Grid-tied system

A GRID-TIED system is a basic solar installation that uses a standard GRID-TIED inverter and does not have any battery storage. This setup is ideal for customers who are already connected to the grid and wish to add solar energy to their home. GRID-TIED systems are straightforward to design and are very cost-effective due to their relatively few components. The main objective of a GRID-TIED system is to lower your energy bill and benefit from rising electricity tariffs.

One disadvantage of this type of system is that when the power goes out, so does your system. This is for safety reasons, as linemen working on power lines need to know there is no source feeding the grid. GRID-TIED inverters must automatically disconnect when they don’t sense the grid. Consequently, you cannot provide power during an outage or emergency, nor can you store energy for later use. Additionally, you cannot control when you use the power from your system, such as during peak demand periods.

However, if a customer has a basic GRID-TIED system, they are not at a disadvantage if they later wish to add storage. The solution is to implement an AC-coupled system, where the original GRID-TIED inverter is paired with a battery backup inverter. This is an excellent option for customers who want to install solar now to take advantage of controlled electricity costs but aren’t ready to invest in batteries just yet.

Customers can benefit from net metering, allowing them to send power back to the grid when their solar production exceeds consumption. Conversely, during periods when their energy usage surpasses what the solar system generates, they can purchase power from the utility. This means the customer is not entirely reliant on solar energy to meet all their energy needs.