The Challenge of a Grid-tied Net-metered Solar Array During a Power Outage

You’ve made the $44,000 investment. You’ve got a massive 12-kW solar array on your roof. You’re ready to "stick it to the man" and pay only the base utility charge. Then, a storm hits. The grid goes down.

Naturally, you assume that since you have solar panels and the sun is shining the next morning, you have power.

Unfortunately, you’re wrong.

The Problem: Anti-Islanding

Standard whole-house net-metered systems are required to have an anti-islanding inverter. This safety feature automatically shuts off your solar system when the grid goes down.

Why? Because the utility company doesn’t want your excess solar energy flowing back onto the lines where workers are making repairs. It protects the utility workers, your equipment, and the grid infrastructure.

The Expensive Workaround

To keep your power on during an outage, you need a high-end inverter and a massive battery bank. For a typical 2,000 sq. ft. house, this can add another $16,000+ to your project cost.

The Airspool Advantage

While Airspool won't run your entire house, it provides a critical survival tool: Climate Control.

Because Airspool’s solar-hybrid units are DC-native and skip the complex grid-tied inverter logic, they can keep running directly from solar panels even when the main grid is dead. On the hot, sunny days that often follow hurricanes or wildfires, you can stay cool (or warm) without needing a $16,000 battery system.

With Airspool, you have control over your comfort when you need it most.