The Reason We All Decided to Go Solar after Halloween (Bonus Episode)

On the next Probably True Solar Stories, twenty homes on the same cul de sac decide to go solar on the day after a Halloween night blackout. It’s a simple story, but when a young reporter looks into it, he gets the Halloween scoop of his short lifetime.

True Solar Takeaways

• Going solar is "contagious." That is, several studies have shown that when one person in a neighborhood goes solar, nearby homes follow.
• Blackouts often happen during a heatwave when energy-intensive air conditioning overwhelms the grid.
• In 2023, most solar homes need to add batteries to be cost-effective and to get a payback in 7 to 10 years.
• Whole-home backup is expensive and rare. Most of the time, solar + storage systems are tied to batteries with a critical loads panel.
• This critical loads subpanel will automatically switch on when there's a blackout. This panel is designed to keep on lights, the internet, the refrigerator, and other critical loads during a grid outage.
• When switching from off-grid to on-grid power--or visa-versa-- there may be a brief interruption of service. Most of the time, the switch is seamless.
• Turning on air conditioning, EV charging, and other high-intensity appliances will quickly drain a home battery's capacity. That's why air conditioners are rarely included in the critical loads panel.
• Listen to last year's Halloween story called, "We didn't know our solar house was haunted until we got a text from the ghost.

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