Residential Solar Power System – What Is A Solar Intertie System?

In this post, I am going to explain a residential solar power system that is intertied with the power grid. Generally, there are 3 types of home solar power system.

Types Of Home Solar Power Systems

According to Michael Harvey of Earth 4 Energy e-book, the types solar systems are:

1) Grid-intertied solar power system

2) Grid-intertied solar power system with battery backup

3) Off-grid solar power setup

One thing is for sure, you can’t tie in your home solar system to the grid on your own. The power utility companies don’t like that.

You need someone who is qualified and certified to do the connection for you. You have to engage the service of a professional solar contractor.

Tied In To The Power Grid

Here’s the general idea behind a solar intertie system. Assuming you engage a solar contractor to build a solar generator system with the solar module, charge controller, DC disconnect, meter gauges etc for your home which connects to most of the household electrical appliances.

The system is also tied in to the main power box, which means you are tie in to the power grid.

With an intertie setup, the solar system in generating more power than your house is using. Your power meter essentially is spinning backwards because the excess energy is going right back to the utility grid and being used by someone else drawing power from the grid.

Imagine a big bank account. You can withdraw or make money deposit. In this case, the money is electricity. When you have excess power, you are depositing money into the bank account (power grid) and someone else can make a withdrawal.

The best thing is, you are being paid for your contribution to the grid. In actual sense, you are a power producer…well a small one anyway.

A Little Help From The Government

The concept of solar intertie system is such an important concept that the state and federal governments are legislating that utility companies must allow their solar-producing users to tie in with the power grid.

Generally, utility companies don’t like small time solar power producers. It increases their technical risks, not to mention decreasing their revenue.

In some states, the power companies must pay you the same rate that they charge their normal customers for power. If the costs of energy were to spike, you will receive a bigger payout for your solar power contribution.

However, in some other states, your contribution will be paid less, but this situation is changing with legislation. It would not be a stretch to say that the viability of the entire home solar power industry depends on the concept of grid intertie.

Your Home, The Power Generator

If the payback rates are high enough, it would make more economic sense for home owners to invest in a residential solar power system. Their Return On Investment (ROI) period will be shorter because they are being paid by the power utility companies.

Imagine when there are hundreds of thousands homes with solar system and power is being feed back into the grid, we would be less dependent on fossil or coal to generate energy. The national power grid would be supported by multiple small solar producers.

Home Solar And Wind Power Videos

Do you want to know how you can use solar modules or wind generator to reduce your home energy consumption? If you do, check out the 30 solar and wind power for home videos e-book we’ve compiled. It’s free to download.

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Related web pages:

1) Earth 4 Energy Review – A quick review on the top selling renewable energy guide from Clickbank.

2) Magniwork Reviews – Is Magniwork Generator System A Scam?

3) Green DIY Energy Reviews – Is Green DIY Energy Another Scam?