Latest articles by The Solar Nerd

If you live in a climate where air conditioning is a significant part of your electricity usage, that probably means it’s a good climate for solar energy. Does that mean you can power your air conditioner with solar electricity? You absolutely can, but we should explain exactly what that means. If your idea is to power an air conditioner directly with solar panels - that is, connect some solar panels directly to an AC unit and essentially run it off-the-grid - it is possible.

Texas likes to do things differently, and that extends even to esoteric areas like its electricity grid. Unlike other places in the country, the Lone Star state is truly alone when it comes to electricity. Texas isn’t connected to other regional grids, so when it’s short of electricity, it doesn’t have the ability import it from elsewhere. Because of this, Texas has suffered recent blackouts as extreme weather has become more common.

Tesla’s Energy division gets less attention than its vehicles, but it continues to plug along, with 345 MW of solar panels installed in 2021. For many years, Telsa (and SolarCity before it was acquired by Tesla) installed solar panels from other manufacturers, including Q Cells, LG, and Panasonic. For a few years, Tesla and Panasonic had a partnership to manufacture solar panels at the Gigafactory in Buffalo, but that relationship ended in 2020.

When it comes to solar energy potential, Nevada is one of the best places in the country. That’s why some of the largest utility-scale solar power plants are located in Nevada, such as the 552 megawatt Copper Mountain Solar Facility and the 392 MW Ivanpah concentrating solar facility. Utilities in Nevada, however, aren’t quite as keen when it comes to solar panels that are owned by homeowners. After all, every kilowatt-hour of electricity that a homeowner generates with their own solar panels represents lost revenue for the utility companies.

As solar panels have become mainstream in the United States and especially California, energy storage has become more and more important. California is trying to deploy as much energy storage as possible, with gigawatts worth of batteries coming online. Homeowners can get in on the act too. Even if you have solar panels, your home won’t have electricity during a blackout unless you have a battery. The Self-Generation Incentive Program is operated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Rhode Island probably isn’t the first state that comes to mind when you think of solar, but it actually has more solar capacity per capita than Florida (the so-called “Sunshine” state). Why is this the case? First of all, Rhode Island has a good climate for solar that is comparable to the northwest corner of California. Rhode Island also has expensive electricity, with a price of residential electricity that hovers around 22.

Solar panels for home and commercial use are really tough. They’re designed to withstand hurricanes, rain storms, and hail, and will usually continue to work for 25 years or more. That doesn’t mean they’re indestructible. While they’re designed to withstand impacts from one-inch hail, a wayward baseball or unusually large hailstone can shatter the tempered glass. If this happens, you might notice the telltale spider pattern of broken glass. What can you do about it?

If you live in the Northern hemisphere, solar panels will receive the most sunlight if they face south. (This is reversed in the Southern hemisphere, so if you live in Australia the preferred direction is north). If you’re a homeowner interested in solar, you might not have this option: maybe the south-facing part of your roof is interrupted by vents, skylights or gables, or is shaded by trees. West is usually the next best option (which generates electricity during the evening peak) followed by east.

If you’ve ever looked at the product sheet for a solar panel, you may have been confronted by tables of cryptic numbers and electrical terminology. Unless you’re an electrician or electrical engineer, you’ll probably find these a little bewildering. Fortunately, the average consumer can ignore most of them. Unless you’re an installer or hobbyist, many of the numbers are electrical specs that won’t matter to you. One exception, however, is power temperature coefficient.

If you’re looking for a solar storage battery for your home, Enphase offers several options with its IQ series. Enphase is best known for its microinverters. Most solar homeowners these days are choosing power optimizers or microinverters over conventional central inverters, and Enphase dominates the North American microinverter market with its IQ7 and new IQ8 series. Meanwhile, lithium batteries are getting cheaper all the time, utility companies are having scheduled blackouts (aka power safety shutoffs) due to wildfire risks, and utilities continue to attack net metering.