Solar Doesn’t Automatically Mean Energy Independence
In rural settings like Caliente, where we can’t rely on the county or utility companies to come to the rescue immediately when disaster hits, independent resiliency is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. Off-grid solar offers a path to achieving energy independence. However, you don’t automatically become energy-independent by putting solar panels on your property.
Power doesn’t come out of nowhere. We have been conditioned to consider electricity a given without the production and delivery impacting our daily experience. But that’s just because utility companies centralize the footprint, putting the power generation process out of our awareness — to control the conversation, create dependence, and maximize profits.
So, how do you turn the table and flip the conversation?
Achieving energy independence is a journey. For most people, it requires a mindset change and the willingness to overcome a learning curve. It also involves proactive participation — most of us take power coming out of the wall for granted without understanding what goes on to make that happen. However, we can’t stay oblivious if we want to take control.
What is energy independence?
For individuals and households, energy independence is the ability to sustain and manage their energy needs without relying on external sources like the power grid. It involves adopting a power-generation component (e.g., solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal heating) and an energy storage solution (e.g., batteries) to ensure a stable and predictable supply.
Energy independence also involves controlling energy usage to maximize the cost-effectiveness of the electricity generation and storage system. For example, better insulation reduces the energy required for heating and cooling, while energy-efficient appliances allow you to get the most out of the power you produce.
Yet, controlling energy usage doesn’t mean depriving ourselves of modern conveniences. You can splurge and still be energy independent, as long as you dimension your system adequately to support your needs and develop the awareness of the limitations so you don’t get into a pickle (e.g., use up all the battery power by 8 pm without a backup power source.)
Energy independence also involves using renewable energy sources to reduce or eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels — the finite supply and dependence on foreign sources mean the consumer has no say over whether they can get sufficient amount and how much they pay for it, putting us at the mercy of many factors we cannot control or predict.
Here are the hallmarks of energy independence:
Self-sufficiency: The ability to generate enough energy to meet daily needs without depending on public utilities.
Sustainability: Minimize reliance on fossil fuels using renewable sources that don't require constant external input to produce power.
Resilience: Protection from power outages or energy price fluctuations, particularly in remote or disaster-prone areas.
Predictability: The ability to predict and manage energy production and consumption to reduce uncertainty and unpleasant surprises.
Confidence: Knowing you can meet your energy requirements while becoming less vulnerable to energy price spikes or supply disruptions.
Beware of the illusion of energy independence
Investing in solar equipment with the right capacity is essential, but that’s only half the story. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you’re energy-independent only to find out the hard way when sh*t hits the fan. Here’s what could go wrong:
You invested in a solar system but have no idea how much power you produce and consume. You’re always guessing whether the energy stored in the battery can get you through the night. So, should you turn on the light?
Maybe you don’t care if your battery can store enough to get you through the night because you have a generator. But what if the roads are blocked for weeks, and you can’t refill your propane/gasoline tank?
Things are all hunky-dory on a sunny day. But have you dimensioned your solar production for grey winter days? You may fall short if you don’t consider the solar trajectory and terrain (e.g., mountains casting shadows) specific to your property.
You don’t track the health and performance of your solar panel array and batteries. One or two underperforming panels may be okay on a sunny day, but you may not produce enough on a grey winter day.
Your grid-tied solar system produces more than you use, and you think you’re all set. However, you don’t have a backup plan when your system shuts down during outages, leaving you with no power. (Hit us up, we can help.)
You buy all the necessary equipment but don’t choose reputable brands to save a few bucks. While we’re not about spending money on brand names, purchasing equipment from fly-by-night suppliers may compromise your system’s reliability.
The journey to energy independence starts with empowerment and enablement
Setting up your off-grid solar properly with the right equipment and capacity is essential. But that’s not all. More importantly, you have to take control of your path to energy independence. The first step is becoming aware of the power generation process and where the resources come from.
How do you build this awareness? Data!
Up until about 5 years or so ago, we didn’t have readily available telemetry to enable and empower end-users to take control of their appliances. The equipment does its thing, and we hope for the best. Today, there’s an app for everything, including your appliances and solar equipment, to provide insights into their real-time performance.
Our solar charge controller (SCC) brand of choice comes with a smartphone app, and we put a robust battery management system (BMS) — also with a smartphone app — on top of all our custom-built battery solutions. The data collected allows you to derive insights, make informed decisions, and adapt to shifting conditions.
If data shows that your solar panels aren’t producing as much power as usual, you may adjust your array’s orientation or troubleshoot to see if you have a faulty connection. Or you may use the app to monitor your battery’s capacity before using power-hungry appliances on a cloudy day. (If you implement our grid-as-backup concept, not having enough stored power just means switching the grid. But having that awareness will pay off during an outage!)
The battery and SCC apps open the door to a deeper understanding of the power production and consumption process, the first step to awareness. And you don’t have to be a math wiz or a technical person to get the hang of it. Just look at the charts and numbers a few times a day, and you’ll develop a feel for your system’s behaviors.
Unfortunately, most solar installers don’t give their customers detailed telemetry (i.e., the choice to become aware). When you don’t have enough power, they sell you more capacity instead of getting to the root causes (like, why is your water heater turning on at night when no one needs to shower?) — creating dependence not unlike what Edison does.
On the other hand, the telemetry gives us an unbiased story, enabling us to take control systematically. Making friends with data and numbers may not be intuitive for many — we get it. However, we invite you to keep an open mind and treat the journey as an opportunity to empower yourself and change the narrative we’ve been fed to create energy dependence.
How our off-grid solar design process helps you take control and build energy independence
We never sell anyone a solar system without understanding their unique requirements, consumption patterns, and vision for energy independence because everyone is different, and every property is unique. Here’s how we put control in your hands:
We perform a site analysis to calculate the solar trajectory for your property. We walk you through the charts and help you understand how to orientate your solar panels to optimize yield for your consumption pattern (e.g., maximizing production in the late afternoon sun to meet cooling needs during the summer.)
We measure your power usage with a custom-built data collection device to understand your power requirements and consumption patterns. We then use the insights to dimension the solar field, inverter, and batteries to support your lifestyle without spending money on capacities you don’t need.
After measuring your consumption pattern, we’ll discuss the insights with you and help you decide whether you want to dimension the system to support your current consumption pattern or make adjustments (e.g., putting your water heater on a timer so it only turns on during the day can save you a lot on battery without impacting your quality of life.)
We use SCC and BMS with smartphone apps, allowing you to see real-time solar production and battery charge/performance to make informed decisions. The data insights also allow us to troubleshoot remotely so you don’t have to wait days for an onsite visit.
We build redundancy into our solutions — for example, we may use three SCCs for three solar panel strings so that you only lose one-third of the power production capacity if one goes out. We choose equipment from reliable brands and suppliers. We also run everything we build through torture tests before delivering the solution to our clients.
Energy independence isn’t just about technology. It’s a change in mindset and perspective, and that’s one of the shifts we hope to bring to the table by introducing a different way of doing things — through enablement and empowerment by providing information instead of spoon-feeding people and repeating the pattern.
