this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
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I don't know the legislation in the US, but in Germany, the plug-in "balcony" solar plants have to switch off immediately if the external grid disconnects in case of e.g. a blackout or if the (male Schuko) connector is unplugged.
Some inverters have a seperate (female Schuko) socket that remains powered in case of a blackout.
Some inverters are bundled with or capable of being connected to a battery that is only charged if an excess of solar energy is harvested and is discharged, if the solar input is lower.
The limits are either 800 W, which is the maximum the inverter of a plug-in solar plant is allowed to provide, or the power consumption of your household (on all three phases combined) if that's lower than 800 W. In the latter case, an additional smart meter needs to be installed at the main connection of your household, measuring said power consumption and feeding the controller of the inverter with that information.
Been talking to someone with a full house solar/battery setup and it's actually looking probably more cost effective to go with that instead. Though my usage is low so it may take a while to pay for its self. May well be able to get to pretty much no grid usage.
My peak usage in winter is just under 750kWh over a month, or 25kWh a day on average. Summer goes as low as 220kWh a month. Got some plans to hopefully lower the winter peak usage too.