As long as I’ve been installing solar, clients ask about what happens when the grid goes out?… I then end up explaining that ‘grid-tied’ solar generators have to shut-down to be compliant with local code. For this, and a few other reasons, solar won’t work when the power is off.
Enphase Energy has finally produced a ‘system’ (that they have aptly named Ensemble) that solves this problem. The magic here is two-fold. First and foremost, their latest series of micro inverters will form its own grid and these units are incorporated into the battery portion of Ensemble. Secondly, a very fast switch automatically isolates your home and batteries from the grid when the power goes out to allow the system to form a ‘micro-grid’ and power critical items in your home. It’s sleek, functional and allows your solar to keep working when the power’s out – I love it!