What Does “Off Grid” Mean for Solar?

When you install home solar panels, you can unlock major benefits like greater energy independence, your own renewable power, reduced electric bills, and a smaller carbon footprint. 

While solar panels can significantly change how you get your electricity, it won’t likely change it completely. Some of it is likely to still come from the grid. 

Very few solar homes go completely off grid. Read on to learn why and what being truly 'off the grid' means.

What is the grid?

The grid is the infrastructure used by utility companies to transmit and distribute electricity. That includes transmission lines, electrical substations, and the power distribution equipment that connects the grid to every home and business.

In most cases, the power used by your home or business is generated by local power plants and then transmitted to you over the local grid, but power can also be sent over longer regional distances.

What going off the grid means

When it comes to electricity, off the grid means your home is not connected to the electric grid at all. You won’t receive electricity from a local utility.

The only way to be truly off-grid is completely disconnecting with any electric utility. No electricity flowing from power lines to your home, and no bills from a utility company or retail electric provider. When you go completely off the grid, you generate all the electricity you need.

Off-grid sources of electricity can include solar panels, a generator, or battery storage (though homes on the grid can have any of those as well).

Going solar isn’t living off the grid

That’s right. Installing solar panels on your roof is not going off-grid. However, home solar panels can make you the primary producer of your home electricity.

A hypothetical breakdown of where a home with solar panels might get its electricity throughout the day.

Your solar power system produces electric power by converting sunlight into a flow of electricity. In most cases, your home will use electricity as the system generates it. When the sun isn’t shining or shining less (e.g., in the winter), your home will draw electricity from the grid.

The importance of battery storage

Batteries for solar power storage are increasingly effective, and many homeowners add them to their solar panel system to provide backup power, stretch their solar energy farther, or, in some cases, boost solar savings. 

Solar batteries store the excess power created by the solar panels when the sun is shining. The stored electricity can be used to meet your needs any time, but most typically at night, during overcast days, or during blackouts.

However, installing enough energy storage capacity to meet all your off grid power needs can be a significant expense. You also won’t have the backup provided by the grid in case your solar and storage fails..

Reasons to stay connected to the grid

Most homeowners who install solar power remain connected with the grid. Using a combination of solar panels and grid electricity is often the most simple, reliable, and valuable way to go solar.

You have additional advantages staying on the grid.

• In areas with net metering or net billing, you can receive credit for the extra electricity your home produces and feeds back into the grid.
• Any time your solar panels don’t generate power (including nights and cloudy days), you automatically and seamlessly switch to using power from the grid.
• If you need to fix a problem with your solar system, you use the grid for power until the repairs are complete.
• Your solar (and storage, if applicable) help support the grid in a small but meaningful way during a time of rising energy demand.

How to go off the grid with solar

There’s no official count of the precise number of people living off the grid and, of those, how many are using solar power for electricity. But it’s likely a small fraction of the overall population. Why? Because it’s a complicated process and can require some considerable sacrifices.

To make it work, a homeowner may need significant energy storage so they don’t lose power during long storms, nights, and the short days of winter when it’s harder to generate enough solar power. The problem is that it can be expensive.

For that reason, the few people who elect to go off-grid with solar often make very intentional choices about their energy usage, such as designing homes that use very little electricity. 

Reduce your dependence on the grid with solar

Many people want to go solar because they want to help the planet and be protected from problems on the larger electricity grid. For most homeowners, the ideal setup is to install solar panels and remain connected to the grid, even as you enjoy some of the perks of using off-the-grid solar. Not only will you use less grid electricity because you’re generating your own power from your home solar panels, but you can still use the grid as a backup in case of emergencies.

If you have more questions about the benefits of solar panels, you should learn how solar panels work on your home. If you’re interested to learn how much you can save with solar power, get a free savings estimate from Palmetto today. 

Frequently asked questions

Can I have no electric bill by going solar?

Solar energy typically won’t completely eliminate your electricity bill. Even with panels that offset all of your usage, you may still have to pay fixed monthly utility charges. Even in months when your balance is zero, you’ll receive a bill telling you so.

If there is a power outage, will my solar power go out?

A home solar power system without battery storage will shut down when there is an outage.

Solar panels with batteries can temporarily disconnect from the grid. During a power outage, you’ll be able to use the electricity from your solar panels or stored in your battery to power at least part of your home.

Does installing solar panels mean I’m disconnecting from my utility?

In most cases, no. Disconnecting completely from your utility is often an onerous and expensive job. Staying connected to the grid means you can take advantage of net metering where available and use grid power when you need more electricity than your solar and storage system can supply.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only. Palmetto does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors.