They power nearly every electronic device we use. They help us get work done. They can even help us get to work. And sometimes, they explode in peoples hands, creating one of the largest consumer electronics bans of the 21st century. I’m talking about batteries.
Solar PV systems and batteries go together like bread and butter, movies and popcorn, etc. So can our company install batteries? Unfortunately, no. At least, not now we can’t. I will explain:
A majority of customers would like to have batteries installed so that they can get “off the grid”. Essentially, they don’t want to have to pay utility companies anymore. They want to be totally self-sufficient. The unfortunate reality is that if you have a utility line running to your house, we cannot legally remove that line. It is the property of the utility company, and they don’t like it when people touch their stuff. “What if you ask them to remove it?” Then you’ll be told a stern “NO” before your sentence is even complete.
A perfectly legal thing to do is to install a battery-based system; in other words, a Solar PV system with a battery backup that is still connected to the grid. Thus, you have three sources of power: the Solar PV system, the battery and the electric grid. It is perfectly fine with your local government and the utility companies if you install this type of system.
But another problem emerges; the battery technology for homes is either hard to get, or it’s too expensive. This is unless, of course, you want to wire a bunch of car batteries together. But we definitely don’t recommend this. You have poisonous fumes, fire hazards and acid to deal with in that scenario. But you might be wondering: “What about those cool batteries like the Tesla Powerwall?”. We love the Tesla Powerwall and we want to be able to offer it to our customers. But as of right now, they are very expensive and hard to get. This should change once Tesla’s Gigafactory is up and running at 100%. (I will update this post if they become available to us.)
Be assured, we want to offer batteries to our customers. They are a fantastic and very promising technology. I’m sure the day is fast approaching when we can install battery-based systems. But that time is not now. In the meantime, this should not stop you from installing a Solar PV system for your home. Existing systems can be retrofitted in the future once the batteries have become readily available. That will be a great day!
Have any more questions about solar? Would you like your own free quote for a SunPower solar system? Give us a call at 845-255-0610 or email us at info@nyssf.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Written by Ethan J. Powell