That’s not what he described, he stated; his panels were “not connected to his home”, but we’re connected to the grid. I agree grid tied Is the norm as in my case, but, in the event of a power failure, I CAN supply power to my home via my solar system where HE can’t.
I'm on mobile so I haven't read 100% of this, but do you have batteries? That's the only situation I'm aware of in which you can continue to use a grid tied PV system during a power outage.
I have batteries that can be tied in within an hour. The Lightning truck makes this task much, much easier. My cabin is connected to my solar and I struggle with the concept as Joe described. Maybe Joe is connected and doesn’t understand how the system does/can work in the event the power goes off (most people won’t know/have the ability to maintain power using solar). I’m certified low, medium and high voltage both surface and underground, have been for 25 years. When sh**t hits the fan, I’ll have power and it will be so nice to have the Ford Lightning EV to provide transportation and back up power.
I'm not understanding this. Is your PV system at another location than your house? My system is grid tied and when I'm using electricity on a sunny day I'm fairly confident the energy I'm using is being produced by my panels. As others have noted because there is resistance in wire the electricity will travel the least resistant path which would be to my house (not a mile to my closest neighbor). When my system is producing more than I'm using my meter turns backward (and possibly to my closet neighbor) and at night or when my usage is high my meter turns forward.
Do you have two separate meters? One outgoing, that measures what your panels put in the grid; and one incoming that measures what you’re consuming? And is there a connection between the grid sides of both those meters? If so, congratulations, the electricity produced by your panels is consumed by your home. The fact that it flows through the outgoing meter first, and then right back through the incoming meter is irrelevant. As is the fact that the system shuts down when it doesn’t see grid power during an outage, that’s just a safety feature.
Nope, sorry - you miss the point - you are by definition not returning the solar power to the grid that would otherwise be going there - so the grid must level that power (replace it) with alternate power - and therefore your EV charging, even with your solar panels, is causing the grid leveling system to work that much harder. Fact. Again, I have a 32kw solar panel system (124 panels), produce twice what my oyster farm uses, charge my car at that property most times, yet DO NOT POWER MY CAR WITH SOLAR, full stop. It is powered off the grid. I separately sell power to the grid. That is how it works. Whether or not some amps do come off my panels, which is the case, is irrelevant. Does some of the power that goes into my car's batteries technically come out of my panels? Of course - but that's irrelevant. As long as I am grid-connected at the same time, I am not charging my car with those panels from an economic perspective - I am leeching off an integrated system and my COST is the opportunity cost of power that would have gone to the grid.
This is correct when in generator mode, but incorrect when in solar production mode. When in solar production mode and the grid is "on", the solar is by definition backfeeding - just putting power down to the grid and the local uses. Electricity at that point is agnostic as to source - some comes from the grid, some from the panels, depending on proximity and demand/source amounts. A passing cloud or turning on an appliance changes that mix. All of us with solar or any form of local generation have switches that "turn off" our solar/generator grid connection when the grid is down, such as during a storm event. We either use our battery backup, or a generator during that period. This is a basic requirement to avoid hurting grid workers, as you say.
Why not in your case? It is basic physics. Are you off-grid? Because if you are on grid, when you charge, you will be firing up an external grid-leveling system, whether or not you have solar panels. Fact.
Another exhaustive answer, and yet you’re still wrong. I think you’re confusing two separate issues: on the financial aspect you’re absolutely correct. On the purely technical aspect, you undercut your own argument when you state that, yes, some of the electricity from your panels is charging your car. You say it’s irrelevant, but I think it’s exactly the subject of this discussion. The next sentence shows, again, how you’re conflating the economic and technical aspects. Absolutely understandable since you’re extremely knowledgeable about economics, but I don’t think that’s the main focus of the conversation here. Lastly, your point about grid leveling having to work harder and fire up the gas peaker plants every time my solar panels charge my EV just seems like odd whataboutism. Let’s take all the progress we can get and let’s not have the perfect be the enemy of the good. Cheers!
Sorry Dave you miss the point, currently my Power Boost, as good as it is cost me .15 cents per mile in fuel, I get paid .12 cents per kW for what I put on the grid, you sir are lucky as you are able to put 200% of your annual usage off PV that net you the income you speak of, me 150% and I’m tickled to death. Back to the subject, I can spend out of my fixed income .15 cents per mile and climbing OR I can not receive the .12 per kW that I get from the power company, put it in my truck and go 2.3 miles. So, my math is very simple and I save myself money in the long run. So far this year in the 7 months that I’ve owned my Power Boost I’ve spent over $4k in fuel out of my fixed income. If I can use my PV panels and cut that in half, I WIN.
