Warning: That climate advisor I trusted gave me bad advice about solar panels

Last spring a local energy consultant told me to skip the battery system and just get grid-tied panels. He said batteries weren't worth the extra $8,000 for my home in Phoenix. Then we had that 3-day heat wave in July and the grid went down for 12 hours. My panels shut off like he said they would since there was no battery backup. I sat in the dark with no AC while my neighbor with a $5,000 battery kept her fridge running. Has anyone else been burned by bad solar advice like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_johnson24d ago

You skipped a battery because one guy told you to, and now three days without AC has you ready to write off all solar advice. One bad heat wave in Phoenix doesn't mean every grid-tied setup is a disaster, plus your neighbor's $5,000 battery only saved her fridge for 12 hours. Did you actually run the numbers on how often the grid goes down in your area before you made that call?

mary_schmidt24d ago

Honestly Thomas, I think you're right that you need to look at the local data before deciding on a battery. But here's the thing I've been thinking about - that $5,000 battery your neighbor got only saved her fridge for 12 hours, so imagine if she had AC running too. It would burn through that battery in maybe 3 or 4 hours tops. So unless you're getting a huge battery, you're not powering AC through a multi day outage anyway. @thomas_johnson makes a good point about knowing your grid, but I think people underestimate how much power AC actually pulls compared to a fridge. You basically have to choose between keeping food cold or keeping yourself cool, and neither option sounds great in a Phoenix heat wave.