One of the things that make Solar a great fit for being the poster boy for renewable energy is the diversity which it is able to cater. A combination of On-grid, Off-grid and Hybrid systems ensure that solar is available for every kind of environment. Based on your requirement you can design your systems. If you stay in places with almost no power outages On-Grid is your deal, If you’re in a location where you see frequent power cuts then Off-Grid system is your best bet. The focus of this article is to understand how Off-Grid works and when you should be opting for an Off-Grid System.
A typical Solar home system would provide more power during the day than your household can consume. In an On-Grid system this excess power is sent back to the Grid and you get credits which would save you money, but the catch is that in case of power outages the system doesn’t work and you would see a power outage as there is no back-up. In an Off-Grid system batteries are used to provide power back up in case of a power outage. This system isn’t connected to the power grid and therefore you do not need to pay any bills as all your power needs are provided by the solar system alone. In case of power outage the system simply draws power from the batteries.
Naturally with the employment of batteries the price of the setup goes up. While it may not sound like a good investment there is a trade-off here, especially in a country like India. Power outages are fairly common in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and some of the villages in India see power supply only for a few hours. In this situation with an On-Grid system you’d be seeing a whole lot of power outage, even though you save money. In order to cater to this need Off-Grid systems are designed which can provide uninterrupted power supply for the most part.
An Off-Grid System aside from batteries requires an Inverter to convert the incoming DC to AC, and a Charge Controller which would control the amount of charge being withdrawn from the batteries. Given the components the cost of the setup goes up, so it may not be feasible to supply power to all your devices. Thus limiting the usage but maintaining supply to critical needs only.
To be able to design a system that can provide you with an accurate assessment of your power needs is a complexity, there will also be a need to isolate your critical loads which might require you to rewire. Batteries are another problem, they are expensive to begin with and require maintenance and replacement periodically. Given all the complexities, Equipment and maintenance issues an Off-Grid system could cost you significantly over an On-Grid system. The Alternative to this system could be installing back-up generators with an On-Grid system which would cost you much less.
Do give our blog a read for all your solar-related questions. You can also check out other interesting updates on solar on our Facebook page (facebook.com/zunroof)
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Sir
When you send my subsidy. My solar plant installed on Sept 19. But unfortunately still waiting for subsidy. When call ur office saying that after 1 month. But still pending.
And no body came to service and checking.
Sir
When you send my subsidy. My solar plant installed on Sept 19. But unfortunately still waiting for subsidy. When call ur office saying that after 1 month. But still pending.
And no body came to service and checking.