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.
Obama, Mamdani sing ‘Wheels on the Bus’ with Bronx kids during first joint appearance: video
NYC teen shot dead on Queens basketball court as bystanders filmed; police searching for gunman
Rubio targets Nicaraguan official over alleged torture tied to ‘brutal’ Ortega regime
‘Lego bandit’ accused in bizarre $34K scheme replacing minifigures with pasta
Pro-Life Activist Targeted By Biden Walks Away with Massive Lawsuit Payout
Airline worker stole plane, performed barrel roll before deadly crash: Inside final moments
Trump DOJ Keeps Biden-Era Gun Rule
Walz rips Trump and Vance in Europe, says ‘feeble-minded, trigger-happy president’ has no exit plan for Iran
This African Country Could Start Islamic ‘Sharia Courts’
Ilhan Omar’s office says she’s ‘not a millionaire’ after $30M filing revised down to under $100K: report
US Navy releases photos of ‘fresh meals,’ pushes back on reports of food shortages on Middle East warships
Perfect Justice: South Koreans Teach US Punk a Hard Lesson – 6 Months Hard Labor for Disgusting Public Behavior
Someone Should Sue to Break Up Big Tech’s DC Lobby Monopoly
Newsom administration allegedly knew of $2B California budget error for months: report
Mississippi Governor Trolls Brits Into Oblivion Over Report UK Would Rank as Poorest State
“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.
