Grid Tie System Design and Installation

If you are tired of rising energy rates and want to do something to reduce your electric bill, try a grid-tie solar system. Moosehead Solar in Greenville, Maine, designs and installs grid-tie systems. These systems interact with the utility company, allowing you the option of net metering, or selling excess power back to the utility. The system can be designed with or without batteries and uses a new breed of inverters to send energy back to the grid. Solar panels on your roof generate power from the sun that you can either use or sell back. In addition, we install off-grid systems.

Grid-Tie System Installation

Prior to any work being done, contact your utility company to see if you can connect a solar system to the electrical grid. Although a national law requires investor-owned companies to allow solar system connectivity, rural electric cooperatives are exempt. If they allow connection, ask if they buy energy back at retail or wholesale rates. With a typical system, you only have one utility kWh meter that spins both ways. Grid tie also uses one inverter to control the solar panels and must be sized accordingly.

Net Metering

Net metering is when the utility company buys power back at the same retail rate it is sold. It is the simplest way to setup a grid tie system. The meter spins in either direction depending on if you are buying or selling power. In a non-metered system, you may be required to install a second kWh meter. The second meter will record the energy you sell back which the utility company pays you for at a wholesale rate, usually only a few cents per kWh. Find out if your state offers net metering or other incentives for installing a solar system.

Grid-Tie Without Battery Backup Infographic