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Anonymous Coward
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Join Date: May 2004
 
2021-07-20, 21:38

I've been looking at photovoltaic power generation since before I joined the Navy, which means the 1970s. I've never owned a house, though, but I did buy a setup for my sister's house, and she lives in sunny Southern California.

Personally, the only reason I would go off grid is because you have to get a contractor (to be legal in California) to hook up to the grid and I'm not ready to pay for that. I would go off grid to power a workshop if I could do all the work myself.

A grid tie photovoltaic system means you are using the grid as a storage system. If you produce excess electricity, your meter runs backwards, and your power company pays you for it. You can still have a battery backup, so you can take your time investing in your battery bank. You will have more flexibility and peace of mind with a grid tie system because in addition to potentially making money from the power company, you are still connected to their system just in case something happens to your own system.

P.S. They cost more, but I would get true sine wave inverters. And this is something no one would ever design, but I'd put in redundancy, which you are well aware of having worked in the Naval Nuclear Power Program.
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