Do you know what Texas would have right now if they had solar?

[Botany]

Electricity.



People who vote republican vote against their own best interests.

BTW solar panel are more efficient at the cooler temperatures that Texas is having now.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. People who vote Republican actually do vote their own interests.

It’s just that the interests aren’t what you think they should be.

[Miguelito Loveless]

2. Well, to be fair

A battery would also be needed. Without one, you still lose power if you have a grid connection (most solar powered houses are still grid-tied) and power goes out. This is a required safety feature.

[Maraya1969]

4. It doesn't have to be because people live in the woods with no electric lines

and power themselves. I think mabey they use batteries.

[Miguelito Loveless]

15. Exactly,

that is an "off grid" setup. If you expect power at night and on overcast days, you have to be able to bank power into batteries of some sort. Lead acid is a favorite (cheap, easy to find), but has a lot of downsides (environmentally damaging, dangerous if overcharged, lots of maintenance). Li-Ion are now becoming the de facto standard, being easy to maintain, energy dense, but expensive (though prices continue to fall). You could also use a diesel generator, but then you need a fuel source, and have a tank of flammable liquid near your home, which has to be refilled often.

If you are grid-tied, excess unused power goes to the grid powering your neighbors homes, and the utility company compensates you for the surplus, then you simply draw power at night. If the grid goes down, your solar array must shut off, so as to prevent your power from flowing onto the utility lines, which pose an electrocution risk for unsuspecting linesman.

[kysrsoze]

8. I couldn't understand why they can't add a physical bypass/lockout switch that allows you to cut

yourself off from the grid and use your panels during a blackout. We bought a house which already had solar and were surprised the first time we had an outage. There has to be some similar lockout taking place if you have a battery system like a Tesla wall, or else we would still end up zapping the linemen working on the grid to restore power.

On second thought, perhaps it's because the power can't be reliably maintained at a constant rate, and might damage the electronics and appliances connected to it while off battery/grid power. I guess it makes sense after all.

[cojoel]

11. It can be done

When it switches back to the grid though, the inverter has to stop inverting for a bit (shutting off power), so when it turns on again the electricity generated can be brought info phase with the grid.

[Miguelito Loveless]

13. You can,

it is a bit pricey. When you put in a generator or Powerwall, the transfer switch is part of the package. You do have to have the electronics to maintain frequency control. When the house is grid tied, it simply syncs to the grid. If the grid is out, the system has to be able to maintain frequency on its own.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. More than home solar panels

Texas would benefit from large-scale solar generation. They’ve got the sunny days and open spaces for plants like that.

[Botany]

7. Roof top panels can also be a large part of the grid's power source too.

And yes home storage (batteries) are important too.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. Never said the weren't

but large-scale solar power generation would be good too.

[Botany]

19. The good thing about rooftop solar panels is that they can go directly to the user.

n/t

[dalton99a]

5. Solar is actually a fast growing industry in Texas

[duforsure]

10. I just got a solar powered generator,

And four panels, and not a moment too soon. Just heard natural gas costs going thru the roof for consumers now. May be looking at going full solar system soon.

[cojoel]

12. when they are covered in snow they don't generate power

When there is the least bit of heat, however, the snow slides off at a rather high speed. I think it would be possible to add some kind of heating element to provide that melt, but ideally it should only turn on when it is cold, not dark, and there is snow on the panels.

[Botany]

18. Those panels tend to "melt out" pdq with any sun

n/t

[hunter]

14. Solar is useless without batteries or natural gas backup.

Many of my neighbors have grid-tie solar panels on their homes but their lights go out same as everyone else when the grid fails.

Our neighborhood doesn't enjoy the level of affluence where people buy Tesla automobiles and PowerWalls so they can brag about their concern for the environment.

My wife and I have enough solar panels to keep our cell phones and tablets charged in an emergency. Our gas water heaters and space heaters work without external electric sources. We have a few hundred gallons of water stashed away in food grade plastic water barrels.

In this part of California it's big earthquakes we worry about and we are fortunate enough to have the level of wealth that we can make certain preparations. I don't have any trouble filling our pantry with big bags of rice and plenty of canned and dry foods.

Too many people are struggling to simply feed and shelter their families in ordinary times. They don't have any spare change to buy solar panels or water barrels.

If an electric power agency is unable to manage a natural gas powered grid under emergency conditions it's going to have even more trouble managing a solar powered grid.

[Liberal In Texas]

16. There are a lot of solar panels on houses here. We're not a bunch of Luddites. n/t

[Botany]

17. Sorry

I never meant to imply that