In 2022, Hurricane Fiona brought devastation to Canada, Puerto Rico, and some Caribbean Islands. It led to severe flooding, and power grids that served hundreds of thousands of citizens were knocked out.
One person shared their experience on Reddit at the time, detailing they had been "off grid" for five days in the aftermath of the destruction. However, they said, "I'm living like the electricity never went out."
"The last 2 days I have been using my 24KBTU inverter A/C during the night because of the extreme heat here (that's why the 36% [remaining power]), but with the sun, at midday the battery is going to be at 100%," they said on the r/Powerwall community.
They also shared a screenshot of a mobile app that showed how the home's Tesla Powerwall, paired with solar panels, was providing energy.
Indeed, this technology could be literally life-saving in this situation. In extreme heat, air conditioning can prevent potentially deadly heat-related illnesses. Thankfully, the solar panels and battery storage provided enough power, even when grid access was unavailable.
This is one of the many benefits of renewable energy tech. When extreme weather conditions — which are exacerbated by a warming climate — knock out local power, your home solar panel system can pick up the slack. Being resilient in these conditions can make the experience far more comfortable and less stressful while you deal with the rest of the fallout.
But they can also save you plenty of money on energy bills in normal circumstances. As this Redditor detailed, their panels and batteries can generate enough energy to keep a power-intensive air conditioning unit running. If they can produce that much free power when the grid is in operation, it will significantly reduce the amount of energy they need to source from utility companies, cutting their monthly outgoings.
What's more, those utility companies probably still need to burn dirty fuels to create energy, causing temperatures to climb as the subsequent pollution traps heat in the atmosphere. This can make extreme weather stronger, longer, and more likely. Solar panels, meanwhile, produce zero pollution when harvesting the sun's light to make power.
"Very glad you have panels and a Powerwall!" one Redditor said.
🗣️ What would you do if natural disasters were threatening your home?
🔘 Move somewhere else 🌎
🔘 Reinforce my home 🏠
🔘 Nothing 🤷
🔘 This is happening already 😬
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"When the battery reaches 100%, and the solar panels shut down, that is when you should run the A/C," another advised. "Try to run it off the panels and pre-cool the room."
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