solar system will tied to your local utility’s GRID. On grid is the most used in residential homes, because you are covered if your solar system under or over-produces in regard to your varying energy needs. All this means for you is that your utility system acts as your battery space. Being grid-tied is beneficial because you don’t have to buy an expensive battery back-up system to store any excess energy.

Being off-grid means you are not connected in any way to your grid’s power system or utility company. This is appealing because you are 100% self-sustaining your energy use. However, there are disadvantages because off-grid systems require you to purchase back-up battery which can be expensive, bulky, and not very environmentally.

Hybrid solar systems generate power in the same way as a common grid-tie solar system but use special hybrid inverters and batteries to store energy for later use. This ability to store energy enables most hybrid systems to also operate as a backup power supply during a blackout, similar to a UPS system.