Energy storage will be key to future power stability

Extreme temperatures across the globe are putting extra strain on power grids, and energy analysts say storage could help balance struggling electric supply systems as the grid is modernized for today’s energy supplies and demand.

Very high heat in summer poses multiple challenges for energy grids. Air conditioning in individual homes, businesses and industrial facilities create a large and sudden draw on public power supplies, adding to normal daily demands. High temperatures also affect the power distribution system’s physical features. Power lines can sag in extreme heat, causing them to malfunction or pose a fire risk in dry landscapes. That same heat (or, in different seasons, extreme cold) can interrupt the delivery of fuel to power plants that generate electricity.

Blackouts and grid failures are now common risks, added to outages caused by natural disasters like hurricane, floods and wildfires. Modern households and businesses are heavily dependent on electricity for everything from cell phone charging to internet-based services to food storage, not to mention heating and cooling. A lot rides on a stable electrical supply, and energy experts say one key to stability is energy storage.

“As temperatures increase, grids will need to be more resilient, including storage to handle demand surges and supply disruptions,” energy experts report in a recent look at global power outages.

Storing grid energy, solar or wind energy in battery systems allows individuals and grids to ride out the surges in power demand more smoothly. Batteries can stockpile energy when demand is low — on a cool night when appliance use is idle — for use later, when demand for power is high, like during the hottest part of the hottest summer day. This is possible for individual homes, and works extremely well paired with solar panels. Many of our mtvSolar customers have enough panels to offset all of their daily electrical usage and charge up battery systems like the Tesla PowerWall for use during outages or brownouts. Other customers use battery systems alone, charging them from the grid to sustain their homes or businesses when power goes out.

Want to know more about batteries and how they can work with your energy system? Check out our “All about batteries” page. Get in touch with our team for individualized guidance backed by 15 years of experience.

Storm-proof your summer with solar & battery power

Intense summer storms that bring heavy rain and high winds can be just as disruptive to the power grid as snowy winter blasts. And hot-weather power outages pose their own challenges — how do we keep cool without electricity? How do we preserve our food supply without power for our refrigerators and freezers? How do we keep water flowing from a residential well into a home without electricity for a pump?

In most areas, power outages during a summer storm can be brief. But the growing intensity and frequency of seasonal weather has energy experts making it clear that the U.S. power grid is under stress, making longer outages more likely and frequent. Their answer — build a more resilient source of power, including renewables.

“A resilient power system reduces the likelihood of long-duration outages over large service areas, limits the scope and impact of outages when they do occur, and rapidly restores power after an outage,” the U.S. Department of Energy says in a look at energy resilience. “Clean energy can help prevent electric grid disturbances and enable fast recovery after a disturbance. Using renewable energy resources—solar, water, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy—and enhanced power electronics gives us more ways to keep the power on or bring it back after an outage.”

But how does that help a homeowner now? The model is clear — having a source of renewable energy protects your power supply, bridges short power cuts and makes it possible to weather long power outages while supplying basic needs.

mtvSolar customers with solar panels and battery backup systems often don’t even know the power is out in their neighborhood because their lights stay on, refrigerators stay cold and cooling systems keep running during short outages. Their electrical monitoring will alert them, but otherwise life goes on as usual. For longer outages, the cycle of solar charging for battery systems is easily managed by customer controls that let them choose how to spend their solar-generated power. Customers have shared their stories of protecting valuable resources by having solar and batteries during a long electrical disruption.

Want to build your own power resilience for the summers and winters ahead? mtvSolar has the experience to design a system that is proven to work as you need it, for your particular power needs. Get in touch — we’re ready to walk you through your options and set up a site visit to get started.

How to fit solar into new home construction

Building a new home comes with hundreds of decisions, large and small. What’s the square footage? What material is the exterior? What’s the roofline look like? Throughout the process, homeowners have to pick bedroom sizes, window styles, flooring and appliances. One of the most basic decisions can have the biggest impact over the life of the structure – what will power the home?

Many of today’s new homes are all electric – an approach that takes fossil fuels out of the home energy landscape and creates energy savings. Indoor air quality and safety also benefit from the removal of various fuels from a residence. 

But what supplies the electricity? In most cases, a residential connection to the power grid is one of the first utilities to be brought to a house under construction. So what do you do if you want solar energy or battery storage to be part of your home energy supply? At what point in the construction process can those systems be brought into the planning and design?

Mike Studholme.

This blog will explore how you can bring solar into the early stages of planning your dream home to create a residence that can generate its own energy for the decades ahead. 

So when is the right time to bring solar into the construction conversation? As early as possible, says Mike Studholme, Senior PV and Battery Consultant with mtvSolar.

“Orientation is key. Make sure the roof is going to be oriented properly from the start,” said Studholme. How a new house will sit on the site, what kind of clearance the site has and the pitch of the roof all affect the viability of solar panel systems.

If a builder doesn’t offer a solar package among their services, ask if they have worked with a solar installer they trust. Well-established solar companies like mtvSolar have a track record of working with multiple contracting companies in an area, making the coordination of building and installation much smoother. 

And if a builder doesn’t have “a solar guy,” a homeowner can bring a solar company into the process themselves.

Solar + home batteries for EV charging works well.

“You can contact us directly and we can talk with your builder, do a design and give them a proposal they can build into the project costs,” said Studholme. 

Solar proposals for a brand new home can come from house plans, with a few added details – what appliances the homeowner expects to have and other electrical demands in the home like an EV charger, heated pool or hot tub.

“We can take a plan set and design a solar array. It can take place very early in the process,” said Mike.

Starting the solar conversation early in a construction project can pay off in multiple ways:

  • Ensuring the home and roof are oriented for maximum solar production
  • Adding solar costs to construction contract for integrated financing
  • Reducing extra costs by incorporating trenching and electrical work into initial build
  • Starting energy production and banking solar credits DURING construction
  • Streamlining permits

Getting a builder and a solar installer talking together with the homeowner early in the process helps everyone – whether solar panels will be part of the main construction process or will be added after the new home is complete. 

“Our production and sales team, builder and homeowner come together on a call where we all agree to a plan. We’ll coordinate with the builder as to when it’s the ideal time for us to come install,” Mike said.

Once the solar plan is in place, construction will follow its normal path, with a few minimal preparations for a future array. A designated “solar conduit chase” from the attic to the electrical room clears the path for solar connections after walls are closed in, for example.

Mike Studholme said as with all solar projects, mtvSolar works with each homeowner to design and install a system that will meet their needs best and fit into their energy budget. For a brand-new home, that personal approach extends to collaborating with contractors all along the way.

“We’re very experienced with how to coordinate with builders,” said Mike. “Communication along the way makes all the difference.”

If you’re wondering, could your dream home power itself? And your vehicles? With the right kind of building site, some forward planning and an experienced solar installer, the answer is likely a sunny Yes!

Homegrown energy — solar farms in the spotlight

Utility-sized solar projects – from solar farms to community solar – are gaining traction in the Mid-Atlantic region. For some communities, there is still some wrangling at the local level about how to fit projects into their unique settings. Solar farms in Virginia have some counties concerned about their traditional farm legacies alongside larger-scale solar energy technology. Concerns have sometimes been fueled by misinformation about the impacts of ground-mount solar arrays on farms, crops, the power grid and even the weather itself.

Renewable energy advocates know that large fields of solar panels can be jarring for people who are used to seeing open fields, cows graze there or hay growing. But there is plenty of proof that agriculture and solar generation can work well together – boosting local energy production, lowering fossil fuel dependency and even raising farmers’ bottom line with lease revenue.

In counties that prize their farm heritage and the traditional look of their countryside dotted with barns and grain silos, some proposals for solar farms have met with opposition and even with changes in their zoning. Their argument — that solar panels will replace farm fields meant for crops and animals — doesn’t have to be the case and misses some of the big benefits of solar farms and agrivoltaics (solar and farming together on the same land).

Many projects in the Mid-Atlantic region are small solar farms to be a good fit for farmland. With careful planning to construct the ground-mount arrays responsibly, a farmer can harness the value of their land to create renewable energy and boost their farm revenue for decades, depending on their lease agreements.

One of the growing opportunities for placing solar farms is in areas that simply aren’t suitable for crop farming because of soil characteristics. Old strip mines, industrial lots, brownfields and degraded land can be ideal places for large arrays of solar panels, putting abandoned or problematic property to practical use.  

“Several independent estimates suggest the country could power itself with roughly the acreage currently dedicated to land most everyone would agree is already degraded. And up to 39 percent could be met by putting panels on roofs. ‘We have tremendous opportunity on rooftops, on parking lots, on other areas like that,’ says Garrett Nilsen, the deputy director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office,” the NYTimes reported in a September 2022 article about the siting of solar farms.

All of these options will be needed to meet targets for shifting America’s energy policy toward renewables. As power demands continue to rise and the electric grid is stretched to meet that demand, solar farms will fill an important role — putting open land to use to generate electricity without polluting that land.

The U.S. Department of Energy is investing in studies to develop the best ways for solar farms and agriculture to work together, seeing the synergy between the two as a promising path for meeting America’s clean energy goals while supporting farms and farming communities.

What happens if your solar company doesn’t come through?

The rising popularity of renewable energy has attracted new companies to the solar energy industry. Unfortunately, not all of them stick around or have the experience to navigate system malfunctions. We’ve heard from a growing number of people who need help getting their solar components up and running, or back online after a glitch. At mtvSolar, we have the expertise and experience to do just that.

If your solar installer went out of business, abandoned you, or left you with an incomplete or defective system, it can be daunting to know where to turn for help with such a major investment. After all, you chose to go solar to get results — lower electric bills, cleaner energy and power resiliency during unexpected events. You can’t get those if your system is down or unfinished.

We understand that having a solar installation go wrong can be a stressful and frustrating experience. With over 14 years of experience, we’re committed to providing our customers with the best possible solar experience — whether we installed their systems or were called in later.

We’re here for you, even if your installer isn’t.

Call us to assess your system and its performance, and let you know what options you have.

We can help you with the following:

-Completing unfinished installations: We can pick up where your original installer left off and complete the job to the highest standards.

-Repairing defective systems: If your system is not working properly, we can diagnose and repair the problem.

-Providing ongoing maintenance and support: Our team of experts will service your system to keep it running smoothly for years to come.

We know that choosing a solar installer is a big decision, and we want to assure you that we are here for you every step of the way. We’re committed to making sure that you have a positive solar experience!

Call or text us at 304-258-4733, option 1 or email support@mtvsolar.com

Staying Prepared for the Unexpected with Solar and Batteries

In today’s world, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common. From hurricanes and wildfires to snowstorms and ice storms, these events can cause widespread damage and power outages. While we can’t always control the weather, we can take steps to prepare for its impacts.  Winter weather can cause power outages in a number of ways, including:

  • Ice and snow: Ice and snow can weigh down power lines, causing them to break or sag. This can lead to outages for both individual homes and entire neighborhoods. Ice can also bring tree branches and whole trees down across power lines.
  • High winds: High winds can also damage power lines, causing them to break or become entangled. This can lead to widespread outages, especially in areas with a lot of trees.
  • Freezing temperatures: Freezing temperatures can cause power stations to be overloaded.

Winter weather can also indirectly lead to outages by making it more difficult for power companies to maintain their infrastructure. For example, heavy snow can make it difficult for workers to access damaged lines, and freezing temperatures can make it difficult for crews to repair equipment.

One of the best ways to prepare for power outages is to invest in solar panels and batteries. Solar panels can help you generate your own electricity, even during an outage. Batteries can store this electricity so that you can use it when you need it most.

Benefits of Solar and Batteries

There are many benefits to having solar panels and batteries, including:

  • Reduced reliance on the grid: With solar panels, you can generate your own electricity, which means you’ll be less reliant on the grid. This can save you money on your energy bills and help you avoid power outages.
  • Increased peace of mind: Knowing that you have a backup source of power can give you peace of mind during an outage. You’ll be able to keep your lights on, your food cold, and your medical devices running.
  • Environmental benefits: Solar energy is a clean and renewable source of energy. By using solar panels, you can help reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment.

Mountain View Solar: Your Partner in Solar and Battery Storage

If you’re considering investing in solar panels and batteries, Mountain View Solar is a great partner to have. With over 15 years of experience, Mountain View Solar provides proven solar and battery storage solutions. We offer a wide range of products and services, including:

  • Free solar consultations: Mountain View Solar will come to your home and assess your energy needs. We will then work with you to design a custom solar and battery storage system that meets your needs and budget.
  • Expert installation: Our experienced installers will ensure that your solar and battery storage system is installed correctly and safely.
  • Ongoing support: We provide ongoing support to ensure that your solar and battery storage system is working properly.

Additional Tips for Conserving Energy

In addition to having a backup plan, there are a number of things you can do to conserve energy during an outage:

  • Turn off lights and electronics when you’re not using them. This includes things like TVs, computers, and stereos. You can also use smart power strips to automatically turn off devices when they’re not in use.
  • Use natural light whenever possible. Open curtains and blinds during the day to let in sunlight. This will reduce your need for artificial light.
  • Replace traditional light bulbs with LEDs. LEDs use up to 80% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.
  • Seal up air leaks around your windows and doors. This will help to keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, reducing the need for power to heat and cool.
  • Stay informed: Monitor weather reports and follow the instructions of local officials.

An Integrated System

Mountain View Solar can integrate your solar panels, battery backup system, and generator into a single system that is intelligently controlled. The system will automatically switch to the generator if your solar panels and battery backup system are not able to provide enough power.  Once the batteries have recharged, the generator will shut down and your home continues to be powered by solar and battery power.  We can also integrate a fully solar/battery/generator interactive system.

Benefits of an Integrated System

There are many benefits to having an integrated solar, battery backup, and generator system, including:

  • 24/7 power: You will have access to power 24/7, even during a long-term outage.
  • Peace of mind: You will have peace of mind knowing that you are prepared for any power outage.
  • Reduced reliance on the grid: You will be less reliant on the grid, which can save you money on your energy bills.

Nothing lasts forever: Solar & energy experts are gearing up for the realities of product lifespan

The industry standard warranty on a photovoltaic panel is typically between 25 and 30 years, according to industry experts. At mtvSolar, we work under warranties that promise our components will last 25 years — but we know they will last much longer. Some solar panels installed in the 1980s are still generating effective power still today! Battery systems have a shorter expected lifespan — and generally have a 10-year warranty. But the real-life use of battery backup systems means they last much longer, too.

“Depending on use, they will last much longer.  Most batteries that we install are for backup, and not cycled daily.  So they’re not going to be worn out in 10 years,” says Lydie Miles-Monaghan, Director of mtvSolar’s Department of Technology & Design. Miles-Monaghan is our company’s battery expert, and tracks new developments in lifespan issues and performance for the products we install.

Our customers take the realities of product lifespan into consideration when planning their solar energy and battery storage systems. How old will they be when the panels need to be replaced? Who will own the home then? What’s the age of the roof that will hold a mounted solar array? Will the roof need to be replaced before the solar panels do? What do we do with solar panels and home battery systems at the end of their life?

As solar energy surges in popularity for residential homes, farms and commercial buildings, our industry continues to refine panel design to make them last longer and perform better. Meanwhile, others in the energy sector are figuring out the best way to reuse and recycle solar PV panels that are out of service. Developing these processes will become more important as the number of panels installed grows exponentially.

At mtvSolar, we collect and store broken or aged-out panels and work with a local recycler to dispose of them. Panels that are still functional but have been removed for one reason or another from a customer’s property are held for our service projects and give-away programs. Some customers will upgrade their panels long before they wear out. These are panels that still have years of effective solar generation left in them, and just need a new home, which we love to find.

Battery systems are relatively new in the residential energy world but are taking hold more widely. No lithium batteries we’ve installed have had to be recycled yet. All lead acid batteries are 100% recycled into new batteries.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energies Technology Office is working with the solar industry to track solar panel lifespan, measure the cost of recycling panels (vs. landfilling them) and develop ways to cut the end-of-life disposal costs in half by 2030.

“As we accelerate deployment of photovoltaic systems, we must also recognize the pressing need to address end-of-life for the materials in a sustainable way,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. “We are committed to ensuring that the recovery, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these systems and their components are accessible, low-cost and have minimal environmental impact.”   

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that 70% of the current solar PV systems in the U.S. have been installed since 2017 — a huge jump in deployment that points to a need for recycling and disposal answers down the road. They are funding projects that promise to reveal new materials, new technologies and better manufacturing processes to reduce pollution associated with the making and disposal of panels. DOE Releases Action Plan For Photovoltaic Systems End-Of-Life Management  | Department of Energy

Our approach at mtvSolar at the local level is to use high-quality components that are proven to last, to install panels and their components properly to maximize their function, and to reuse panels by donating them to nonprofits. Our design team right-sizes all solar installations for each customer, so there are no wasted panels and components can function as they are designed for the full length of their warranty and beyond.

Electric vehicles speed up solar return on investment

Electric vehicles (EVs) continue to evolve and claim a larger share of the automotive market. Luckily, their rise is in tandem with the increased availability and decreased cost of solar energy generation systems. 

Homeowners and businesses that put solar panels to work for their electric needs see an even bigger return on their solar investment when they drive and charge electric vehicles off their system. 

mtvSolar’s Director of Technology & Design Lydian Miles-Monaghan has been tracking the payback from her EV since October 2022, along with the savings from her property’s solar generation system since 2017.

“I have driven about 7,000 miles in my EV since I got it in October 2022. I’ve used 1,821 kWh for charging, which if I had to pay for it would be $218 or so. But my car has been 100% solar charged and cost me nothing,” she reports.

Seen here, the energy of the sun is directly fueling her car:

The gas version of her Kona gets roughly 32 miles per gallon. At the average cost of $3.30 per gallon, she figures she would have burnt 219 gallons of gas, at a cost of $722.

Getting an EV and charging it on a regular electric grid charger would reduce travel costs to less than a third of the gasoline average, with the added savings of having no oil changes.  In her case, the charging happens off solar-generated electricity, so the power costs nothing extra. 

“The energy of the sun is directly fueling my car,” she notes. “My EV will break-even on the ‘electric premium’ vs regular Kona at around 6 years, then it’s nearly free driving with 4 years of battery warranty left. But EV batteries often go over 200k miles, which is a lot of nearly free miles.”

As for the solar energy system, it has mostly paid for itself already before the EV. Here’s how she breaks it down:

Since 2017:

Not paid utility: $17,100

MD SRECs: $7,302

Tax credits: $11,808

=$36,210 saved in 6 years

Going forward:

Avoided utility cost over next 25 years: ~$90,000

Maryland SRECs ($40 est) : ~$30,000

All assuming MD utility rates do not increase above 0.12c per kWh !

See how the panels and vehicle charging work together in her video: https://youtu.be/KxOoXfgEqrM

With more Federal incentives available to help pay for solar energy upgrades to homes, farms and small businesses, a solar investment now will pay for itself in a shorter time period. The benefits of owning and using renewable energy – the reduction in CO2 emissions and a reliable electric source – keep pace with the financial return and stretch out far beyond the last dollar recouped.  Add an EV to the mix, and ROI drops even further.

As Maryland electric rates rise, solar options grow

Maryland electric customers are about to see their residential power bills jump up as part of a planned electric rate increase approved by the state’s utility regulators. Meanwhile, the market for solar energy credits remains strong, making this an optimal time to put solar to work for you and your wallet.

Customers of Potomac Edison will see their costs for Standard Offer Service (SOS) electricity rise on May 31, 2023 from 6.537/kWh to 8.910/kWh – more than a 30% increase. That price will remain in place for just four months. On October 1, 2023, the price for electricity will be 9.22 cents/kWh. Again, that price is just for the short term – through May 31, 2024. The price for SOS electricity from June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025 will be set by Potomac Edison in January of 2024, the company says. Those costs reflect what electricity is costing Potomac Edison from its suppliers, the company says.

Maryland electric customers have choices about their power suppliers, from the open market to their own roof.

Solar energy continues to be a growing part of Maryland’s energy portfolio and is a very viable source for residential power needs. Customers can buy into community solar projects, seek out other renewables or install their own solar panels. Right now, there are unprecedented levels of federal grants and tax credits to make residential and commercial solar generation an achievable reality. If you’ve been interested in adding solar energy to your home to offset rising costs for electricity, this clearly is the time to take a step in that direction.

For commercial operations and farms, additional funding for renewable energy projects remains available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of their REAP grants – Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants. Project applications are due by March 31, 2023 for qualifying projects that serve small businesses and farms.

mtvSolar is your experienced, reliable source for guidance on adding solar to a home, business or farm in Maryland and the surrounding states. Explore our website, visit our FAQ page for Frequently Asked Questions about solar and click here to get your free estimate.