Solar and battery storage systems generally have been purchased by people or companies that are able to make these investments. They can not only power a building’s essential electricity loads during outages but also enable low-income housing developers to generate significant electric-bill savings by reducing utility demand charges and generating revenue by providing valuable grid services.
The most vulnerable can benefit too. People whose lives depend on electricity are more impacted during blackouts or other electricity disruptions. For example, individuals, who can’t use their legs, couldn’t go anywhere and have no way to re-charge their electric cart without electricity. Patients, whose health and life depend on taking refrigerated medications on a regular basis, may get spoiled and unusable medicine during a blackout. Solar and battery storage systems can provide reliable power, meaning the difference between safety and harm, protection and tragedy, dangerous evacuation or sheltering in place when outages occur.