June 18, 2021

System Types

Grid-Tied

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Grid-tied solar lowers your electric bills by simply generating green electricity when the sun shines.  It reduces the amount you’re charged by your utility, using what you produce first, and any excess you generate is credited to you for later use.  These systems turn off when the power goes down.  This is what the majority of solar companies offer.  They typically offer Enphase Microinverters because they are simple to install and they can use less qualified installers.  Typically these inverters fail often.

Note:  To get solar power when the grid is down, you need to use an inverter with “Secure Power Supply”, or one with Battery Backup, or contact us for even more options.

Grid-Tied with Secure Power Supply (SPS)

We install premium inverters that offer SPS backup power for emergency loads without batteries when the sun is shining.  Just over half of our customers choose this option.

This is a grid-tied system type that lowers your electric bills by simply generating green electricity when the sun shines everything above PLUS a Secure Power Supply for when the power goes out and the sun is shining.  We provide an outlet at the inverter which runs 120 VAC, 15 amps when the sun is out and turns off at night.  It is perfect for times when you don’t need to run a generator.

Gulf South Solar provides SPS at no additional cost to our customers.  If you only need emergency backup power during the day and you don’t want the extra expense of a battery backup, then this is for you.  Contact us for more info.

Grid-Tied with Battery Backup

These are premium systems that offset your utility costs (net metering) and run emergency loads in times of power outages.

This type of system includes a special inverter which allows net-metering as well as battery backup for when the power goes out.  Contact us for more information on getting the right system for you.  They are sized for your particular needs.

 

AC Coupled Systems (adding batteries to a grid-tied system)

If you only have a Grid-tied system and now want to add backup power, we can help you.  As early developers of “AC Coupling” we can upgrade your system without adding any more solar modules.  You will need to add a special grid-tied battery backup inverter and batteries.  Read more about it here and contact us today so you can power emergency loads in times of power outages.

Off-Grid Systems

These systems are designed specifically for each unique application.  Whether it be a water well, camp, cabin, or entire home, we have the experience and equipment to solar power you.  To get started you will need to provide us with a list of everything you plan on running, the model numbers, and the number of hours per day.  Contact us for more info.

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Depending on the tilt, orientation, shading, and other factors, a  7.41 kW grid-tie system will produce about 10,287 kWh of green power per year and save about 211 tons of CO2 over 25 years. If your bill was averaging 1000 kWh a month this size system can reduce your bill 86% to less than $14/month!  Grid-tied systems typically offset the utility power you normally use (net metering).