Can I Go Off the Grid with Solar Panels in New York?

You’ve looked into the financial and environmental benefits of installing solar panels in New York. Now you’re considering one of the most important questions that homeowners ask. Can I go off the grid with solar panels and battery backup?

Even with our SMART solar solutions in NY, your home will remain connected to the grid. This creates redundancy and helps to ensure your long-term savings.

When you are connected to the grid, you will be able to draw electricity when your solar panels shut down at night. During the day when panels are generating electricity, you’ll export any excess back to the grid. This excess generates credits under Net Metering. These credits then offset any future bills from the electric company.

When you draw electricity from outside, your meter spins forward, when you export your excess production, it spins in reverse.

For some months, you could receive nothing more than a hook-up charge from your provider. For the months when solar production is lower and you draw more from the grid, your Net Metering credit bank will offset the difference.

If you end the year with available credit, your utility provider will pay you for it at a fair market rate. This creates true energy independence where you won’t see another ridiculous bill from your provider. With net metering, your solar panels will benefit you even when they aren’t working.

What About Battery Backup?

With a solar battery, you can store the electricity that you generate so you’ll rely less on the grid. However, for most families in New York, a battery with panels won’t provide enough electricity throughout the entire year to go completely off the grid.

There are exceptions to this. Smaller homes with very low electricity demand may be able to go off the grid with solar panels and battery backup. Holiday beach homes, upstate cabins, and other recreational properties that are only occupied for short periods of the year could go completely off the grid, and it often makes more financial sense to do so.

Start With Your New York Solar Consultation

We are experts in developing solutions that provide energy independence. We can design New York solar panel and backup systems to minimize your reliance on the utility company.

Can I go off the grid with solar panels in New York? Possibly, but it depends on energy usage patterns, the potential of solar panels on the property, and how often you occupy the property. Our energy evaluation will determine how much solar can be produced and whether you will need the grid in specific scenarios. We provide a detailed cost/benefit analysis.

Get started with a free estimate from New York Power Solutions. As the best solar contractors in New York, we will design solar solutions to suit your unique needs while generating the highest possible savings.