ANN ARBOR, MI — Devon Akmon said his neighborhood in southwest Ann Arbor loses power a lot.
But during the recent widespread outages that left his home without electricity from DTE Energy’s grid for three and a half days, all was well thanks to his new rooftop solar array and a Tesla Powerwall backup battery system.
“We were just powering the whole house like it was a normal day,” he said.
Akmon said he and his wife have decided not only to go solar, but also to push for complete electrification of their home, in line with the city’s A2Zero carbon-neutrality plan.
“In fact, we’re looking at geothermal (heating and cooling) later this summer and probably an EV,” Akmon said.
More than 100 community members attended a Zoom meeting hosted by the city’s sustainability office Wednesday night, Aug. 25, to learn about the benefits of solar arrays with backup batteries for home power generation during grid outages.
Akmon was one of multiple residents and solar installers who shared their experiences.
Julie Roth, a senior energy analyst with the sustainability office, said the meeting was organized in response to questions the city was getting, noting more people are thinking about backup power after recent outages.
Roth conducted a poll at the start of the meeting, finding half the attendees already have solar panels or are in the process of getting them. But having a backup battery is about the only way a home can keep generating solar power when the grid goes down, since grid-tied solar arrays are otherwise required by law to automatically shut down during outages for the safety of line workers. With a backup battery, a home solar system is able to switch to a self-supporting mode independent of the grid.
Akmon said his new system went live earlier this year and it’s helped get through about five power outages already.
“We have the Tesla Powerwall, which is awesome,” he said. “I can open this app at any time. I can always see what we’re producing. I can always see where my battery is at.”
It has a “storm watch” function that adjusts how much power is being pulled from the battery, which is a great feature to prepare for storms, Akmon said.
“There’s just so many wonderful advantages to having this,” he said, noting the battery is continually recharged when it’s sunny. “Since starting in March, we’ve been producing quite a bit more energy than we are pulling off the grid, so for those of you aiming for net zero, the battery is super helpful.”
The battery system cost about $9,000 and was installed on a wall in his basement, Akmon said, adding it’s quiet and there have been no problems with it. The only frustrating thing is “having all this extra energy” and not being able to share it with neighbors during outages, he said.
“I’d recommend it in a heartbeat,” he said of getting solar panels with a backup battery system.
“I’d recommend it in a heartbeat,” Ann Arbor resident Devon Akmon said of getting solar panels with a backup battery system.Devon Akmon
For residents who don’t have the ability to invest in a rooftop solar array and backup battery system, the city’s sustainability office notes there are smaller, less-expensive, portable battery boxes that can be charged with fold-up, portable solar panels that can be propped up in a sunny yard. Those battery boxes can be used to plug in home electronic devices, including phones, refrigerators and fans to keep them running or charged during a grid outage.
“You see more people using them camping now, but there’s no reason you can’t just have it in your backyard, too,” Roth said.
Roth discouraged purchasing gas-powered generators, saying investing in fossil fuel infrastructure is not wise.
The cost of solar has come down a lot and climate change is not going to wait, she said.
For those who invest in home solar and battery storage, there’s a 26% federal tax credit right now, Roth noted, adding the city also helps residents get discounts up to 15% on group purchases through the city’s Solarize program.
Dan Ezekiel, who lives in the Old West Side, said he’s been through two grid outages since he had an 11-panel solar array and LG backup battery installed this past year. The first outage only lasted about 45 minutes, but it was all the proof he needed that the system worked when his power stayed on while the rest of his street was out, he said.
With his solar panels, his most recent DTE Energy electric bill was $12.24 for July 16 through Aug. 12, he said. Counting gas service, his overall bill was $30.78, down from $106.84 for the same period a year earlier, he said.
“I’m so glad we put in the battery, and it’s already proved its worth in two ways,” he said. “One is that it gives us back our own electricity that we generate, at night, so that we’re not paying the high rate that Detroit Edison wants to charge us for their electricity at night. And the other thing is that it has helped out in power outages.”
Matt Kadwell, owner of Belleville-based Sumpter Solar, said his company has installed 165 solar arrays, including 86 in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area, and 43 backup battery systems. They’re beneficial not only during grid outages, he said, noting homeowners can charge their batteries with solar energy during the day and draw them down at night.
“Generally it’s better for the environment,” he said.
DTE will pay homeowners for excess solar power they send to the grid, but homeowners end up paying a much higher rate to draw power back from the grid, Kadwell said, explaining the benefits of being able to store it in a battery.
Whether it’s combined with a solar array or done as a standalone system, a backup battery system for a home will cost about $10,000 on average before tax credits, which can offset some of the costs, Kadwell said.
“It’s definitely a financial commitment,” he said, adding they also take up space in the home.
Kadwell said today’s backup battery systems can last a decade or more. Jeremy Zinn of Oak Electric Service in Waterford Township said some manufacturers have said they can last anywhere from 15 to 30 years.
Zinn said his company has installed between 1,200 and 1,500 systems, mostly for homes. He recommends homeowners consider pairing a backup battery for their solar with a backup generator to ensure power during winter outages when there could be snow.
Zinn said he has a 17-kilowatt solar array for his home with a 36-kilowatt-hour battery bank and a 20-kWh generator.
“They all kind of work together,” he said.
Eric Roberts, a master electrician with The Green Panel in Brighton, said his company is the No. 1 battery installer in the state and the only Tesla-authorized dealer.
“A battery can be installed even without solar and it can be charged from the grid,” he said. “And it can be just sitting there as kind of a generator itself and it can sit and wait, and it can be programmed to do peak-shaving demand rates to be discharged in the house in the event that the utility rates are higher throughout the course of the day.”
Roth said it’s frustrating that Michigan doesn’t allow homeowners without a backup battery to just add a transfer switch to their solar systems so they can still operate as an island independent of the grid during outages.
It is theoretically possible to install solar panels that aren’t tied to the grid, but that means homeowners wouldn’t get credit for excess generation, she said.
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