Backup from solar alone in a blackout — grid-tied panels must shut off (anti-islanding) to protect line workers. Only storage keeps you powered. 1
The comparison
Mycrogrid vs Solar
vs the Utility
Solar lowers your bill. A microgrid adds the storage and control solar-only homes are missing — backup, visibility, and a path to independence, especially now that old net-metering math no longer tells the whole story.
Why Mycrogrid wins
Solar saves you money. A microgrid keeps you powered, in control, and off the utility's clock.
| What you get | Mycrogrid | Solar only | Utility only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowers your monthly bill | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Power during a grid outage | ✓ | — | — |
| Energy stored for peak hours | ✓ | — | — |
| Protection from rate hikes | ✓ | Partial | — |
 Mycroguard
24/7 monitoring
| ✓ | — | — |
| You own the equipment | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Local command & control | ✓ | Limited | — |
| Path to grid independence | ✓ | Partial | — |
| Monthly cost trend | Fixed & falling | Lower | Rising |
Why this changed
Net metering made solar feel closer to independence than it really was.
For years, export credits made it look like sending power back to the grid was almost the same as controlling it yourself. It was still a utility-controlled arrangement: they set the rules, they set the value, and they could change the deal.
That is why the conversation has shifted. The question is no longer just how to maximize export credits. It is how to produce, store, and use your own energy on your terms.
Old solar question
How much credit can I get back from the utility?
Mycrogrid question
How much of my own power can I keep, store, and control myself?
The bottom line
Mycrogrid
Solar + storage + Mycroguard
control. Lower bills, real backup, and a path off the utility
— financed as one monthly payment.
Solar only
You may create energy during the day, but without storage you still have limited control, no outage backup, and no real way to move off the utility's clock.
Utility only
You rent power forever. Rates have risen ~2.85%/yr for 25 years, outages are out of your hands, and you build zero equity in your own energy.
The real disruption isn't solar panels, and it isn't batteries — it's control.
Mycrogrid isn't anti-utility. We're pro-homeowner: you decide when, where, and how your energy gets used.
Sources
- Solar.com — grid-tied solar shuts down in an outage (anti-islanding); a battery enables “islanding.”
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — Electricity Monthly Update / residential price trends.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office — Microgrid Overview (grid-connected vs. island mode, resilience).
Figures are industry/government averages for context, not a guarantee of individual results. Your numbers depend on your home, usage, and rates.
See which path fits your home
A free Solar Studio assessment shows your real numbers across all three.