Emily Kwong

And the positive side is what absorbs the sunlight.

The sun's energy travels as photons.

Those photons, when they hit the solar panel,

They knock electrons free.

So then there's all these free electrons which then travel through the solar panel to the negative side.

And the flow of electrons, as we know, is electricity.

And this process is happening across hundreds of cells on any given solar installation.

Of course, you need a device to accept these electrons.

A lot of people use solar inverters.

These are magic boxes that convert that direct current into an alternate current.

So if you need more electricity, it pulls from the utility.

If you make extra electricity, that will actually flow back onto the grid to power your neighbors' homes and businesses.

But if the power goes out, lights out.

No, because the inverter recognizes something is wrong with the grid and shuts down.

So Jenny has seen a lot of people add batteries to their systems as a backup power source.

So that would allow you to truly live off the grid.

OK, so for this, I wanted to cast a wide net.

I talked to five people in different parts of the country who are all connected to the solar industry.

The five include a journalist, a policy person, a trade person, a master electrician, and someone at Darcy's local public utility.

What'd they say?