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With grid tie-in you will still be a slave to Helco and subject to any power outages they have. Off-grid is the way to go.
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Not always true. If Helco goes down, "people" show up to fix it. If your off-grid system goes down - YOU fix it. Personally, I like a hybrid approach which lets you take advantage of Helco's grid when you need that extra power like when guests are over and you are doing extra cooking, laundry, etc.
Why rely entirely on just one or the other?
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If your off-grid system goes down - YOU fix it.
Self-reliance is the key to "country livin".
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If Helco goes down, "people" show up to fix it. If your off-grid system goes down - YOU fix it.
This works well under normal circumstances, or if you live in a populated area. As Hurricane/Tropical Storm Iselle showed some residents of Puna however, when the power lines go down YOU might get your electrical power up and running faster than "people."
In remote areas and if you're good with tools, off-grid might be the better choice.
“Facts fall from the poetic observer as ripe seeds.” -Henry Thoreau
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Many folks are not self-reliant. That is part of the issue I have when people say "everyone" should have solar. Who will take care of all those systems and how will those people "save" money by having solar if they have to pay for repairs done by others?
In your extreme example, during that storm was a lot of lightning. For those folks whose off-grid house got hit and maybe lost their invertor, how long until they could get another one? Its no different.
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Many folks are not self-reliant.
Then they should live in Honolulu where full services are available.
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I think everyone should have solar - tied into the grid. Unfortunately the owners of the grid aren't too happy about that.
I see sunshine on roofs and think about all that free electricity disappearing into yet more warmth for the planet.
