Off-Grid vs. Grid-Connected Solar Power

How to live "off-grid" in an increasingly connected society

Years ago, most people who had solar panels on their homes lived in remote areas not reached by the grid.  Solar energy might have been their only option for power, as they lived off-grid.  Away from society and perhaps shunning capitalistic pressures, these solar power pioneers were often self-reliant and tough.

Today, when you hear someone talking about living off-grid, the concept is similar.  Yet there are some important differences from a societal, conservationist and economic standpoint.  Here in the U.S. and in most areas of the developed world, it is rare to find people living in areas to which power lines are not run.  Yet, some people are chosing to live “off-grid,” through installation of solar panels, residential wind turbines or other renewable energy sources.

This home could be off-grid!

So what is the difference between off-grid and grid-connected solar power?  Unless you still live in a remote region unreached by power lines, the concepts are quite similar.  People with solar panels on their property can effectively live “off-grid,” meaning that they are 100% reliant on renewable energy generated by their installation.  The benefits of such a lifestyle include the lack of electricity bills, freedom from rate hikes, and security of being able to enjoy power in emergency situations.

On the other hand, grid-connected solar power can be more flexible.  Solar panels can provide 100% or more of your electricity needs.  Excess power generated by your panel array can be fed back into the grid, and net metering can actually turn your meter backwards.  You’ll get credit for this extra energy and then, if you need to draw on grid-based electricity due to dark overcast days, the cost is lowered as a result or may even be free.

For many people, off-grid vs. grid-connected solar power is basically the same.  When you reduce your energy usage, you can basically live “off-grid” once you have solar panels installed…. even if you are grid-connected.

Certainly, some of us truly live disconnected from the power grid, but that number is shrinking each year.  With solar power, however, we can effectively live off-grid even in the midst of a subdivision!

How empowering is that?

Tags: grid-connected solar power, installation solar panels, live off-grid, net metering, off-grid, solar panels home, solar panels installed