Weathering the Storm through Solar Energy
Investing in solar energy sounds like a great idea when it’s sunny, but what about when it’s not? What happens during a hurricane? Can you still have power when the power lines go down?
More than 12 million Floridians lost power as a result of Hurricane Irma, including one of Power Production Management’s newest customers in Gainesville, Florida, Eugenio Pereira, who’s only had his solar system connected for about three weeks. Pereira was without power for more than 24 hours, but instead of watching all the food in his fridge spoil and wandering around aimlessly in the dark, he decided to put his solar system to good use.
Pereira used his SMA inverters’ secure power supply to power several appliances. “It worked great to power my fridge, wifi, and a couple of lights, even when it was very cloudy.”
Pereira did extensive research before purchasing his 6.867 kW SunPower DC system and knew he’d be able to use his inverters to power certain appliances–despite not being connected to the grid.
“I tested it before the hurricane. I actually did laundry and it worked,” Pereira said laughing. Although the inverters can’t provide enough energy to power an AC unit, Pereira says they’re definitely worth having.
