Do Solar Panels Work When the Grid is Down?

With the financial, environmental, and sustainable benefits of solar panels producing electricity from the sun's energy, a common concern about the investment is, will solar panels continue to work during a power cut? 

To understand how, we need to talk about two things: solar panels and solar batteries. Solar panels are great for generating electricity from sunlight, but they can't store much. That's where batteries come in as solar energy storage. They hold the extra capacity to store the energy from solar power for when you need it e.g. during the night.

Here's how the system flows:

Solar panels absorb sunlight and generate electricity. If your solar panels generate more electricity than you need, the excess flows to the grid. However if you have solar batteries, it is stored here first for your back up power, and then back to the grid. If your solar panels aren't generating enough electricity, you can use electricity from the grid.

When your solar system is connected to the grid, there are benefits such as through the government's Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), by sending energy back into the grid you can get paid. Whilst of course saving money on electricity bills by using your own generated from your solar panels, it is very cost effective. If your solar panels were to go down for any reason, your backup source of electricity will come from the grid.

With this system, comes some disadvantages to grid-tied systems. During a power outage, your solar panels will also go down, and electricity will not be generated from the sun's energy.  

However, if you opt for an off-grid system, and you have built a sufficient solar system with solar panels and solar batteries, you can still power your home in an outage. Your batteries will switch on during an outage, and start to power your home from their storage capacity available. 

Overall, grid-tied solar systems are a great way to save money on your electricity bills and reduce your carbon footprint. However, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if a grid-tied system is right for you due to the powercut concerns.

If you only have solar panels and no battery, your lights will go out when the grid fails. But if you have a battery system, and off-grid solar, you can use the stored solar power to keep essential appliances running. It's like having your own little power station and gives you peace of mind and independence from the grid.

Do consider the amount of time you can run on battery power, will depend on the size of your battery and how much electricity you use. You do not want to run your batteries to the ground, that is not healthy for the lifespan of a solar battery.