Florida Solar One Off Grid Solar Systems in High Demand and Gain in Popularity After Hurricane Irma
Key West, Florida – After being struck by two major hurricanes, Florida and the Caribbean home and business owners are exploring solar energy with battery back up more than ever. Hurricane Irma destroyed the Florida Keys, and many residents went days and weeks without any power. This made life almost impossible, even for those with generators. Generators need fuel, and once that runs out so does the home’s electricity. Clean renewable solar energy is now a must in today’s Florida Keys society.
Some residents have excellent solar systems installed on their home, and many of them are simple grid-tied systems that only work when the utility grid is working too. These systems must shut down when the grid is off to protect electrical utility workers from exposure to live electricity when they are trying to repair them. Having a grid-tied system saves lots of money but unless the panel’s energy is stored in batteries the home will not be able to operate when the grid is down.
“The month following Irma hitting the Florida peninsula and the Keys, The US Solar Institute (Florida Solar Training College, Research and Engineering firm) and Florida Solar One (Florida Keys oldest dedicated solar contractor) have received nearly hourly calls to fix damaged systems installed by others” states company owner Ray Johnson. More recently Johnson shares “the calls are coming in to upgrade grid tied systems with batteries or simply install new system that include battery-based back up equipment. People are coming to realize that having energy storage is a critical addition to their Hurricane Force Solar Systems in the Florida Keys where storms have caused power outages for extended periods of time.”
“The amount of calls we are getting for battery-backup installation training is absurd; we get calls every hour from people interested becoming off-grid experts” said Jose Gonzalez, senior admissions counselor at The US Solar Institute. “We have always focused on both grid-tied and off-grid design and installation training, but we are now developing and providing more content based on modern battery-backed systems due to this popular demand,” he added.
Florida Solar One Sales Manager, Oliver Solorzano gets calls every day from people affected by the storms to price up a battery-backed solar systems. “Florida Solar One off grid solar systems are in high demand and most are pleased to know that they can borrow up to $20,000 from the Florida Keys Electrical Cooperative (FKEC) Solar Loan Program. When you also consider that the the IRS provides up to 30% tax credits for installing solar it has been exciting to share the news that going solar in the Florida Keys has never been more affordable”.
About Florida Solar One: Florida Solar One is oldest dedicated solar construction company in Monroe County. The company has an A+ rating by BBB and was ranked the #1 fastest growing private energy company in Florida by Inc. Magazine from 2013 to 2016. They can be reached at 305-517-5876, or visit them at www.floridasolarone.com