January 13, 2011

With Queensland’s capital Brisbane devastated in the Australian floods, householders are learning the disadvantages of grid tied solar.

Because of the way Utility companies in Australia and the world over, insist on gaming the system, grid-tied solar panels only produce power when the grid is running. So they fail to fulfil the main purpose that many people buy  them for – to give safety and independence from the collapsing energy and financial system.

However, there are ways to convert a grid-tie system to work off-grid in emergencies – just a shame that the Utility companies do not provide a simple trip switch to allow homeowners  to operate the panels off-grid when needed.

Here is how to do it