What Exactly Is Grid Tie?
Grid Tie simply means that you are connected to the electrical grid, but instead of simply using the energy that the power company produces, you actually become an independent power producer. Or in essence your own power company! Grid tie has existed in different forms for many years. There are people out there that sell power which is generated from small scale wind mills, others who generate power from small hydro electric systems, and still others who sell back power produced from the Sun. Solar systems being the least complex of the previously named technologies has just about reached plug and play simplicity. There are no moving parts to break, no critical monitoring and virtually no noise. Solar modules simply sit in the Sun and generate electricity year in and year out, in fact, the typical Solar module carries a warranty of 20 years and in most cases are expected to last double that amount of time !
