You ned to speak to solar experts , there are many choices for backup electricity , the simplest of course is just a back generator that automatically kicks in when the power goes off.

Solar in my opinion is a great option when the costs of electricity exceed around 20 cents per KWH from the utility provider AND you have the real estate (roof or other area) with unhindered access to the southern sky at a good angle not to mention the area (location) you live has a good number of sunny days.

If your cost for utility provided power is less than 20 cents per KWH the advantages with solar run out or at best is a break even scenario with more hassles in the way of maintaining your solar grid. (The grid is tied to an inverter to convert power from DC to AC.) The panels typically last about 25 years, but power generated can degrade before the 25 year mark.

If you want a back up for when or if the grid power fails the maintenance costs stack up if you choose battery back up that is tied to your solar panel array to store power for when the grid goes down. Depending on the number of batteries the system contains and voltage requirements for loads you are running during an outage, the battery system may become depleted depending on how long the duration of power outage. So there are many variables to consider especially if you want air conditioning to run during an outage.

If you have natural gas hook up you could have a generator installed with switching to auto switch on when power becomes absent from the grid. You could use this in addition to solar, as if the grid power goes down and it's not sunny enough to run off solar power the natural gas generator kicks on to power the home or parts there of.

You could just use a natural gas generator with the auto on switch when power disruption is sensed and forget about the solar array.

The biggest things to think about are cost / noise. The generator will be noisy and I've been to homes, one in particular where it was running via some programmed maintenance test and it was quite loud. If you don't have natural gas available you're in a tough spot for options.

In Texas with utility rates in most cases below 10 cents per KWH a solar array cost would be lucky to break even when you consider avg... $25-30K cost of the array and utility savings of about $70 a month your savings come to about 21K over a 25 year period. This amount does not figure in damage due to hail or other problems that require repairs to the solar array.

It's best to size the array appropriately to what you need. In Texas as an example, the utility companies at best typically pay transmission costs to any amount the solar array makes over what you use. Depending on the provider they may cap this amount as well. Currently transmission costs (in Texas) are around 3.5 cents to 4 cents per KWH. So at those rates you are basically giving the excess power away that your solar array provides back to the power grid.

You can buy a 9KW Generac generator for $2395 which would be enough to power most of your house. Larger units are available. To that you to add the wiring and transfer switch. It can run off of natural gas or propane. The natural gas is nice since you can run it indefinitely.

The sound is rated at 66 dB(A) from a distance of 23 feet. If noise is a concern then unlike an AC condenser it can be installed further away from the house and surrounded by shrubs.

The generator is loud Mike (louder than a AC condenser as I was at a home a year ago in which the thing was running on a maintenance test, I question your 66 dB rating because most condensers run at 70 dB. I can tell you right now, covering it with shrubs isn't going to do much and even if power never goes out, the things runs on periodic timings to test the thing.

If you want peace and quiet solar panels are the way to go, but they have their limitations and the cost is rather high.

Hi, thanks for your replies. Just wanted to add that here there is no snow or hail, and the cost of electricity goes from 23 to 27 per kwh. A propane generator sounds like a good option(since it could share a gas line with the dryer) but houses in this neighborhood are less than 10 feet appart from each other(except in the back which is like 20-30 feet appart) so I'm scared that could be a problem. The house is about 1000 feet square ( 347 square meters) and has a flat roof, completely empty. There is sun all year long except for the ocassional rain(tropical weather).

That generator is NOISY - I live next to a guy with one. The 66dB is a weighted measure which bears no reality to what you hear!

If the generator is too noisy, I rather not start a war with my neighbors. What other options I have, given my circumstances?

I will add that our Generac generator, 9 KW, is extremely quiet. It is right outside our guest bedroom window and we have to go into that room to hear if it is on during its weekly exercise. That said, our neighbor has a whole-house generator that sounds like a diesel truck even through thick bushes. So, if you go for a generator, be sure to consider the noise.

In the United States, Tesla sells a 14kw battery for home installation. In the old days, one would purchase as many Rolls batteries as needed/ wanted. Rolls are probably the most cost effective if one knows what to do, if you have to hire someone to install, hookup, convert the electricity, the Tesla may be a better choice.

edit to add, the Generac cost is not $2,395. The Generac mentioned is $6-8k installed. The Tesla installed is ~$10k.

Regarding price of electricity, nice to know, but if the utility is not able to consistently supply electricity, the price per kWh doesn't matter. I live in an area where a black/brown out is unacceptable to some businesses. Those users spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for 200-400 kWh generators and onsite diesel fuel storage.

How much power for how long a time? Are your outages for minutes, hours or days? When you say one room airconditioner, do you mean a small 120v window unit?

At very minimum, in cases where power may be gone for up to 48 hours, I'd like to run:

a fridge that's 634kwh/cycle(even running it half of the time would be fine, probably).

An dc inverter air conditioner of about 9000 btu. Efficiency rate 16-21(havent got it yet). In a worst case scenario where power seems like will be gone like 24-48 hours a standing cooling fan would be ok(those are like 50w i think).

A laptop computer and 2 mobile smartphones.

Let's see... common bad scenarios would be:

No grid/blackout on a sunny day 12-48 hours(covered by the pv cells?)

No grid/blackout during a very cloudy day 12-48 hours(idk what happens there)

No grid/blackout during the night(after a day that was cloudy) 12-48 hours

Based on your scenarios, a battery storage system is my recommendation.

yikes 23 to 27 cent a KWH? You would think they would want to keep those juices flowing at those prices.

Solar is definitely the way to go if you can given your utility grid prices, battery back up would keep you from losing your mind due to the noise of a generator... just remember to maintain those batteries or the bliss will go down hill rather quick.

Also you want to size your battery array properly, because over draining / over charging will wear a battery out quicker if the array isn't set up right.

The sound specification I posted is from the Generac data sheet. It is supposed to be the measured sound from a distance a 23 feet. We don't know how this measurement was done so I agree it may be deceiving.

The Tesla Powerwall (battery) is an interesting device. But it is intended to be connected to a DC source like a bank of solar cells. Solar cells and a battery are very quiet but also very expensive. I have not been able to find a specification sheet. If you don't have a solar bank, then you would have to install a AC to DC converter to keep the battery charged. Depending on the size this could be another another expensive item. I am skeptical you could power most of a house for 24 hours without recharging the battery, but it may be possible.

If noise is a key factor then you should look into a Honda generator. These generators are the inverter type which tend to be quieter. The 7 KW models sells for $4500. The noise specification listed on the data sheet is 60 db(A) at full load, 52 db(A) are quarter load. The fuel is gasoline. I am not sure if it could be converted to propane.

My Generac natural gas generator runs the weekly exercise at half speed to reduce noise.

It would be counter productive to install battery array without the solar array.

The solar array is there to cut cost and recharge the battery array at lowest possible power generation cost when the sun is shining brilliantly. (realize at over 20 cents a KWH for grid power, it's cheaper to create power via solar at those price points.)

The battery array is really only there for when the sun is not shining or not as much as it normally does to limit power disruption.

In other words, the system would still be tied to the power grid. Power from the grid would be used normally when sun isn't shining. The idea is when the sun is shining the solar array produces enough to run the whole home as well as recharge the battery array.

The battery array is only there to get thru 'various' no grid power events when the sun light isn't available.

I thought that Tesla stopped selling their battery enclosures. And boy - were they expensive.

I can't see why solar and a decent (quieter) generator isn't the right answer here. I think the batteries are going to cost an arm and a leg, and take up a lot of wall space (if Tesla is even selling them)

If most of the power outages occur during storms, when there is rain and cloud cover, then the solar array is not going to be much help. The run time of a battery is directly depended on how much current is being drawn. You may only get 5 - 10 hours of operation. Then once it is depleted, it may take several hours to recharge.

Tesla still sells the powerwall. tesla released the gen 2 models and deliveries are within 90days I believe.

Solar and the powerwall would be my choice. As someone who lives half a block away from a natural gas generator that tests weekly, they are loud. Especially at night when there is no power or it is really quiet. I have a Honda gas powered generator that is super quiet but it has to be turned on when the power goes out.

The Tesla Powerall has been installed quite a bit in Australia because of their rolling black outs. You may want to read some articles on this. Tesla is also installing micro grids in places where power reliability is low and Diesel is very expensive. The micro grids are based on these Tesla powerwall.

Ordering a powerwall

Article from Teslarati about Powerwall in Australia

Does anyone have a Tesla setup in the midwest US? How has it performed so far? Planning a custom home construction. Looked forward to going this route initially but on researching it looks like it will take too long to be price effective; weighing system costs vs time it would take to reach break even or cost savings point.

Floors like Glass, how does your sonnen battery system compare with Tesla's? I've never heard of that company. Ok, your post is 3 years old, so maybe they are out of business!