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Solar Electric - How it works
On the right is a graphic of a typical grid-tied solar electric system. There are no batteries. Any excess power you make (when the system is generating more energy than your home is using) is sold back through the utility meter, to your electricity provider. This causes your meter to spin backwards. The utility pays you the same rate that you pay them when your using energy from the grid (like every night, and on cloudy days, etc..)
Systems in areas without an electric utility in the area are known as off-grid systems. Unlike grid-tied they must have batteries for storing the excess energy from the system. The home is then powered off of the batteries at night and during very cloudy weather. These systems almost always have an additional source of power as a backup. Usually a propane or diesel generator, but it could also be a wind turbine if there is adequate wind resource available. |
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