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Florida homeowners are no strangers to power outages due to hurricanes and severe storms that can cause outages for a few hours or up to a few days. Traditionally, homeowners use portable or whole-home standby generators to keep their power running when the power goes out.

However, in recent years, there has been an increased interest in using solar PV (photovoltaic) systems with solar battery storage as an alternative.

Though there has been a lot going on that has been out of our control in the past year, we can control how we get our energy and how we prepare for power outages.

So, solar battery vs. backup generators, which one is best for your home, and how exactly do they work?

Solar Battery Backup

Solar battery systems store excess energy from your solar panels or the electricity grid and save it for later use.

When you combine energy storage from a solar battery with a solar PV system, the battery will save any of the excess energy generated by your solar panels for use during a power outage or at night when solar output is low.

During an outage, a grid-tied solar PV system won’t be able to work, and you will be left without power just like your neighbors. When you combine your solar panel system with a solar battery, your solar panel system will disconnect from the grid, but the solar battery will begin to power your home without interruption.

You can size your battery backup system to power essential energy loads such as just your HVAC system and refrigerator, or your entire home.

You might use a solar battery backup:

• At night or during low solar output
• During a power outage
• Times of high-electricity costs

PROS:

• Quiet operation
• Operate on renewable energy when used in combination with solar
• Increases daily solar consumption 24/7
• Extremely low maintenance
• Automatic operation during an outage

CONS:

• Can be costly
• Limited power capacity (if connected to the grid)

Backup Generators

Portable and standby generators are the backup power solution that most homeowners turn to during a power outage. Backup generators create electricity by burning fossil fuels such as propane, natural gas, and diesel.

Backup generators are installed outside of a home and can automatically operate during a power outage. While backup generators may be more affordable to purchase, they do have monthly costs such as fuel and maintenance that need to be considered.

PROS

• Less expensive
• Can be connected to a natural gas line
• Can provide 24/7 steady power
• Flexible options from portable to permanent standby generators

CONS

• Noisy
• Higher carbon footprint
• Required maintenance
• Monthly fuel costs

Choosing the Right Backup Power

Which option is the best for your Florida home? Here are Solar Bear’s recommendations:

A standby backup generator may be best if:

• You are only looking for emergency power
• You are not planning on installing solar panels in the future
• You have an existing gas line

Solar battery backup may be the best for you if:

• You want to combine backup power with your solar energy system
• You are looking to power your home 24/7 and in an outage from completely renewable energy
• You want to reduce peak electricity charging

Choose Solar Battery Power

If you want to make the best backup power choice for your Florida home, Solar Bear is here to answer your questions and help you determine which solution is right for your unique needs.

Keep the lights on during a power outage with solar. Choose the right backup power solution with Solar Bear. Call us today for a quote—407-904-7585

While solar power is becoming more and more popular all over the United States, and especially in Florida, many people still have plenty of questions about it. How exactly does solar power work? Can it power my whole home? At Solar Bear Tampa, we are passionate about solar power and love to help people understand how best to build solar power into their home energy plans.

One question that clients often have is “What direction should my solar panels face?” We all know that solar power runs off of energy collected from the sun by solar panels, so it’s a good question to ask. Though it seems the answer should be straightforward, as with most things regarding solar power, the short answer is “it depends.” 

Traditionally, if you live in the Tampa Bay area, which lies in the northern hemisphere, you’ll want your solar panels to face south, and to be angled at approximately 30 to 40 degrees. This is because, for the northern hemisphere of the earth, the sun falls mostly in the southern sky. To effectively power your home, you want to absorb as much sun for as long a duration as possible, which is why you wouldn’t typically want your solar panels facing east or west. 

However, there are a few factors that might affect which direction your solar panels should face to absorb the maximum solar energy. 

If, for instance, your home has a tall line of trees that obscure the southern sky or cast shade from the south more often than not, odds are good that you wouldn’t want to face your solar panels south, because they wouldn’t end up getting as much sun as if they were pointing in a different direction. 

A western-facing solar panel might be a better option for those who only rely on solar power for supplemental home energy, rather than those with solar batteries to charge. A solar panel that faces west will only absorb sun for about half of the day, which could make a difference in your energy bill depending on your home energy plan. 

Meet with our friendly and trusted experts at Solar Bear Tampa today, and we’ll tell you where to install your home’s solar panels based on a home consultation. Call today and make the switch to solar!

One of the biggest myths about solar power is that people assume a whole house cannot run on solar power alone. Based on weather and cloud cover, this might be true of homes in some regions, or your house might not be a particularly good fit for solar. But especially in the Tampa Bay area, most homes can run entirely on solar. At Solar Bear Tampa, we assess each home for solar before we install any panels because we want you to feel confident that your home can run on solar power before you make the switch.

So how exactly can solar power an entire home? Let’s go through it together. In short: It’s all about the batteries.

Solar panels are the first thing everyone thinks of when they picture solar power. Of course, the panels themselves are an important part of solar power—they’re what absorbs the energy from the sun which is then converted into the electricity that powers your home. But even in the best circumstances, solar panels can’t function 24/7—when the sun goes down, there is no solar power for them to absorb, meaning that they must lie dormant at night by necessity. But this doesn’t mean that your home can’t run on solar power at night.

So how can you power a house with solar at night? Well, with a solar battery.

Any fully solar-powered home setup will require a solar battery. At Tampa Bear Solar, we can help you decide if your home setup would benefit from a battery (most do) or not. But if you’re hoping to rely entirely on solar to power your home, you’ll need a good solar battery.

A solar battery stores away any excess solar energy that is absorbed by your solar panels during the day. In high-sunshine states like Florida (and depending on your average home energy use every month), odds are good that even if you are fully powering your home with solar, most sunny days will result in excess energy that the solar battery can absorb and use later, when there is no sunshine, or during night time.

Naturally, a home that has more solar panels and more solar batteries will be better equipped to run entirely on solar power, but there are ways to make it work even if this is not necessarily an option for you and your family.

If you are interested in running your home entirely on solar power, our experts at Solar Bear Tampa would be happy to set up a consultation to assess whether your home is a good match for full solar power. Call us today at 813-922-3735!

If you are planning on installing solar panels, you have probably noticed that there are a few different types on the market. Their differences are more than just cosmetic—they perform in varying ways. Each kind has different capabilities, energy-efficiency levels, and installation costs.

Our solar installation pros at Solar Bear compare the different types of solar panels so you can make the right choice for your home.

Types of Solar Panels

The four most popular types of solar panels include:

• Solar shingles
• Polycrystalline solar panels
• Monocrystalline solar panels
• Thin film solar panels

The best solar panel option for your home ultimately depends on your budget, roof space, access to sunlight, your energy needs, and your desired amount of energy efficiency.

Solar Roof Shingles

The newest solar panel option on the market is solar roof shingles. They are the modern answer to a beautiful roof and mimic asphalt shingle roofs in appearance—but with the added benefit of being a solar energy system.

Solar shingles are just as durable as asphalt shingles and protect your roof just as effectively. Each solar shingle can produce anywhere from 13-67 watts of solar energy, but keep in mind, the cost to install solar shingles will be more than the installation of asphalt shingles.

Polycrystalline Solar Panels

Solar panels are made of either polycrystalline or monocrystalline cells. Typical rooftop solar panels have up to 40 solar cells. Ultimately, the solar panel type that you choose will determine the cost and amount of roof space that your solar installation will require.

Polycrystalline solar panels were the first to be developed. They are rectangular and are created from melted silicon on a mold. Polycrystalline cells are not as efficient or tolerant to heat as monocrystalline cells and do not generate as much electricity from the sun.

Monocrystalline Solar Panels

Monocrystalline solar panel cells are made from pure silicon. They are round which helps them achieve higher efficiency. Further, you will need fewer of them to generate power.

They are more expensive to purchase and install than their polycrystalline counterparts, but they tend to last longer which is a bonus.

Thin Film Solar Panels

Thin film solar panels are newer and are less frequently used for home installations, though they are growing in popularity.

These panels get their name from how they are produced. Layers of a semiconductor material such as silicon, cadmium telluride, gallium selenide, and copper indium are rolled out as a film. They tend to be less efficient than crystalline solar panel options and require more roof space. But thin-film panels are more flexible and inexpensive compared to crystalline solar cells and can be manufactured into shingles.

Choosing Solar Panels

When you get ready to buy solar panels for a residential install, you will want to consider how the above types of solar panels perform in terms of aesthetics, efficiency, and cost.

Aesthetics

First, consider how you want your solar panels to look.

• Solar shingles take the place of shingles on your roof and mimic the look of asphalt shingles
• Monocrystalline solar panels are typically arranged in neat rows and columns of sleek black cells.
• Polycrystalline solar panels have rows of cells and a bluish hue.
• Thin-film solar panels can be either blue or black. They are slimmer and have a lower profile, but you must install more of them to match the power output of other kinds of solar panels.

Efficiency

Solar panels vary in their energy efficiency.

• Solar shingles are quite efficient and can reach around 20% efficiency. This means that 20% of the sunlight is being converted into usable energy.
• Monocrystalline solar panels produce the most power and have high-efficiency ratings of 20%
• Polycrystalline solar panels are a bit less efficient at around 15-17%
• Thin-film solar panels are the least efficient type somewhere between 5-11%

Cost

Last, the cost is an important factor to consider when installing solar power.

• Solar shingles can be quite expensive since you are ultimately covering your entire roof with solar shingles. Prices can range from $60,000-$75,000.
• Monocrystalline solar panels are challenging to manufacture and tend to be in the more expensive range.
• Polycrystalline solar panels are generally affordable since they can be assembled with small fragments of silicon.
• Thin-film solar panels vary in cost depending on the material used to make them, but they are cheaper than the other solar options.

Install Solar with Solar Bear

If you are unsure of which solar panels will best fit your needs, call Solar Bear! Our experienced solar technicians can inspect your home and help determine what kind of solar panels are best for your home and energy needs.

Florida is a great place to go solar and Solar Bear is the leading solar panel installation company across the Sunshine State!

Ready to get started? Call Solar Bear today—407-904-7585!