How Home Microgrids and DERs Can Keep the Lights On During Outages
CLEAN ENERGY FEBRUARY 3, 2025
Extreme weather events like ice storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense, leaving people without power for days or even weeks. As strains on our electricity grid continue to mount, many homeowners are looking for ways to protect themselves and their families from power outages. Enter: microgrids.
What is a microgrid?
A microgrid is a small, localized energy grid that can operate independently and in conjunction with the main power grid. Microgrids can range in size from powering a university campus or a single home. They can be used in critical facilities like hospitals and data centers, in remote locations not connected to the main energy grid, and in homes to provide backup power during power outages or to reduce consumption during peak demand hours. A microgrid typically includes:
Renewable energy sources like solar panels or wind turbines.
Batteries to store energy generated by renewable sources or from the grid during off-peak hours.
Control system software to manage the flow of energy within the microgrid and seamlessly transition between grid-connected and off-grid mode.
What are Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)?
DERs include a range of smaller-scale energy generation and storage technologies located near the point of electricity consumption such as:
Solar panels, wind turbines, and fuel cells
Batteries and energy storage systems
Demand-side management technologies like smart thermostats
A residential microgrid is a type of DER system designed for residential use that integrates multiple DER technologies to create a more self-sufficient and resilient energy system for a single household.
How Microgrids Benefit Homeowners
Microgrids provide multiple benefits to homeowners:
Uninterrupted Power: During power outages, a home microgrid provides resilient, continuous power, keeping essential appliances like refrigerators, medical equipment, and heating/cooling systems running. This is especially important in regions prone to extreme weather events.
Cost Savings: Microgrids enable homeowners to generate their own electricity, reducing dependence on the grid and lowering monthly utility bills. In many areas, homeowners can take advantage of net metering, which allows them to sell excess power back to the grid during peak demand periods, further offsetting energy costs.
Increased Home Value: Homebuyers are increasingly looking for energy-efficient, self-sufficient homes, and having a microgrid already installed with energy generation and storage capabilities could make a property more attractive.
Environmental Impact: Microgrids that use renewable energy sources reduce the homeowner's carbon footprint. By relying on clean energy, homeowners help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the transition toward a more sustainable energy future.
Challenges to Widespread Deployment
Despite their benefits, microgrids still face several barriers that are slowing down their widespread adoption:
High Initial Costs: While the cost of renewable energy technologies like solar panels and batteries has decreased, the initial investment required for a home microgrid can still be prohibitive for many homeowners.
Space Constraints: Microgrids typically require a considerable footprint for solar panels and batteries. Homeowners with small properties or those in urban areas might face challenges finding enough space.
Regulatory Hurdles: In some regions, regulations around energy production, storage, and distribution can make it difficult for homeowners to fully take advantage of residential microgrids. And the rules surrounding net metering—the ability to sell surplus energy back to the grid—can vary widely by region.
How to Increase Residential Microgrid Deployment
To make microgrids more accessible to homeowners and increase their adoption, there are steps that governments and utilities can take.
Incentives and Financial Support: Governments and utilities can offer incentives such as tax credits, rebates, and low-interest loans to reduce the financial burden. Increased funding for research and development could also help lower the cost of microgrid technologies, making them more affordable.
Improved Infrastructure: Expanding energy storage capabilities and improving the interoperability of microgrids with the broader grid could make deployment easier and more effective. More efficient, cost-effective batteries will help reduce the overall cost of microgrids.
Streamlined Regulations: Simplifying regulations around residential microgrid installation, including permitting and zoning laws would make it easier for homeowners to adopt these systems. And creating clearer standards for grid integration and energy storage could help increase confidence in microgrid technologies.
Long-Term Benefits for Homeowners and the Energy Grid
Residential microgrids provide multiple benefits for homeowners and the larger energy grid. By decentralizing power generation, microgrids can make the entire energy system more resilient. As more homeowners deploy microgrids, the demand on the central grid could decrease, reducing overall energy prices. And since microgrids use clean renewable energy, this can contribute to reducing global carbon emissions. As technology advances and more people adopt these systems, we could see a transformation in how energy is produced, consumed, and managed at the local level.
Learn more about how microgrids and DERs are transforming the energy grid.