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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Californians Learning That Solar Panels Don't Work in Blackouts
2019-10-13
[Bloomberg] Californians have embraced rooftop solar panels more than anyone in the U.S., but many are learning the hard way the systems won’t keep the lights on during blackouts.

That’s because most panels are designed to supply power to the grid -- not directly to houses. During the heat of the day, solar systems can crank out more juice than a home can handle. Conversely, they don’t produce power at all at night.

So systems are tied into the grid, and the vast majority aren’t working this week as PG&E Corp. cuts power to much of Northern California to prevent wildfires.

The only way for most solar panels to work during a blackout is pairing them with batteries. That market is just starting to take off. Sunrun Inc., the largest U.S. rooftop solar company, said hundreds of its customers are making it through the blackouts with batteries.

"It’s the perfect combination for getting through these shutdowns," Sunrun Chairman Ed Fenster said in an interview. He expects battery sales to boom in the wake of the outages.

And no, trying to run appliances off the power in a Tesla Inc. electric car won’t work, at least without special equipment.
Posted by:Besoeker

#11  they'd mandate solar panels on all new construction all across the nation.

Solar is fine in the sunny southern parts of the country, but wasted where it’s often cloudy or snow covered — the sun isn’t powering anything through a foot of snow — or has lots of tall trees casting shadows on the array a significant part of the day. There is no one answer to such problems.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-10-13 21:33  

#10  If a 12 minute power interruption was enough to be fatal then the original installers were negligent because "[excrement] Happens!"
Posted by: magpie   2019-10-13 18:19  

#9  Yes, Mercution, I think the real moral of the story is gasoline, diesel or propane generators. Those lithium ion batteries make me nervous...too many stories about them erupting in flames. Supposedly, if you manage them properly, that won't happen. But if you don't...

Nothing wrong with having solar panels to lower your electricity bills, though. If our politicians were serious about this global warming nonsense, which I don't believe they are, they'd mandate solar panels on all new construction all across the nation. It'd be written into the building codes, just like plumbing, phone service, cable and electricity from the grid. But then, their developer buddies would bitch and moan about increased construction costs so it'll never happen.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-10-13 15:20  

#8  Dron__ see #4 - no batteries required. Batteries only required for storage - to get you thru the night and that's why the gods invented gas generators.
Posted by: Mercutio   2019-10-13 13:24  

#7  A transfer switch is a standard part of a home generator installation. Whether it's required I don't know. Common sense says if there isn't one, the only way the utility can be sure no part of the grid is energized is to work at night or require transfer switches where crews can get at them.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-10-13 10:24  

#6  #4 is correct - you disconnect from the grid just as if you had a gas-powered generator (which you should have for night)
Posted by: Frank G   2019-10-13 10:19  

#5  If you can shell out for a $30k solar battery shack it should be possible, but I suspect you'll be visited by all sorts of toads inspecting this and that and finally suing you for endangering yourself. And that would be only for property owners. Apartment dwellers may not be allowed a battery or an off-grid solution at all. That's how the bureaucrat mind works.
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-10-13 10:04  

#4  I call bull on this. Had solar power in the Soviet of Hawai'i. If the grid went down, your solar was dead BUT you flipped a switch disconnecting yourself from the grid and your solar power went to an outlet on the inverted you could access. Worked fine if you had enough panels to generate the juice for a fridge and an internet connection. Unless the great state of Calizuela mandated that you couldn't have a disconnect, this is just lack of foresight or cheapness on the part of the homeowner.
Posted by: Mercutio   2019-10-13 09:47  

#3  So, let me get this straight: In CA you are now required to have solar panels on your house; however, the electricity from those panels goes to the power grid, not your house so you don't have direct access to the power YOUR solar panels are producing; the panels YOU paid for. Government is so great!!
Posted by: Alistaire Untervehr8459   2019-10-13 08:23  

#2  Meanwhile PG&E employees enjoy their aircons and coffee makers ?
Posted by: Dron66046   2019-10-13 04:33  

#1  So, how long until rumors of cannibalism?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-10-13 03:57  

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