Deciding on the best setup for your solar installation might seem a bit daunting. Solora Solar is your expert guide, following industry best practices and customizing each install.
An off-grid solar system is well designed to generate enough power throughout the year to meet the needs of a household, even in the depths of winter, when there is less sunshine. However, since there is no electricity grid connection to an off-grid solar system, battery storage is necessary and sometime Generator as well to provide power and keep battery to safe voltage in deep Winter days when there is little to no Sun available.
This system can be expensive but not necessary, it depends on system size and needs. They are usually needed only in more remote areas far from the grid. Nevertheless, battery costs are reducing at a high rate, so the demand for an off-grid solar system is now increasing, even in cities and towns. Without a connection to the utility grid, batteries are essential to balance periods of excess production and excess demand. In addition to batteries, these systems in all cases, will require supplemental power such as Generator. This is to protect the batteries against shortfalls of power when the solar system is under-producing and the batteries are discharged, especially in Winter days and or when there is not enough Sunlight available.
Off-grid solar systems differ from grid-tied systems in the sense that solar is the primary source of electricity to the structure. This requires some adjustment of when and how the power is used to live within the design of the system.
For example, the battery banks can store enough electricity for a household for 1 to 3 days (or more, depending on the battery size). If there is a longer stretch of cloudy days and the sun energy is running low, a back-up generator would need to provide power. For these reasons, off-grid solar systems are a primitive or “remote-only” alternative to more common solar setups.
Can you install an off-grid solar system in the city? Technically this is possible but doing so would exclude you from most government incentives offered to homeowners who switch to solar. Some federal tax credit is available for off-grid systems, but there are no incentives from the utility company. So, while you can be off grid, it usually does not really make financial sense in an urban setting.
Off-Grid system are also most complex and require detail analysis to design proper system, otherwise if system too small system for customer load requirement that can cause no power at critical time and a very unhappy customer. The oversize system can be expensive since the off-grid system cost much more than typical grid-tied or grid-tied with storage and the costliest in all type of systems as dollar per watt system cost.
The are several brands of off-grid system are available. Here at Solerus Energy, we provide few solutions per customers’ needs and requirement.
One of the best options we provide is with SolArk inverter system. The Off-grid system can become overly complicated very quickly, but since SolArk inverter provide all in one option, it eliminates the need of connecting and installing several components, since most of these connections are already done when they arrive at customer door, including batteries and only thing need to be connected is PV and Generator connection, if required.
Our most popular Off-Grid option is with SolArk Hybrid inverter, although is option is bit expensive, but it fulfills all requirement such as to work with almost any type of low voltage (48V) battery including automatic Generator hookup, but most important advantage is the ease of installation. This makes a particularly good option for our DIY customers.
In the same class, other option would be Schneider inverter system. All these system work with all types of batteries including Lithium Ion, however if you are looking all in one option, both SolArk and Schneider system comes with Simplifi Lithium-Ion battery pre-installed.
We also offer economically off-grid system with Growatt and Goodwe inverter system both are remarkably simple and can be installed by someone who is technically inclined and understand basic electricity, however we always recommend having it connected by a qualified person.
Within each type of system there are variations in design that effect efficiency, convenience, and budget. We are at Solerus Energy can guide you through the detailed choices of specific systems that best match your needs.
One especially important thing to note and verified when selecting any of the PV energy system, including inverter, battery and solar panels, that these are UL certified component for safety. There are several ridiculously cheap Off-grid systems, particularly inverter and batteries can be found on the internet that may seems to be a good option and seems to be saving quite a bit of money in short term, but these systems can quickly become very unsafe and may cause not only damage to property but to human life.
“UL stands for Underwriter Laboratories, a third-party certification company that’s been around for over a century. They certify products with the aim to make the world a safer place for both workers and consumers. Besides testing, they set industry standards to follow when innovating new products.”
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