A plain-language guide to how a solar and battery system turns sunshine into usable, emissions-free power.
Photovoltaic (PV) panels absorb sunlight, and the photovoltaic effect knocks electrons loose to create direct-current (DC) electricity.
An inverter changes that DC power into alternating current (AC) — the form of electricity homes and the grid use.
The electricity powers the building first; any surplus charges a battery or flows out to the grid.
At night or on cloudy days, stored battery energy and net-metering credits cover the difference.
A solar module is made of many PV cells, usually silicon. When sunlight hits a cell, it frees electrons and produces a flow of DC electricity. Modules are rated in watts — for example, 405-watt panels — and many wired together make up a system's total DC capacity (measured in kilowatts, kW).
Because homes and the grid run on AC, an inverter converts the panels' DC output to AC. An inverter has its own AC capacity rating, which is why a system can be described two ways — by its DC array size and by its AC inverter rating.
When a solar system makes more electricity than is being used, the extra flows back to the utility grid. Under net metering, the system earns credit for that exported energy, which offsets power drawn later — for instance at night. It effectively lets the grid act like a giant battery.
The result: clean energy is produced during the day and the grid stays balanced, with the meter tracking energy in both directions.
A battery energy storage system (BESS) stores solar energy so it can be used when the sun isn't shining.
Energy captured during the day powers the evening instead of being lost.
Stored energy can keep essential loads running during grid outages.
Storage smooths the difference between when solar is produced and when energy is needed.
For a century, electricity came mostly from a few large, central power plants. Distributed generation flips that model — putting many small, clean generators (like rooftop solar) close to where energy is used. It reduces transmission losses, adds resilience, and steadily replaces fossil-fuel power with renewable energy. The solar and storage assets Grindstone Solar owns are one small part of that larger transition.