Californians have embraced rooftop solar panels more than anyone in the U.S., but many are learning the hard way the systems won’t keep the lights on during blackouts.
That’s because most panels are designed to supply power to the grid — not directly to houses. During the heat of the day, solar systems can crank out more juice than a home can handle. Conversely, they don’t produce power at all at night. So systems are tied into the grid, and the vast majority aren’t working this week as PG&E Corp. cuts power to much of Northern California to prevent wildfires.
The only way for most solar panels to work during a blackout is pairing them with batteries. That market is just starting to take off. Sunrun Inc., the largest U.S. rooftop solar company, said some of its customers are making it through the blackouts with batteries, but it’s a tiny group — countable in the hundreds.
Teen Athlete Goes Viral After Revealing She Was Sexually Harassed by Trans Athlete in Locker Room
Trump-aligned House holdouts accused of holding ‘life-saving’ veterans bill ‘hostage’ over SAVE America Act
CNN Needs Trauma Counselors – Paramount Looking to Actual Journalist Bari Weiss to Lead Both CNN and CBS News After Merger
Harvard astronomer tapped to lead White House UFO council says US government ‘baffled by what they are seeing’
House Democrat Ro Khanna says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in West Bank
Trump-appointed judge permanently ends Proud Boys’ Jan 6 case, says Constitution left him no choice
Church in China Announces Massive Government Raid, Almost Three Dozen Christians Detained
Brazilian Couple Sentenced to Prison for Homeschooling Their Own Children
Europe’s demographic time bomb is killing its leaders’ popularity
WATCH: GOP senator warns ‘hammer-and-sickle’ politics will define Democrats’ 2028 primary
Appeals Court Blocks Part of ‘Stop WOKE Act’ in Florida, Allows Professors to Openly Teach Racism Against Whites
DNA technology leads to arrest in 1988 killing of Orlando woman after nearly four decades
Trump’s EPA chief pushes back on climate skeptics being labeled ‘science deniers’
Graham Platner Officially Goes Out How You’d Expect: ‘Free Palestine,’ Vulgar Message for ICE, No Accountability or Seriousness
Nicole Brown Simpson told former lover she’d ‘rather die’ than return to O.J. Simpson before her murder
“It’s the perfect combination for getting through these shutdowns,” Sunrun Chairman Ed Fenster said in an interview. He expects battery sales to boom in the wake of the outages.
And no, trying to run appliances off the power in a Tesla Inc. electric car won’t work, at least without special equipment.
Story cited here.
