Did you know that prosumers are playing a huge role in the solar energy industry?
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Prosumers are people who produce and consume energy simultaneously.
They are becoming more and more popular, as people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and become more self-sufficient. In this blog post, we will discuss 4 fascinating facts about solar prosumers!
The power sector has long been a one-way street, with utilities generating electricity and consumers using it. Solar energy has disrupted the old way of doing things by allowing homeowners who install solar panels on their roofs or property to consume the energy produced and sell the rest of it back to utilities. Consumers are now prosumers—people who create as well as consume energy.
1. Prosumers don’t sell solar energy to other consumers
When prosumers generate more energy than they require, extra is fed back to the grid for management by the utility. However, because the grid was designed to carry power only one way, not all of the surplus energy is absorbed on the grid. The US Department of Energy's Grid Modernization Initiative is attempting to reverse this trend by transforming the power flow from a one-way street to a two-way superhighway. Funding for new transformer technology that will allow more solar-generated energy from rooftop installations distributed across a utility's service area to be utilized efficiently onto the grid will also be provided
2. Prosumers don’t need to produce 100% of the electricity they consume
The solar panels on a homeowner’s rooftop might not produce all of the energy a home needs to function each day. Solar energy generation is also influenced by the season. Homes will typically use more energy for cooling in the summer and heating in the winter than they do in the spring or fall. Solar energy, unlike other forms of energy generation, may be used at all times without requiring demand. Solar energy has the ability to meet a consumer's load, part of it, or even more than the consumer's load. This is especially true for individuals who have smaller roofs. That's why solar prosumers, like other electricity consumers, connect to the grid and rely on utilities to balance supply and load just like other electricity consumers.
3. Prosumers can save money
Switching to solar can help balance a budget, making the prosumer lifestyle a worthwhile choice. The concept of moving to solar energy can be intimidating, but at ClearPath Energy, we do our best to make the process as seamless as possible. Solar energy will continue to improve in terms of affordability, as more financing options become accessible across the country. If you are interested in the benefits of going solar and hosting a solar farm somewhere on your land, you can learn more here.
4. Businesses can be considered prosumers, too
Solar panels are for more than just houses. Businesses can use rooftop or on-site solar energy arrays to help offset expenses. Solar may be used in conjunction with combined heat and power, which is beneficial for industrial and massive commercial facilities. This technology allows companies to capture the waste heat generated during the production of electricity and convert it into usable heating or cooling, taking business prosumer cred to the next level.
