blackout affecting two million people for two hours.
If you thought that July 2nd blackout was bad, the next incident was worse. On August 10th, 1996, the WECC had another blackout affecting 7.5 million people for six hours. In the following video, Eric Martineau reveals his own personal story about that day, August 10th, 1996. He’s the founder and owner of Just Get Solar.
In a news article from Reuters on December 17, 2021, the headline read “U.S. to face increasing power reliability issues over the next 10 years. This came from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). On their website, they call themselves a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid.
More recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled “America’s Power Grid is Increasingly Unreliable,” on February 18th, 2022. In the article, it explains that “Behind a rising number of outages are new stresses on the system caused by aging power lines…”
Financial benefits of solar assets
There are many financial benefits to gain from solar systems that offset upfront system costs. First, receive tax credits from the US Government. This year, the tax credit is 26% of your total solar assets and installation cost. Unfortunately, it will drop to 22% in 2023 and the future of it is unknown after 2023.
Gain an increase to the value of your home after installing your own solar assets. When you do, you’ll be able to sell your home faster. Also, you’ll get considerably more for your home – your home appraisal will go up greatly. Finally, solar systems provide a hedge against inflation, just as home ownership provides.
Finally, get higher monthly rent when leasing your home. First, this comes from your increased home value. Also, the greatly reduced or eliminated electric bill offers an attractive justification for increased rent. Finally, when you add the environmental factor of solar power, your potential renter pool increases.
More financial savings from solar systems
Sunlight is free, and the energy you can produce from that sunlight is almost endless. That being said, installing an effective and sufficient home solar system costs money. But, the money-saving benefits always come through in the end. As such, solar is an investment that really pays off.
To save even more money, use a solar system broker like Just Get Solar. Being an equipment broker, Just Get Solar removes the middle man, saving you those large commissions of 25% to 35%. On top of that, they get you the best equipment at the best prices. Also, they provide the best loan rates, saving you even more.
Regarding your electricity bills, prices go up regularly. Compare that to monthly payments on your solar system loan. Since loan payments don’t go up, you’ll save more and more over time. Then, those monthly bills will end once paid in full. That means, your monthly expense will end if your solar system is self sufficient.
Home solar increases home value
There is solid evidence that home solar assets increase home value. This is shown by both home appraisals and home resale closing prices that were studied. Let’s start with a few sources so you can read and confirm these findings for yourself. Two of the following articles require a simple signup to read the entire article. These are the links:
In the first article, which is an academic work, it states that the research analyzes a large dataset of California homes that sold from 2000 through mid-2009 with solar installed. The analysis finds strong evidence that homes with solar systems sold for a premium over comparable homes without. Great news!
The second article reveals a prospective model developed to determine the value of solar. That can be directly translated into how solar increases home value for resale. They use an income capitalization approach that considers the present value to determine the future value of a solar system.
Finally, the third article how a solar system adds value to your assets – your home. Read it to see their research from several building owners and managers. It reveals how they made the business case for solar and found increased asset values during appraisal or at the time of sale – resale.
Receive solar energy independence
Since the peace of mind that comes from solar energy independence and unbroken electrical assurance is undeniable, let’s look deeper. To begin, solar energy independence normally comes from off-grid solar systems. But if your home is connected to the power grid, a hybrid solar system is your best option.
The center of both a hybrid solar system and an off-grid solar system is a multi-mode inverter. First, this converts DC or direct current from your solar panel array and battery bank to 120V AC or Alternating Current to your house. Then, it charges and manages your battery bank to prolong battery life.
Check out this informative article to learn exactly how to calculate what must go into your solar system:
OFF-GRID SOLAR CALCULATOR: How to calculate an off-grid solar system size
Solar energy independence from off-grid solar
Starting with off-grid solar systems, over 300,000 homes use them for solar energy independence around the world. They know that when connected to the grid, they’re dependent on an external supplier, the utility company, for all their power. And when that power grid goes down, so does their power supply.
There’s a balance between your off-grid solar system size and your electrical needs. In order to provide true unbroken solar energy independence, your battery bank must be quite large. It must get you through long periods of little to no sunlight. Also, a backup generator may be needed depending on your region.
Solar energy independence from hybrid solar
When referring hybrid solar assets, you’re talking about a self-sustaining household electrical system that is also connected to your local electrical grid. That means, this system provides three sources of electricity: solar power, battery bank power, and power from your local electrical grid.
Keeping your connection to your power grid allows you to receive unlimited electricity. That means, if you use big equipment or appliances, your electrical system will support it without fault. And if the summer heat steeply rises, use air conditioning to your heart’s content and stay cool throughout the day.
Brief explanation of solar assets within a system
Your solar panel array contains photo-voltaic cells mounted together in a framework. To generate electricity, these panels use energy from sunlight called photons to generate DC electricity.
Hybrid solar inverters, also called multi-mode inverters, perform two functions. First, they convert DC from your solar panel array and battery bank to 120V AC for your household. Then, they manage battery charge levels to prolong battery life.
Install your custom solar system to achieve solar energy independence
To begin, never attempt to install your own solar system unless properly trained, experienced, and correctly certified to do so. In other words, this type of installation is not a DIY project. To explain, solar component installation and wiring requires an electrician and a construction contractor to do it right.
As a comparison, installing a complete solar system is like installing a circuit breaker unit with other major electrical systems. One primary component of a solar system is the solar power inverter, which powers your entire home. That means, safety and reliability is no different between the two.
Also necessary to install a solar system are construction skills. To elaborate, solar panel arrays get secured to the top of existing structures. As such, those physical connections must be strong and reliable. Sometimes, structures are built from the ground up to sufficiently carry the load of those panels.
