Although they are most common in remote locations without utility service, solar off-grid systems can work virtually anywhere providing electrical power. These systems operate independently from the grid to provide all of a household’s electricity.

They include;

• • a battery bank with cabinet or storage box to store the solar electricity for use during night-time or cloudy weather
  • a charge controller to protect the battery bank from overcharge
  • an inverter to convert the DC PV array power to AC for use with AC household appliances
  • all required disconnects and associated electrical safety gear
  • a monitoring system

 

Stand-alone, solar off-grid systems are some of the most challenging types of solar systems to design. An off-grid system needs to be designed and sized to meet your specific energy and load requirements. This should be based on an average daily load in watt-hours that will be calculated from your energy usage.

Solar Grid-tied Systems with Battery Backup

This type is very similar to an off-grid system in design and components, but adds the utility grid, which reduces the need for the system to provide all the energy all the time.