How can emerging solar technologies provide new solutions to unfulfilled needs for property owners in Florida?
Imagine you're in your home, with hurricane winds howling outside - but you're safe. There's a flash of light, and you hear a loud pop as a pole-mounted power transformer blows a few blocks away. Everyone's electricity goes out in the neighborhood - except for yours. Even if the power outage lasts for days (or weeks), your lights will stay on, your phone will stay charged, and your air conditioning will keep you comfortable.
Thanks to recent solar technology breakthroughs, that's a real possibility now. In this article, we're going to dive into these new developments, discuss how they can keep a stable and self-sufficient flow of power running throughout your home, and discover why you should take advantage of it now.
Thanks to recent solar technology breakthroughs, that's a real possibility now. In this article, we're going to dive into these new developments, discuss how they can keep a stable and self-sufficient flow of power running throughout your home, and discover why you should take advantage of it now.
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No one else in the world deals with electricity blackouts on the same level as Floridians. Due to a combination of hurricanes and poorly hardened utility power grids, over 25 million residents of Florida have experienced power outages in the decade from 2008 to 2018. That's more than any other state in the US, according to a study published by Eaton, an Ohio-based power management company.
Power outages in the US are on the rise. The United States alone “experiences more electric outages than any other developed nation,” according to a report from the non-profit Pew Charitable Trusts. That makes Florida the global epicenter of power blackouts. Blackouts might seem like a small problem to focus on when compared to some of the major issues we face today, such as COVID-19, but it can mix with Florida's heat to wreak disaster. When Hurricane Irma hit the state in 2017, a Hollywood nursing home - The Rehabilitation Center in Hollywood Hills - lost power for several days as the temperature inside the building rapidly climbed as high as 110 degrees. Twelve elderly patients ultimately died of heat-related conditions. |
UNDErGROUNDING: no silver bullet
Activists and municipal governments across Florida have pushed for more "undergrounding", or burying power lines underground, to better protect them from wind storms like Irma. However, that may not be the silver bullet they are hoping for. Irma was primarily a wind storm that sent branches and debris flying at 120 miles per hour through the air, taking out above-ground power lines. If Irma had been a water storm, underground power lines would have faced severe flooding and storm surge.
“It’s true that if you put them underground, you mitigate the risk of damage from wind events and flying debris. But now what you’ve done is you’ve traded off that risk,” says Ted Kury, director of Energy Studies at the University of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center.
Some regional officials have also warned that rising sea levels could flood underground lines. “Everything we do has to take into consideration the rising seas and the best method to secure our infrastructure for as long into the future as we possibly can,” says Miami Dade Commissioner Levine Cava. “That includes our roads, our houses, our buildings. And wiring is just part of that.”
There are no easy or inexpensive choices to make to improve our infrastructure. As global warming and climate change are causing an increase in the severity of hurricanes and natural disasters every year, along with rising sea levels, we've been put under pressure to look outside the box for an answer - and we have found a few.
“It’s true that if you put them underground, you mitigate the risk of damage from wind events and flying debris. But now what you’ve done is you’ve traded off that risk,” says Ted Kury, director of Energy Studies at the University of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center.
Some regional officials have also warned that rising sea levels could flood underground lines. “Everything we do has to take into consideration the rising seas and the best method to secure our infrastructure for as long into the future as we possibly can,” says Miami Dade Commissioner Levine Cava. “That includes our roads, our houses, our buildings. And wiring is just part of that.”
There are no easy or inexpensive choices to make to improve our infrastructure. As global warming and climate change are causing an increase in the severity of hurricanes and natural disasters every year, along with rising sea levels, we've been put under pressure to look outside the box for an answer - and we have found a few.
SOLAR solutionS
Maybe you can't get utility power delivered to your home during a blackout, but you can set up your home with its own renewable energy source. There’s never been a better time to invest in onsite power solutions – for the first time in US history, onsite power generation is cheaper than the utility. To start this research, I looked towards the top solar tech firms in the world to learn how they are developing their own solutions to the increasing rate of power grid failure.
To give some context, most typical solar energy systems are "grid-tied", meaning that they depend on the existing utility power grid in order to operate. During a grid power failure, they stop working entirely. They aren't designed to create their own micro-grid, which is needed for the electrical system in your house to operate. Besides the extra technological innovations that are required to create a stable and usable power micro-grid from a home solar inverter, there are some safety reasons behind this: During a grid failure, the utility power lines must stay de-energized and safe for utility workers to make necessary repairs. If the home's electrical system is energized without the right equipment installed, it could send power through the lines and shock the line repairmen!
Fortunately, the top solar equipment manufacturers are rising to meet these challenges, and several of them have developed safe systems to provide backup power from solar panels during a power outage. SMA, SolarEdge, Enphase, and Tesla have each brought their own unique approach to the table, with their own advantages and benefits, ranging from small stream of backup energy during daylight, to a stable and seamless flow of renewable power throughout nights and rainy days.
To give some context, most typical solar energy systems are "grid-tied", meaning that they depend on the existing utility power grid in order to operate. During a grid power failure, they stop working entirely. They aren't designed to create their own micro-grid, which is needed for the electrical system in your house to operate. Besides the extra technological innovations that are required to create a stable and usable power micro-grid from a home solar inverter, there are some safety reasons behind this: During a grid failure, the utility power lines must stay de-energized and safe for utility workers to make necessary repairs. If the home's electrical system is energized without the right equipment installed, it could send power through the lines and shock the line repairmen!
Fortunately, the top solar equipment manufacturers are rising to meet these challenges, and several of them have developed safe systems to provide backup power from solar panels during a power outage. SMA, SolarEdge, Enphase, and Tesla have each brought their own unique approach to the table, with their own advantages and benefits, ranging from small stream of backup energy during daylight, to a stable and seamless flow of renewable power throughout nights and rainy days.
battery-free backup power: SMA SUNNY BOY
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SMA Solar Technology, a manufacturer based in Germany, produces a cost-effective line of "Sunny Boy" solar inverters which can safely power a dedicated outlet directly from the solar panels, as long as the sun is shining. Each Sunny Boy inverter can be connected to one outlet, streaming up to 16.6 amps of pure solar energy, even when the utility grid is down. That's enough to run a couple plug-in lights and fans, and charge your devices and batteries.
This inverter is technically grid-tied: The Sunny Boy normally routes solar power straight into your home's electrical system, and in a blackout it stops functioning. However, the inverter has a second "off-grid" mode in which it cuts off power from your home's electrical system, and re-routes solar power to a dedicated outlet. This outlet only exists for one thing: power blackouts. The Sunny Boy system can be a lifesaver in an emergency and it's extremely cost-effective - the inverter actually saves you money overall, through your power bill. While SMA's Sunny Boy combines emergency backup features with inarguable cost savings, it's not quite a full solution for providing and maintaining unperturbed access to electricity throughout your home during a blackout. To get the backup outlet to work, you have to flip a switch that will disconnect all solar equipment from your home's electrical system, so the Sunny Boy won't run your house lights or appliances during a blackout if you can't plug them into that dedicated outlet. |
Sunny Boy inverter. Dedicated backup power outlet shown bottom right.
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Solar & Battery Combos: Solaredge, tesla, & enphase
When you need consistent power day or night, shine or shade, a combination of solar electric panel systems and home backup batteries are ideal. A solar power generation and battery combination can provide a stable flow of energy to go wherever you need it most throughout your home.
Solaredge storedge & Battery
Most home backup batteries work exclusively with high DC voltages for both charging and supplying power. Homes and buildings run on AC voltage, so before they can utilize these batteries, an inverter is still needed to convert the DC voltage from the batteries into an AC voltage that the building can use.
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That's where the SolarEdge "StorEdge" comes into play. Not only can the StorEdge function as a standard solar inverter by processing the raw solar electricity from photovoltaic solar panels, but it can also process charge and process the output from DC home backup batteries. This process is called "DC Coupling", and even with the advent of newer AC batteries, DC coupling still has an upper hand advantage in efficiency.
The StorEdge system consists of several components that all must work together for the system to function, including the inverter, battery, auto-transformer, energy meter, and dedicated load center. The dedicated load center is a small breaker panel that can provide backup power to up to 25 amps of breakers supplying loads that are considered "essential", such as lights, appliances, and specific outlets. While this 25 amp maximum is enough to provide for most people's needs during a power blackout, it can still be a limitation for those that want uninterrupted power throughout their entire house. |
StorEdge system with LG battery.
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With a skilled team of installers, StorEdge can be a very energy-efficient and practical home backup power system, but it still comes with a little less flexibility and fewer smart monitoring features than other newer systems such as the Tesla Powerwall or Enphase Ensemble.
Tesla powerwall
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Tesla makes a modular home backup battery called the "Powerwall" that can charge and store enough energy to feed your home's main electrical panel. Home backup batteries like the Powerwall can supply electricity to any lights, appliances and outlets in your house - at least, until the batteries run out of power. That's why it's important for installers to carefully match home backup batteries with the right solar electric system to charge the battery during the day, so that it can continue to supply power at night.
Tesla designed their latest "Powerwall 2" around compatibility with the leading inverter manufacturers, including SMA, Enphase, and SolarEdge. With these inverters, the Powerwall will be charged from solar energy during a blackout. |
Tesla Powerwall
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These batteries are popular, but due to low production and exclusive access, they can be hard to get ahold of. It makes sense why there is such high demand: As mentioned earlier, most other home backup batteries output DC voltage, requiring special solar inverters to process the battery output and convert the power to AC voltage that your home can use. Only a limited selection of beefed-up solar inverters, like the StorEdge, have the functionality to process this power. The Tesla Powerwall, on the other hand, works directly with AC power. Although it cooperates smoothly with the leading solar inverters, its sleek modular design doesn't rely on any other equipment to function. That gives it the flexibility to safely connect straight to your home's electrical system, and put out more total power when needed. The output is not limited by any inverter, and it can be easily scaled up by adding more batteries. This gives installers extra flexibility to tailor your system to your needs. And the Powerwall provides smart energy monitoring, so you can check battery levels and charging status any time with just your laptop or smartphone.
Since the Powerwall was released, there have been no other back up batteries on the market like it - but thanks to California-based company called Enphase, that's all changing right now.
Since the Powerwall was released, there have been no other back up batteries on the market like it - but thanks to California-based company called Enphase, that's all changing right now.
enphase ensemble
Enphase is renowned for their "micro-inverters", which are modular inverters designed to be coupled with individual solar panels. They are installed directly underneath the solar panels, and the advantages in overall system efficiency with Enphase's microinverters can be significant. This micro-inverter technology is rapidly replacing conventional "central inverter" tech, according to a 2019 report by Bloomberg News, and it may be seen as the solar tech of the future.
Enphase is still evolving their micro-inverter technology, and now they are incorporating it into high-efficiency AC batteries that work seamlessly with their solar production systems. They call this their "Ensemble" technology, alluding to a new level of harmony between the different components of a complete renewable energy system. In the event of a power outage, the Ensemble immediately takes over without a blink. All power in your home stays on, every light and outlet can continue to function normally. The solar panels will continue to charge the home backup battery without any interruption. This is arguably the most elegant home battery backup solution ever created.
The AC batteries of the Ensemble are called "Encharge" batteries, and they share most of the advantages of the Tesla Powerwall, along with the significanly increased reliability, efficiency and longevity of micro-inverter technology. Enphase provides a 10-year / 4000 cycle warranty for their Encharge batteries, whichever comes first. That means even if you completely discharge and recharge the battery once every single day, the warranty will still cover it for 10 years, which is quite a long time for a battery.
There's a lot of excitement about the Ensemble system, but it still has yet to be released, and is expected to hit the market this later year. And when it hits, it will be a gamechanger as the world's first "grid agnostic" solar + storage system. "Grid agnostic" means that it can continue to function completely normally whether the utility grid is up or down, because it is able to form its own "micro-grid" instantly. Their Enphase Ensemble 101 video below provides a great explanation:
Enphase is still evolving their micro-inverter technology, and now they are incorporating it into high-efficiency AC batteries that work seamlessly with their solar production systems. They call this their "Ensemble" technology, alluding to a new level of harmony between the different components of a complete renewable energy system. In the event of a power outage, the Ensemble immediately takes over without a blink. All power in your home stays on, every light and outlet can continue to function normally. The solar panels will continue to charge the home backup battery without any interruption. This is arguably the most elegant home battery backup solution ever created.
The AC batteries of the Ensemble are called "Encharge" batteries, and they share most of the advantages of the Tesla Powerwall, along with the significanly increased reliability, efficiency and longevity of micro-inverter technology. Enphase provides a 10-year / 4000 cycle warranty for their Encharge batteries, whichever comes first. That means even if you completely discharge and recharge the battery once every single day, the warranty will still cover it for 10 years, which is quite a long time for a battery.
There's a lot of excitement about the Ensemble system, but it still has yet to be released, and is expected to hit the market this later year. And when it hits, it will be a gamechanger as the world's first "grid agnostic" solar + storage system. "Grid agnostic" means that it can continue to function completely normally whether the utility grid is up or down, because it is able to form its own "micro-grid" instantly. Their Enphase Ensemble 101 video below provides a great explanation:
Although the Enphase Ensemble hasn't been released quite yet, they are currently taking pre-orders, and system design can start now. With our Enphase-experienced team of engineers and system designers at Driven Solar, we can help with that! Just contact us with the form at the bottom of this page.
Conclusion
In summary, we have covered four of the most popular backup energy production and storage systems, and the solutions they provide to utility power blackouts:
At Driven Solar, we have experience installing all of these systems and more, and we can help you select the right system to suit your needs. There are huge tax incentives right now for getting a solar production system, but they will be going away over the next few years. In this day and age, there are no reasons left to keep solar at bay, and right now, this is a kairotic opportunity. Scroll down to the contact form and leave us a message, so we can start discussing how a Solar + Backup system can work for you.
- SMA Sunny Boy: A solar inverter with a backup power outlet. Cost effective, with limited backup functionality.
- SolarEdge StorEdge: A DC-coupled solar production and backup storage system. Highly efficient and practical, with a modest selection of features and flexibility.
- Tesla Powerwall: An AC Home Backup Battery designed to work with the leading solar inverters. Streamlined with modern features and greater output potential, slightly sacrificing efficiency in the process.
- Enphase Ensemble: A fully "Grid Agnostic", AC-coupled solar production and backup storage system. Best choice in overall efficiency, reliability, output potential, and features - but it's brand new technology that has yet to be released this year.
At Driven Solar, we have experience installing all of these systems and more, and we can help you select the right system to suit your needs. There are huge tax incentives right now for getting a solar production system, but they will be going away over the next few years. In this day and age, there are no reasons left to keep solar at bay, and right now, this is a kairotic opportunity. Scroll down to the contact form and leave us a message, so we can start discussing how a Solar + Backup system can work for you.
- Michael Frank
works cited
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Glorioso, Alexandra. “Hollywood Hills Nursing Home Residents Were 'Sheltering in Danger' during Hurricane Irma, Report Finds.” Politico PRO, Politico Florida, 5 Nov. 2018, www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/11/05/hollywood-hills-nursing-home-residents-were-sheltering-in-danger-during-hurricane-irma-report-finds-681857.
Cangialosi, John P., et al. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT: HURRICANE IRMA. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, 30 June 2018, www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf.
Kury, Ted. “Should Power Lines Go Underground?” University of Florida News, University of Florida, 13 Sept. 2017, news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/09/should-power-lines-go-underground.html.
Contributors. “With the Sea Rising, Are Underground Power Lines Really The Solution To Power Outages In South Florida?” The Invading Sea, The Invading Sea, 18 July 2018, www.theinvadingsea.com/2018/07/18/with-the-sea-rising-are-underground-power-lines-really-the-solution-to-power-outages-in-south-florida/.
Deign, Jason. “6 Charts Showing the Renewables Threat to Natural Gas.” Green Technology, Greentech Media, 20 Sept. 2018, www.greentechmedia.com/amp/article/6-charts-showing-the-renewables-threat-to-gas.
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