We now know that solar technology use of a “smart micro grid” will enhance your smart home experience. But is it worth it?

For starters, the initial investment in solar technology can be significant. But, with the prices coming down steadily, expect a three-year to five-year return on investment from all the considerable savings of solar setup and automation.

Depending on the initial technology, the costs can either drive up the price or lower it. With solar design and implementation, the traditional (old way), there is a need for a protective load panel (sub panel) that carries the loads to run your energy source, whether solar, battery backup, generator, etc.

Using a smart grid and an automation system is more energy-efficient and saves money along the way.

The term ‘vampire electronics’ refers to devices that pull power when not in use, such as your microwave, television, cable box, phone charger, etc. An automation system, especially solar, will allow you to turn off those vampire loads on a schedule.

For instance, if you leave home during the week by 8:00 am and return at 6:00 pm, for those 10 hours, your vampire electronics suck your hard-earned cash without being used. An automated system could turn off those devices at 8:15 am and back on at 5:45 pm before you return home. If you are back early, override the system manually without affecting the schedule for the next day.

With the high cost of power storage (batteries), you could design a system to run your home or office with a smart microgrid run off of solar power during the day and limited battery backup at night, automatically managing the fluctuating demands. And remember, an app can control all these functions.

Note: If you cannot install solar, install whole-home battery backup along with the smart microgrid; instead of using solar to charge your batteries, use the national grid (Jamaica Public Service) instead.

Brian Yap Sam is CEO of Green Concepts Intl LLC (GCI) certified automation programmer with over 19 years of experience in the IT industry in Jamaica and overseas. Contact: info@gci-llc.com