Originally Posted by davidmash

Actually, Reliant and one other company will do 1:1 net metering. So any excess I produce on sunny days is put in a 'bank' and I use it 1:1 when I need to draw power.

According to Tesla, I would have to have 4 power walls to power my house for 5 days without power. Given how much power the 3T and 1.5T ac systems use, I do not see how they could last that long. My issue with the power walls is longevity. They are only guaranteed for 10 yrs which means they will likely fail shortly there after. Current price on a power wall is somewhere around $7k last I checked. If, worst case scenario, I have to replace 4 walls, that $28k out of pocket. Considering I have only lost power a handful of times over the last 20 yrs, spending that kind of money for backup power is not worth it for me.

They hybrid I am looking at is solar panels for day to day use and a 18kWh backup Generac for power failures. The only necessities are the AC, pool pump and fridge. The generator can handle that plus a few ancillary lights, ceiling fans and so forth.

They system I am considering guarantees 21 kWh a year. If I fail to produce that, the company will cut me a check for any shortage. Last year, I used a bit over 22 kWh for the year. So if that hold steady, my electric bill will be nearly zero and after the system is paid off, I will be saving about $2500 a yr in electric costs. More if/when utility prices go up.

I just do not understand why during a power failure, the power generated by the panels cannot power the house through the same switch the generator would. That does not make any sense to me.