In Florida, off-grid electrical systems, such as solar and wind power, are authorized.
There are no restrictions prohibiting you from disconnecting from the grid and establishing your own “micro grid.”
However, you will usually always need to obtain a permit for your system.
Schematic diagrams, electrical calculations, specifications, and other documentation are required to obtain a permit for larger systems.
Many jurisdictions will only provide a permit to an electrical contractor that is licensed (EC or ER license).
Instead of an electrical permit, solar water heaters require a plumbing permit. It is prohibited to install a solar or wind system yourself; you must hire a qualified professional to do so. Before you may legally utilize your off-grid system, you may need to get it inspected.
Also check out:
- How to Survive in the Absence of Electricity
- Off-Grid Refrigerator of the Year
Is it unlawful in Florida to use solar panels to power your home?
The quick answer is that solar panels are not prohibited in Florida. However, while investigating solar power choices in Florida, you may have came across this topic and wondered why others are asking it. Don’t worry, we’re here to tell you that using solar panels to power your home in Florida is not only legal, but also a wise investment. Let’s take a look at why this question arises when contemplating solar power in Florida, as well as some insider tips on how going solar in Florida can benefit you in multiple ways!
The Law: What the Florida Solar Rights Act Says
Any enforceable agreement between HOAs or otherwise prohibiting a property owner from installing solar panels is prohibited per Florida Statute 163.04. Period. That means they can try to tell you where to put them on your roof (perhaps the HOA doesn’t want them in plain view), but they can’t stop you from installing solar panels on your roof that are the most efficient for you if their preferred location or requirements don’t meet an orientation to the south or within 45 degrees east or west of due south.
Florida HOAs: What They Can and Cannot Control
Even while your HOA can’t stop you from going solar, we recommend informing them ahead of time to avoid any problems. To avoid any potential litigation during or after your installation, you should still follow their processes and file all relevant papers with them.
You’ll be on your way to saving as soon as you notify them! However, there is one thing to keep in mind. And it’s possible that this is what sparked the interest in why solar panels are outlawed in Florida.
Is Solar Power Illegal in Florida? Here’s Why Some Think It Is
Although solar electricity is not prohibited in Florida, some speculated that going off-grid with solar power would be. This is also incorrect. However, each utility provider regulates whether or not you are linked to the grid, so if you’re thinking of going fully off-grid, it’s advisable to check with them first.
There are “anti-islanding” solar panel laws in place through Florida utility companies, which simply means that your solar electricity will switch off during a power outage. You can participate in a scheme called net metering once your solar panels are installed and connected to your utility company’s grid. However, when the lights go out, your solar power goes out with them. This is due to the fact that your grid-connected solar panel system distributes power back into the grid, allowing you to earn money through net metering. During a power outage, the same technology that might pay you money back on your electricity bills could put line workers in danger. However, with a solar panel battery backup, this can be avoided.
Let’s go through the differences between being grid-tied and off-grid, as well as the net metering procedure, before looking at why a solar panel battery is a good purchase.
Grid-Tied Power vs. Off-Grid
The main distinction is that if you’re connected to a utility company’s power grid, your solar power system will be connected to the company’s power meter, however if you’re fully off the grid, you won’t be. This means you’re creating your own energy, which you can only do with solar energy while the sun is shining, otherwise you’ll need a battery backup to store the surplus energy your system generates. You’ll be able to use excess solar energy stored in a battery for periods when the sun isn’t shining. When you’re grid-tied, you can use the solar energy from your battery, the grid’s power, or sell your excess energy back to the grid through net metering.
What Exactly Is Net Metering?
When you have solar panels, net metering, also known as net energy metering (NEM), is a scheme utilized by electric utility providers to calculate your electric bill based on your net power usage. It enables you to receive full credit for the electricity generated by your panels and fed into the grid. That means you’ll only be charged for the difference between how much electricity you use and how much electricity is generated. In other words, if you don’t utilize all of the energy harvested by your solar panels, the power provider will buy it back from you, resulting in even more savings!
How Net Metering Works
Here’s an illustration: Let’s imagine your house only consumed 700 kWh of electricity in a month, but your solar panels generated 850 kWh. On your next account, your power company would credit you for the additional 150 kWh.
Just make sure your utility company is aware that you’re going solar and that you want to participate in net metering.
In addition, if you want to be more energy independent in Florida, you might think about investing in a solar backup battery.
Why Get a Solar Panel Battery in Florida?
Solar panel batteries keep your home powered up in the event of a power loss, such as a natural disaster. They also store all of the extra sunlight generated by your system. Here are just a few of the advantages of having a solar panel battery in Florida.
Combining your solar panels with a battery, such as the Enphase Encharge or the Tesla Powerwall 2, is a match made in heaven. Rainy days and naps. Florida is known for its oranges. It’s only natural to combine solar panels with a battery backup, and their functioning is straightforward.
- At sunrise, your solar panels start generating electricity for your home.
- Excess energy, especially during peak sunlight hours, charges the battery.
- When the sun sets or if there is a power outage, your battery kicks in and keeps you going.
Is it possible for me to simply go off the grid?
Living off-the-grid appeals to individuals who prefer isolation and fewer human interaction. Living off-grid means being self-sufficient and not reliant on a utility for power. Growing your own food and creating your own home are common examples. Some folks will also grow livestock. Off-grid living is quite similar to self-sufficiency and homesteading.
Off-grid living is not unlawful in and of itself, especially when it comes to generating your own electricity, growing your own food, and constructing your own home. However, when municipal rules and zoning limitations make it illegal to conduct certain things on or with your own property, an off-grid existence becomes problematic.
Is it legal to live off the grid in Florida?
If you reside in Florida and want to live a more sustainable lifestyle free of the influence of energy companies and big agricultural conglomerates by installing solar panels on your home, harvesting rainwater, and cultivating an organic garden, beware. City officials in Cape Coral, FL are now requiring Ms. Robin Speronis to use city utilities instead of private solar panels and rainwater, citing the International Property Maintenance Code, or face being evicted from the property!
Robin Speronis was in breach of city laws when she refused to connect to the Cape Coral city water system, according to Special Magistrate Harold S. Eski. Eskin ordered Speronis to pay for water service regardless of her need for it, and she was also told that her sewer access (which, it should be emphasized, would be funded by her property tax) would be limited until she did.
This comes just three months after a couple in Miami Shores, FL was compelled to remove an organic garden from their own home in December. Despite the fact that the garden, which the couple had maintained for 17 years, pre-dated the zoning, the Florida city claimed the pair was in breach of zoning restrictions. Hermine Ricketts, who dug up the garden in the face of $50/day charges for non-compliance, stated, “We are already experiencing the impact of shopping for pricier organic food.”
People who have followed the difficulties of Sean Law and Julie Bass are all too familiar with news of people losing their houses and governments abusing their citizens’ rights over their own propertywhich, you know, they sort of exist to defend. Bass was facing prison time in Michigan for establishing a vegetable garden in her yard, as you may recall. It’s also worth noting that Law is a Floridian, proving that the Sunshine State truly is America’s wang.
Is it less expensive to live off the grid?
Overall, living off-grid is a less expensive way to live once you have everything set up. Renewable energy is less expensive, eating off the land is less expensive (but requires more maintenance), and living in a less opulent home can also save you money.
How do I get off the grid if I don’t have any money?
If you’re anything like me, the biggest roadblock to living off the grid is a lack of funds. Today, I thought I’d help out aspiring homesteaders by compiling a list of recommendations for living off the grid on a budget, some of which you may not have seen before.
How to live off the grid on a shoestring budget:
- Get yourself a free or low-cost piece of land (4 methods below)
- Construct a free house
- Gather and cultivate foods that are abundant in nature.
- There are no wells to dig, therefore purify the available water.
- Set up a dirt-cheap (or even free) waste disposal system.
- Find a free living community as a bonus.
Despite what advertisements, builders, and real estate salespeople would have you believe, there are numerous low-cost methods to go off the grid. It all comes down to how much effort you’re willing to put in and your ability to think creatively.
Cost-effectiveness
In the long term, generating your own electricity may be less expensive than continuing to utilize power from the local grid, especially if you have access to good renewable resources (wind or solar).
Connections to local lines might cost tens of thousands of dollars for residences in rural places. It may be less expensive to generate your own electricity. In metropolitan regions, it may also be an alternative. The setup costs are now somewhat substantial, however they are decreasing.
You may be able to sell any excess electricity back to your power provider if you are linked to the grid and generate your own electricity.
Guaranteed connection
You can have security of supply even if there is a blackout or if your local electrical network is shut down if you can create and store your own electricity, either individually or collectively with neighbors. This allows you to be considerably more self-sufficient from the grid, which might be essential in times of civil unrest or terrible weather.
Environmental impact
In 2016, renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, bio-energy, and geothermal generated about 84 percent of New Zealand’s electricity. The remainder is derived from the combustion of fossil fuels such as gas or coal, a process that emits greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change.
In Florida, is it legal to drive barefoot?
It is widely assumed that driving barefoot is prohibited. That myth, however, is untrue. In Florida, there are no traffic rules that clearly say that driving without shoes is banned.
There are no rules in any state that make driving a car without shoes illegal. When driving or riding a motorcycle in Alabama, you must wear shoes, but not when driving a car.
As a result, if you want to take advantage of Florida’s wonderful weather, you can decide whether or not you need shoes to drive your car. However, just because it isn’t unlawful to drive without shoes in Florida doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do so.
Is there a solar access law in Florida?
Solar equipment cannot be prohibited by laws, deed restrictions, covenants, or other legally binding agreements in Florida. A homeowner’s application for a mortgage may not be denied under this law “permission to install a solar collector, clothesline, or other renewable energy device… any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property…
While a homeowner cannot be banned from building a solar energy system, various limitations can be placed on them without breaking the law. These limits, however, must be reasonable, not arbitrary, and applied similarly to all homeowners in a subdivision. The limits must not degrade the performance of a solar system, otherwise they will be viewed as discriminatory “Solar is effectively prohibited.
A homeowner association cannot prevent the installation of solar collectors on the roof, according to the legislation. The association may choose where the collectors are located on the roof, as long as it is within the area necessary for effective functioning, which is south, east, or west of due south.
As a result, the organization is limited in its ability to impose regulations that would effectively reduce the system’s operating efficiency or raise the cost of installation. As a result, if the association modification hinders the system’s efficiency, requirements for screening the system from view, whether by trees or fences, ground mounting, or limiting installation to an area not visible from the street, are inconsistent to the spirit and letter of the legislation. The regulation also prohibits requiring the system to have a specific color (for example, to blend in with the color of the roof), because the collector surface must be black to effectively absorb the sun’s heat (and, in fact, is the only available material on the market).
The applicability of Section 163.04 has been the subject of some debate. (See Section 163.04 of the Florida Statutes for more information.) The majority of cases, however, have been settled through mediation.
A solar pool heater was installed on the roof of a residence in one such scenario. The association filed an injunction in this case, seeking that the rooftop system be removed and replaced with a ground-mounted system. The system’s operating efficiency would have been harmed by this adjustment, and the yard area was insufficient to allow ground-mounting. The parties reached an agreement, with the homeowner winning on the roof mounting issue. To compensate for the loss of system efficiency, the collectors were moved to a less visible location on the roof, and extra panels were added.
Another instance involved the installation of a pool heating system on a home that the homeowners association board had previously prohibited. The case was ruled in the association’s favor based solely on the question of whether 163.04 applied to homeowner associations. The law did not extend to homeowner associations, according to the court. As a result, the statute was changed to specifically encompass homeowner association actions.
A garage door screen was also installed in another occasion. The case was decided in the homeowner’s favor since it was ruled that the screen served as a means of cooling the house and therefore constituted a passive solar measure.
Before installing a solar system, make sure you have the approval of your homeowners association. If the governing documents require it, the law safeguarding solar installation does not remove the necessity for association approval. The Legislature, on the other hand, has made several revisions to Section 163.04 in order to clarify its objective and defend the interests of all solar consumers. This clause applies to all decisions regarding the approval or denial of a solar system, regardless of when the subdivision was established or when the association rules were approved.
Florida Statute, Section 163.04
(1) The adoption of an ordinance by a governing body, as those terms are defined in this chapter, that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources is expressly prohibited, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or other provision of general or special law.
(2) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements that run with the land prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation of solar collectors, clotheslines, or other renewable energy devices on buildings erected on the lots or parcels covered by the deed restrictions, covenants, or binding agreements. Any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property with respect to residential dwellings not exceeding three stories in height may not deny a property owner permission to install solar collectors or other renewable energy devices. Such entity may determine the specific location where solar collectors may be installed on the roof within an orientation to the south or within 45east or west of due south for the purposes of this subsection, provided that such determination does not impair the solar collectors’ effective operation.
(3) The successful party in any litigation brought under the provisions of this section is entitled to costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
(4) The legislative intent in enacting these provisions is to protect public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the development and use of renewable resources in order to conserve and protect the value of land, buildings, and resources by prohibiting the adoption of measures that will have the ultimate effect, however unintended, of driving the costs of owning and operating commercial or residential property beyond the ability of private owners to maintain. Patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives, and apartments are exempt from this clause.
Note: This article is intended to provide general information regarding Florida’s Solar Rights Law to the public and should not be taken as legal advice. Consumers should seek legal advice from their attorney for specific advice.
Is net metering available in Florida?
Since 2008, net metering has been available throughout Florida. Since then, the number of renewable energy system interconnections in Florida has increased by more than 10,000 percent.