Generac smart grid generator

[lkruper]

Been reading about this:

https://www.rurallifestyledealer.com/articles/9848-generac-generators-and-battery-storage-systems-to-be-offered-as-smart-grid-ready

What does the consumer get out of it? Does it replace a grid tied inverter?

I can't see running the generator to sell power, so what's the advantage?

[organic farmer]

... What does the consumer get out of it? Does it replace a grid tied inverter?

I can't see running the generator to sell power, so what's the advantage?

Think about when the grid goes down each week. If you still want power, then you are forced into generating your own power some how.

That is why we decided to go with solar power. We wanted to have power in our home all month long, every month. Most of our neighbors all have generators, in fact most of them have two generators.

The preferred setup is to have one large generator capable of powering the entire house, and a second small generator that can only power lighting and PCs. Once a day they fire up the big genny, then quickly flush toilets, run laundry, everyone takes showers, and turn on the chest freezers. After an hour of that you shut off the big genny and run the small genny. The big gennys consume a gallon of fuel an hour, the small gennys can run for eight hours on one gallon.

I moved here in 2005, so I guess 16 years in this township. So far we have not seen a single month that did not have the power grid go down.

Folks here are accustomed to the power company being incapable of providing continuous power.

When we were getting quotes to install solar power. We looked closely at the more expensive option of grid-tied or 'net-metering'. but it is far more expensive and the darn thing shuts off every time the grid goes down. We decided to go with the cheaper off-grid system with batteries.

We have seen what our neighbors pay every month for their genny fuel bills. Pick any month of the year, and their monthly fuel bills are way more than my amortized expenses of replacing batteries.

I do have breakers that I can flip to feed my house with grid power. But that is only useful on days when the power company can pull their fingers out of the behinds long enough to supply power to the power grid.

[SunEagle]

Been reading about this:

https://www.rurallifestyledealer.com/articles/9848-generac-generators-and-battery-storage-systems-to-be-offered-as-smart-grid-ready

What does the consumer get out of it? Does it replace a grid tied inverter?

I can't see running the generator to sell power, so what's the advantage?

Emergency power comes in many forms. Some of us (like organic farmer) do not have a reliable grid to depend on so they have gone off grid. For others a battery system is very expensive and will not always provide the watt hours that we are so use to. For me my grid goes down when there is usually a storm with clouds so solar is not dependable and batteries would be very expensive to run what my wife and I desire. That is why I have a 12kw gen set as emergency backup. If I did not get that gen set I would have installed a whole house unit which probably would have been a generic unit.

To each their own and I prefer a solid emergency power source which a gen set provides me.

[lkruper]

Thanks, I get all of that. I have a small Generac and a manual transfer switch.

I was wondering what was so special about a new Generac that incorporates smart grid tie to sell power back to the utility.

[SunEagle]

Thanks, I get all of that. I have a small Generac and a manual transfer switch.

I was wondering what was so special about a new Generac that incorporates smart grid tie to sell power back to the utility.

My guess is that is just advertisement to get people to install a gen set. You can have solar and batteries and a gen set all set up to power the home but I seriously doubt a gen set can sell back to the grid. It probably (to be realistic) is a solar pv system that is grid tied and can sell back

[Ampster]

........

I was wondering what was so special about a new Generac that incorporates smart grid tie to sell power back to the utility.

What is special is that the Generac proposal above includes batteries and an inverter that sell to the grid when the grid is up. A generator alone could not do that. No mention in the marketing piece about the extra cost. It does give them an opportunity to call it "smart".

[solardreamer]

Thanks, I get all of that. I have a small Generac and a manual transfer switch.

I was wondering what was so special about a new Generac that incorporates smart grid tie to sell power back to the utility.

Generac provides PwrCell, a home battery system, that has integration with their generators for controlled charging of batteries when there is not enough solar power. So, it's an integrated offering vs custom integration. As for selling power back, it's the standard VPP marketing pitch to help justify the high cost of home battery systems. In reality, there is still no meaningful financial ROI for home battery systems even with VPP.

[Ampster]

............. In reality, there is still no meaningful financial ROI for home battery systems even with VPP.

With high TOU rate differentials like I have in California, there can be a financial benefit to load shift. With EVs that can be further leveraged to improve the ROI of solar. Then of course there is the benefit of having a backup that can be charged by the sun, does not require refueling and is quiet. It all depends on where you are standing.
There is a market for that techbology and I think it is significant that a company like Generac has invested in battery technology. They are not yet competitive with other offerings but their reputation will probably carry them through. We are definitely in a transition.

[WWJPD]

Generac provides PwrCell, a home battery system, that has integration with their generators for controlled charging of batteries when there is not enough solar power. So, it's an integrated offering vs custom integration. As for selling power back, it's the standard VPP marketing pitch to help justify the high cost of home battery systems. In reality, there is still no meaningful financial ROI for home battery systems even with VPP.

This depends on where you live. In Mass and CT, the utility Eversource will pay you quite a bit to be a VPP, which the Generac PWRcell alllows, depending on how much power your provide during “peak demand” times from your battery system. I’m anticipating $2K-$3K from this program per year, which helps offset the battery costs. Sure, even with that, it could take about 10yrs to make back your investment, but I didn’t do any of this for quick ROI.
Generac is also now providing a 9kW DC generator to “top up” the batteries if they go below a set threshold(default of 30%). You could then sell that power back to the utility during these peak times. Not sure if I’d do this as the generator is burning fuel, which I’d rather not do.