Solar energy in the Dominican Republic: panels, inverters and batteries

#First, what do you want to solve?

There are two main reasons to go solar in the DR: keeping the power on when the grid goes down and paying less for electricity. Many systems do both, but the design changes depending on which matters more. If backup is the priority, the key is the hybrid inverter and the battery capacity. If lowering the bill is the priority, a grid-tied system without batteries, with net metering, is an option.

#How we size your system

For a serious estimate, we need your electric bill, the list of appliances you want to keep running during an outage and photos of your roof. The bill tells us how much you use each month; the list of appliances sets the inverter's power rating, because a refrigerator, a pump or an air conditioner draws more current at startup; and the roof tells us how many panels fit and whether there's shade from rooftop water tanks, trees or neighboring buildings. From there we propose the number of panels, the inverter's power rating and the battery capacity, and we explain what you can expect.

It's common to start with a system that covers the essentials, such as lights, fans, refrigerator, router and TV, and expand it later with more panels or compatible batteries. If you already have an inverter with batteries, panels can sometimes be added with a charge controller.

#Batteries and power outages

Solar with batteries gives you backup, but how much depends on the battery bank and on what you have running. We work with lithium iron phosphate batteries, which generally last more cycles than lead-acid batteries and don't need water. Panels don't produce at night, so the house runs on its batteries until the grid comes back or the sun comes up.

#Net metering

A grid-tied system can export its surplus to the power distribution company (Edesur, Edenorte or Edeeste) through a bidirectional meter, under the net metering program. It requires an application and the distribution company's approval, and for safety a grid-tied inverter without batteries shuts off during outages. Law 57-07 on renewable energy sets the general framework, but the conditions and procedures can change: check the current terms with your distribution company. We guide you and prepare the technical side.

We anchor the racking with strong winds in mind, seal every roof penetration and leave the system with its protection devices, grounding and monitoring on your phone. The cost depends on the size of the system; message us on WhatsApp for a quote on yours.