You can take advantage of the abundant power the sun produces every single day via the off grid solar system or vice versa. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries like Germany reached more than 50% share in electricity generation via intermittent readwrites renewables. Even the current Ukraine war has pushed the Germans to opt for 80% of their energy to come from renewables. As more countries begin to harness the power of the sun, we will experience a rise in the build of off grid solar systems and their counterparts.
Off Grid Solar System—What is it?
With the off grid solar system, energy is stored without connecting it to the utility grid. It comprises four major components and includes; a charger controller, inverter, solar panels, and battery bank. Though there are other components, however, these are major ones.
Major differences between off grid and on grid solar system
First, we’ve established that an off grid solar system is not connected to a utility grid, the opposite is true for the on grid solar system, it is connected to a utility grid. Whether you want to invest in the off or on grid solar system, you should have an idea or adequate knowledge of both as this may you make pre-informed decisions. Remember, it’s not a bad idea to do a little homework here and there. That being said, below are their differences;
Difference #1
When it comes to access to electricity, for the off grid, you rely solely on two sources: the sun’s energy and the energy stored in your batteries. There is no access to electricity from any other source besides this two. This means that when it’s cloudy, no energy will be generated to supply your house or establishment.
On the other hand, for the on grid, there will always be access to electricity except in situations when the grid goes down. This is because it is connected to a utility grid.
Difference #2
There are situations when your system will produce amounts of electricity that exceeds your usage or energy goals. For the product used, this excess energy is sent to the batteries for storage. The energy stored in the batteries can now be used subsequently sportstimesdaily when the solar system is not working to produce energy. For the on-grid, when excess energy is produced, rather than send it to the batteries, it is sent to the grid where you receive compensation for it.
Difference #3
When it comes to being billed for electricity, for the off grid solar system, there are zero electric bills. However, this is not a sort of relief for the user because installing them is pretty expensive. This is because of the price of equipment that comes with its installation.
On the other hand, when you operate a grid-tied system, there’s usually no significant change to the charge you receive for the electricity bill. You’ll pay for flat rate fee in the form of a service or delivery fee. You may also pay for demand charges, especially in periods maangomenews known as “peak demand period”. Furthermore, when you use a large amount of electricity, your grid suffers and
you’ll pay for it.
Which do you think is better; off grid solar system or its counterpart?
