
Californians Learning That Solar Panels Don't Work in Blackouts - everybodyknows
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-10/californians-learning-that-solar-panels-don-t-work-in-blackouts
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hootbootscoot
What a load of utter NONSENSE. Solar panels work FINE during a blackout
(daylight hours, of course)

Merely buying the most basic "grid tie" inverter with no DC-DC charging
capability and no batteries will not provide you with autonomy, nor does it
purport to.

I live off-grid and precisely DO have power during the frequent blackouts in
the villages further down the mountain from me. (electrical lines on wooden
poles that falling trees take out.)

I additionally don't find the headline to be very productive: It is untrue. It
is sensationalist. It causes doubt in solar panels, of all things. (some of
the most reliable devices I can think of...)

All of this at a time when (socially irresponsible) Bloomberg could be part of
the push away from fossil fuels...

Mr. Bloomberg himself, as Bezos and Gates, could also probably pitch-in a bit
more in helping get the general American machine to realize it's duties with-
regards-to the survival of large mammalian life on earth circa 2019, but I
digress...

[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-
ig...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-ignoring-
climate-crisis-bankrupt-mark-carney-bank-england-governor)

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hootbootscoot
To make it worse, this horrid article has been syndicated all over the place,
so there's some money and interest behind it.

How wrongful and immoral.

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russellbeattie
What a completely useless article. Anyone who gets solar installed learns that
the power is piped back into the grid and used as a credit towards your bill.

"...many are learning the hard way" Are they? The article doesn't quote or
link to anyone discovering this for the first time.

A better title is, "A reporter outside of California learns how solar works
and writes a click-bait, information free article about it."

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Pfhreak
It's not at all unreasonable for people to think that power flows back when
the grid is operating, and when the grid isn't, they'll still be able to use
their solar panels.

Yes, you and I know this requires extra equipment and introduces some safety
issues, but the first blush assumption is not unreasonable here.

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hootbootscoot
It is ridiculous to propose that a homeowner invests tens of thousands of
dollars or more into their home solar kit and has no notion of it's
capabilities.

As I outlined above, a simple "autonomy" function provided by the already-
contained DC-DC charge controller will suffice to charge a battery bank. Sans
battery bank, no reasonable person could assume autonomy.

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brownbat
I spent more than that on a house that I've mostly learned about through
things breaking, because homeownership is a deeply humbling experience.

Things are complex and people are busy.

But would be nice if there was some qualification about how many solar owners
are actually confused. "Many homeowners are learning the hard way" are epic
weasel words.

Maybe they're right and battery sales will spike, maybe commenters are right
and no one who lacks a battery system will be surprised or change their
decision.

I'd guess 1-3% of battery-less eligible solar owners get inspired by the
blackout to buy a battery. More than zero but definitely below one in twenty.

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TYPE_FASTER
Also applies to plugging in a generator. Have known people who sourced a gen
during an outage, didn’t know they couldn’t just plug it into an outlet and
get power (I mean, your house will have power, but so will the grid and you
won’t have any breakers).

Clickbait but it’s Bloomberg so not surprised.

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neonate
[https://web.archive.org/web/20191012011551/https://www.bloom...](https://web.archive.org/web/20191012011551/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-10/californians-
learning-that-solar-panels-don-t-work-in-blackouts)

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joshribakoff
> And no, trying to run appliances off the power in a Tesla Inc. electric car
> won’t work, at least without special equipment.

Are they not aware Tesla sells a separate solution for this very problem, and
it isn't a car? Or are they just spewing anti-solar misinformation?

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toomuchtodo
Tesla tells you about this when you order the system (battery option), and
must configure the inverter to only charge the battery from solar for the
battery storage system to be eligible for the 30% federal tax credit. You
might see the value now if you’re in California in PG&E territory.

To answer your question, didn’t Bloomberg run their “The Big Hack” story
without proof and no retraction when questioned about the veracity of the
information? Inflammatory articles get more clicks, simple as that.

