Compared: Grid-tied, off-grid, and hybrid solar systems

Compared: Grid-tied, off-grid, and hybrid solar systems



There are three types of solar panel systems: grid-tied (on-grid), off-grid, and hybrid solar systems.Get more news about Off Grid Hybrid Solar Power System,you can vist our website!

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 would be the best in your situation? Let’s take a closer look at the benefits and downsides of grid-tied, off-grid and hybrid solar systems.Grid-tied, on-grid, utility-interactive, grid intertie, and grid backfeeding are all terms used to describe the same concept – a solar system that is connected to the utility power grid.

A 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 net metering
Your solar panels will often generate more electricity than what you are capable of consuming. With net metering, homeowners can put this excess electricity onto the utility grid instead of storing it themselves with batteries.

Many utility companies are committed to buying electricity from homeowners at the same rate as they sell it themselves. As a homeowner, you can use these payments from your utility 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.

Learn more: How does net metering work

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 simpler to install, and also means there is less maintenance required.

3. You can use the utility grid as a virtual battery
The 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 EIA data, 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 grid-tied include access to backup power from the utility grid, in case your solar system stops generating electricity for one reason or another. At the same time, you help to mitigate the utility company`s peak load. As a result, the efficiency of our electrical system as a whole goes up.