Purchases can be scary. And the bigger they are, the more overwhelming they can feel. After all, how many of us have made a purchase that we later regretted? Maybe we were a little hasty to pull the trigger, maybe we didn’t do enough research because life got in the way and we were distracted, and then – BAM – our new car is a lemon, or our new house’s porch collapses. The question... To Grid or not to grid? What we are really asking is should you get a battery backup? At Shine Solar, we understand the fear of committing to a big purchase. That’s why we want to provide the research for you in this week’s installment of our FAQ series. Today, we’re going to present you with the big decision after choosing to go solar: to grid or not to grid? First, let’s talk about what that even means. While most of our customers prefer to remain connected to the grid (i.e., their utility company), others have questions about complete self-sufficiency, achieved by going completely OFF-grid through the utilization of a battery backup. At Shine Solar, honesty goes hand in hand with education, so here is the advice we give during our free solar analyses. We can absolutely provide a battery backup for you. However, we do not recommend it for two reasons. Number one, with net metering, you can use the utility company as a natural battery backup and send your extra power back to them. In some states, by law, they have to pay you for the excess power you send back to them. While they don't write you a check for it, they do pay you in the form of bill credits. When you send your extra power to them, your meter literally spins backward. So not only is it free to stay with the power company as your battery backup, they also pay you in the form of bill credits to do it. The second reason we don't recommend a battery backup is that battery technology right now is still very new, and because of that the cost is extremely high. A five-kilowatt battery will run between $5,500 and $7,000, and with the average system size being higher than that, it's going to totally wipe out your savings. It's just not cost-effective right now. The good news is that net metering is a natural battery for our customers. On top of that, when batteries do get cheaper in the future (and they will), you have already taken the first step. You already have the solar array, now you can purchase a battery at a respectable price, at a reasonable price, add it to your system, and you're set. To learn more, visit us at www.shinesolar.com, or call us at 844-80-SHINE.
