Catastrophe Is Changing Solar

The last two years have been a doozy for California and its residents. The headlines that regularly splash across the pages of the paper, wildfires, recording setting temperatures! (not the cold type) and power outages! To quote L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy novel, “oh my!”

These new realities and they are “new realities,” are making residents re-evaluate everything, where they live and how they think through their own homes, and where their power comes from.

From its beginning, California has always been the frontier state. It’s the forty-niners, it’s the frontiersmen, it’s attracted the brave and independent and then rewarded them greatly, with freedom and their own way of life. As California transformed from a frontier to a modern society those original frontiersmen intuitions were subdued, at least in some ways.

The great society brought everyone modernity and a better life. You didn’t need to “go-it-alone” anymore. We had infrastructure and institutions.

But now something else is happening. Climate change and more exaggerated weather are threatening the stability of “normal” life. Now, power outages are a thing. And now, “fire season” comes sooner and lasts longer.

But rather than breaking, Californians are learning to bend a bit and are now reaching deep into their independent and frontiersmen history — they’re learning to be less reliant and more self-sufficient again.

Today, a shift is happening in our world. The number of US families using to power their homes is expected to triple by 2030. And California is leading the way, as we always do.

Now, not all solar-powered homes are power-outage hardened. It depends on your setup. In all solar situations, as long as there is sun, you are generating power. But, the question comes down to whether your home is tied to the grid or not. If your system is grid-tied and you do not have a solar battery you will not be able to use that energy. In these cases, your solar system will automatically shut down for safety reasons.

Do you have more questions? Call our team.