Using solar panels during power outages depends on the type of solar array you have. If you have solar panels with a battery system, you can use the stored energy in the batteries to power your home during power outages. If you don’t have a battery system, the energy generated by your solar panels is sent to the grid. During a power outage, the solar array will automatically shut down to prevent electricity from going back to the grid, which can be dangerous for technicians working on the grid. So to use solar power during power outages, you need a battery system designed to work as an emergency power supply.
During a power outage, solar panels can still generate power, but it is not sent into the grid for safety reasons. However, a home battery with an EPS feature can serve as an emergency power supply and switch the inverter so that it is connected only to the battery and selected devices, allowing you to still use energy stored in the battery in the event of a power outage. This happens in milliseconds.
An EPS box (also Automatic Transfer Switch) is a switch that automatically switches to the connected emergency power supply when the mains power fails.It is a necessary protection switch if an emergency power supply is connected to an inverter. In the meter box, the output of the EPS box, is connected to certain groups where you need power in case of power failure. The EPS box can often still provide enough power to power a washing machine and kitchen, for example!
In this process, the EPS-Box controls the switching of contactors (devices that make and break electrical circuits) to provide power to the linked groups in the meter box. Is power coming back on the grid? Then the EPS box often switches back automatically.
