Chester County PA Solar Energy PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar Systems PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems Benefits Of PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar Systems "Energy independence is a good feeling, especially in an uncertain world".

Grid-Tied, Off-Grid, And Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems

There are three types of solar panel systems: grid-tied (on-grid), off-grid, and hybrid solar systems. Each type of system has a unique setup that affects what equipment is used, the complexity of installation, and, most crucially, your potential costs and savings. What are the benefits and downsides of grid-tied, off-grid and hybrid solar systems?

1. PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar Systems (no battery backup, least expensive)
2. Off-Grid Solar Systems (with battery backup, more expensive)
3. PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems (with battery backup, most expensive)

1. PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar Systems (no batteries, least expensive)

Grid-tied, on-grid, utility-interactive, grid intertie, interconnected, and grid backfeeding are all terms used to describe the same concept - a solar panel system that is connected to the PECO utility power grid. DC electricity generated by the solar panels is sent to the inverter, which converts the DC power into AC electricity. This AC electricity is first used to service the home loads, while all surplus or excess energy is exported to the PECO grid in return for electric bill credits.

Benefits Of PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Solar Systems

A PECO grid connection will allow you to save more money with solar panels through net metering, lower equipment and installation costs, and better efficiency rates.

1. Save more money with PECO net metering - Your solar panels will often generate more electricity than what you are able to use. With PECO net metering, homeowners can push this excess electricity onto the PECO utility grid. Then, PECO will give you electricity credits or payments for your excess electricity and sell your excess electricity to other PECO customers. Not all utility companies offer net metering, but PECO is committed to buying electricity from homeowners at the same rate as they sell it themselves.

   As a homeowner, you can use these credits or payments from PECO to cancel out your electricity usage charges by up to 100%. Net metering plays an important role in how solar power is incentivized. Without it, residential solar systems would be much less feasible from a financial point of view.

2. Lower upfront costs and ease of installation - Grid-tied solar systems are the only type of solar system that don't require a battery to function. This makes grid-tied systems cheaper and more simple to install with less equipment, materials, and labor, and also means there is less maintenance required, or none.

3. You can use the PECO utility grid as a virtual battery - The PECO electric power grid is in many ways also a battery, without the need for maintenance or replacements, and with much better efficiency rates.

According to many data sources, national, annual electricity transmission and distribution losses average about 7% of the electricity that is transmitted in the United States. Lead-acid batteries, which are commonly used with solar panels, are only 80-90% efficient at storing energy, and their performance degrades with time. In other words, more electricity (and more money) goes to waste with conventional battery systems.

Additional perks of being PECO grid-tied include access to backup power from the PECO utility grid, in case your solar system stops generating electricity for one reason or another. At the same time, you help to mitigate the PECO utility company`s peak load. As a result, the efficiency of our PECO electrical system as a whole goes up.

Equipment For Grid-Tied Solar Systems - There are a few key differences between the equipment needed for grid-tied, off-grid and hybrid solar systems. Standard grid-tied solar systems rely on the following components:

Typical Grid-Tied Solar System Components: Grid-tie inverter (GTI) or micro-inverters and a power meter.

Grid-tie inverters (GTI) - Regulate the voltage and current received from your solar panels. Direct current (DC) from your solar panels is converted into alternating current (AC), which is the type of current that is utilized by the majority of electrical appliances.

In addition to this, grid-tie inverters, also known as grid-interactive or synchronous inverters, synchronize the phase and frequency of the current to fit the PECO utility grid (nominally 60Hz). The output voltage is also adjusted slightly higher than the PECO grid voltage in order for excess electricity to flow outwards to the PECO grid.

Micro-inverters - Usually go on the back of each solar panel, as opposed to one central inverter that typically takes on the entire solar array. There has recently been a lot of debate on whether micro-inverters are better than central (string) inverters. Micro-inverters are certainly more expensive, but in many cases yield higher efficiency rates. Micro-inverters are particularly useful if you have shading issues on your roof.

Power meter - Most homeowners will need to replace their current PECO power meter with one that is compatible with PECO net metering. This device, often called a net meter or a two-way meter, is capable of measuring power going in both directions, from the PECO grid to your house and vice versa.

You should consult with the PECO utility company and see what net metering options are available. Some utility companies issue a power meter for free and will pay full price for the electricity you generate; however, the PECO meter is not free. PECO offers a significant net metering credit upon registration and approval.

2. Off-Grid Solar Systems (requires batteries, more expensive)

An off-grid solar system (off-the-grid, standalone) is the obvious alternative to one that is grid-tied. For homeowners that have access to the PECO grid, off-grid solar systems are usually out of question due to the cost of batteries and additional solar equipment and installation costs.

To ensure access to electricity at all times, off-grid solar systems require high-capacity battery storage and sometimes a backup generator (option). On top of this, a battery bank typically needs to be replaced after 10 years or so. Batteries are complicated, expensive, and decrease overall system efficiency when charging and maintaining the batteries health. Off-Grid Solar Systems require large amounts of energy storage as there is no option to import power from the PECO electric grid. As such, they are typically designed using lead-acid batteries, which are a much cheaper alternative to newer (and more efficient, but dangerous) lithium-based solar batteries.

Benefits Of Off-Grid Solar Systems

1. Can be installed where there is no access to a utility grid - Off-grid solar systems are significantly cheaper than extending power lines in certain remote areas. Consider off-grid if you're more than 100 yards from the grid. The costs of overhead transmission lines range from $174,000 per mile (for rural construction) to $11,000,000 per mile (for urban construction).

2. Become energy self-sufficient - Living off the grid and being self-sufficient feels good. For some people, this feeling is worth more than saving money. Energy self-sufficiency is also a form of security. Power failures on the utility grid do not affect off-grid solar systems.

3. No monthly electric bill for PECO utility grid service, transmission, distribution, and no electric rate increases, ever.

Typical Off-Grid Solar System Components: Solar charge controller, battery bank, DC disconnect (additional), off-grid inverter, backup generator (optional).

Solar charge controller - Solar charge controllers are also known as charge regulators, or just battery regulators. The last term is probably the best to describe what this device actually does: solar battery chargers limit the rate of current being delivered to the battery bank, and protect the batteries from overcharging. Good charge controllers are crucial for keeping the batteries healthy, which ensures the lifetime of a battery bank is maximized. If you have a battery-based inverter, chances are that the charge controller is integrated.

Battery bank - Without a battery bank, there is no electricity in an off-grid solar system. A battery bank is essentially a group of batteries wired together and might be considered the heart of the system. The battery bank can be as small or large as needed.

DC disconnect switch - AC and DC safety disconnects are required for all solar systems. For off-grid solar systems, one additional DC disconnect is installed between the battery bank and the off-grid inverter. It is used to switch off the current flowing between these components. This is important for maintenance, troubleshooting and protection against electrical fires.

Off-grid inverter - There's no need for an inverter if you`re only setting up solar panels for your boat, your RV, or something else that runs on DC current only. You will need an inverter to convert DC to AC for all other electrical appliances. Off-grid inverters do not have to match phase with the utility sine wave as opposed to grid-tie inverters. Electrical current flows from the solar panels through the solar charge controller and to the battery bank, before it is finally converted into AC by the off-grid inverter.

Backup generator - It can take a lot of money and big batteries to prepare for several consecutive days without the sun shining (or access to the grid) depending on your electricity needs. This is where backup generators come in. In some cases, installing a backup generator that runs on diesel is a better choice, when diesel fuel is readily available, than investing in an oversized battery bank that seldom gets to operate at its full potential. Generators can run on propane, petroleum, gasoline, and many other fuel types. Generators are only useful when fuel is available, otherwise useless in a long-term emergency power outage or off-grid living. Backup generators typically output AC, which can be sent through the inverter for direct use, or it can be converted into DC for battery storage.

3. PECO Interconnected Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems (includes batteries, most expensive)

Hybrid solar systems combine the best of grid-tied and off-grid solar systems. The Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar System can either be described as off-grid solar with PECO utility backup power, or PECO grid-tied solar with extra battery storage. Hybrid solar systems are usually designed using either lithium or lead-acid-based DC batteries including forklift batteries.

If you own a PECO grid-tied solar system and drive a vehicle that runs on electricity, you already kind of have a hybrid setup in an emergency situation. The electrical vehicle is really just a large battery bank on wheels.

In a hybrid solar system, energy generated from the solar panels is first used to service the home's electrical loads (flow #1).

After the home's energy needs have been supplied, solar power is used to charge the solar battery (flow #2).

If there is still a surplus of solar energy, the energy will be exported to the PECO electric grid in return for credits (flow #3).

Benefits Of Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems

1. Save more money with PECO net metering - Your solar panels will often generate more electricity than what you are able to use. With PECO net metering, homeowners can push this excess electricity onto the PECO utility grid when the batteries are fully charged. Then, PECO will give you electricity credits or payments for your excess electricity and sell your excess electricity to other PECO customers. Not all utility companies offer net metering, but PECO is committed to buying electricity from homeowners at the same rate as they sell it themselves.

   As a homeowner, you can use these credits or payments from PECO to cancel out your electricity usage charges by up to 100%. Net metering plays an important role in how solar power is incentivized. Without it, residential solar systems would be much less feasible from a financial point of view.

2. Can be less expensive than off-grid solar systems - Although most people own a generator, you don't really need a backup generator. And, in some cases, the capacity of your battery bank can be downsized. If your battery bank runs low or out of charge after several days of no sunshine, power from the PECO utility grid will charge the battery bank. This can be much cheaper than operating a generator. But, if the PECO utility grid is down for weeks or months, you will wish you had purchased more batteries for a larger battery bank.

3. The battery bank is maintained at full charge and maximum health at all times by solar power and the PECO utility grid. Ready and available to provide instant electricity in a short or long-term power outage emergency, when PECO utility is down.

4. Because the hybrid solar system includes a battery bank, the inverter is wired to your PECO utility panel box to provide electricity from the batteries to your PECO utility panel box with a PECO power disconnect switch to provide battery or generator energy to all of your home devices and appliances. No generator is needed, no fuel, no noise, no cords, no work or hassles.

Additional Benefits Of Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems

Smart solar holds a lot of promise - The introduction of hybrid solar systems has opened up many interesting innovations. New inverters allow some homeowners take advantage of changes in the PECO utility electricity rates throughout the day. The concept will become increasingly important as we transition toward the smart grid in the coming years.

Additional perks of being PECO grid-tied include access to backup power from the PECO utility grid, in case your solar system stops generating electricity for one reason or another. At the same time, you help to mitigate the PECO utility company`s peak load. As a result, the efficiency of our PECO electrical system as a whole goes up.

Solar panels happen to output the most electrical power at noon - not long before the price of electricity peaks. If applicable, your home and electrical vehicle can be programmed to consume power during off-peak hours (or from your solar panels).

Consequently, you can temporarily store whatever excess electricity your solar panels generate in your batteries, and put it on the utility grid when you are paid the most for every kWh.

Hybrid solar systems utilize battery-based grid-tie inverters, which are also known simply as hybrid inverters. These devices can draw electrical power to and from battery banks, as well as synchronize with the PECO utility grid.

A Hybrid solar system is wired to the home electrical panel box allowing your home to draw electricity from the solar battery bank when the PECO utility grid is down. The hybrid inverter automatically switches to or from battery backup when the hybrid inverter senses that the PECO utility grid is down or up. Any size or type generator can be plug connected to the hybrid inverter to charge the solar battery bank and supply electricity to the home simultaneously if needed.

Typical Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar System Components: Charge controller, battery bank, DC disconnect (additional), battery-based grid-tie inverter, power meter.

Final Thoughts On Grid-Tied Solar Systems

The bottom line is this: Right now, for the vast majority of homeowners who are not concerned about a long-term power outage, tapping the PECO utility grid for electricity and energy storage is significantly cheaper and more practical than using battery banks and/or backup generators.

Adding a battery bank is an expensive option, but how long and comfortable can we survive with no electricity at all? The ability to generate and use solar energy during a blackout adds to the advantages of installing a solar system with batteries.

Is Solar Worth The Money?

Because the demand for more energy from our ancient grid system climbs every day and while our vulnerable grid infrastructure is gradually falling apart is a good reason to take matters into our own hands. If we were so lucky, and is likely to happen eventually, that we were to upgrade the grid to other civilized country standards, the cost for grid power could be doubled or even go wild. The infrastructure in this country is ancient, over used, rotting away, and in some cases not exactly safe.

In the near future, you can expect to experience more power outages or even wide spread blackouts which could last weeks or even months... or worse. Scary to imagine, in the near future, many or all of the natural and necessary resources (water, food, fuel, energy) could be limited, expensive, and mainly available to the wealthiest and elite. You can see it happening now. As the population of this country continues to grow, the few elite who horde 99% of the wealth of this country are prepared or preparing for what is coming.

Considering that your bank pays you almost no interest on your money and the stock market is in decline and only really profitable to inside traders, you should consider to invest some of your savings in your own power company. Interest rates and the stock market are not going to recover over night and are more of a game or joke than anything else.

This economic disaster is expected to be with us for many years or even the remainder of our lifetime. A prepaid private power company will save you money each month unlike your savings and investments that are doing nothing or eroding away. Plus, you can enjoy and appreciate all that energy has to offer during an outage while others might not be so lucky.

Grid-Tied, Off-Grid, And Grid-Tied Hybrid Solar Systems