Why Residential Solar Can’t Keep The Lights On (Yet)

The vast majority of all solar systems, regardless of size, are designed to shut down during a utility power outage. Backup batteries or generators help solar-powered homes keep the lights on when grid power goes down. However, these reliability enhancements are beyond the financial reach of most homeowners.

Rooftop Solar: The Next iPod?

The drop in the price of a residential-sized solar system suggests that it is possible that distributed solar will be as disruptive of the electrical transmission grid as the iPod was to the music industry.