# ALKEMATA PROJECT CAPSULE

## Why Solar Panels Go Dark in a Blackout

- Capsule ID: `alkemata.solar-blackout-capability`
- Version: 1.0
- Date: 2026-09-15
- Canonical article: https://alkemata.com/2026/09/15/solar-panels-blackout/
- Scope: Grid-connected building-scale solar, with or without batteries; general technical guidance, not a substitute for local electrical design, regulation or emergency advice
- Status: Experimental; desk-tested as a workflow, not field-validated

## Intended reader, capability and first artifact

This capsule is for a householder, facilities manager, community group or buyer. It builds the capability to distinguish grid-connected generation from islanded backup and frame precise questions for a professional.

In the first session, produce a **Blackout Capability Map**: a one-page record of the outage boundary, source of local voltage and frequency, available energy, protected circuits, power limits, control path, evidence and unknowns.

## Activation instructions for the LLM

Treat this file as a knowledge and workflow package. Do not assume that the user's solar panels, battery or inverter provide backup. Do not infer equipment capabilities from a brand name or marketing term.

If the user has supplied a quotation, manual, single-line diagram or equipment list, begin applying the workflow immediately. Otherwise offer the three missions below and ask no more than three questions:

1. Are we examining an existing system, a purchase proposal or a hypothetical design?
2. What must remain powered, and for roughly how long?
3. What evidence is available: model numbers, manuals, circuit schedule, quotation or single-line diagram?

Separate documented fact, inference and unresolved question. Produce the map before proposing upgrades. Never direct the user to open a panel, alter wiring, defeat anti-islanding protection or disconnect a live building from the grid.

## Missions

### Mission A — Audit a purchase proposal

Turn a quotation into demonstrated capabilities, unsupported statements and acceptance questions.

### Mission B — Document an existing system

Map utility loss, isolation, local grid formation, load supply, solar recharge and reconnection.

### Mission C — Design a modest resilience target

Choose priority loads, estimate their needs and draft a paper specification for professional review.

## Essential causal model

Solar modules produce variable direct-current electricity. An inverter converts it to alternating current. A grid-following inverter synchronises its output with the utility grid's voltage and frequency reference.

When utility supply fails, an ordinary grid-tied system disconnects. Anti-islanding prevents a generator from energising network that workers may expect to be dead. IEEE 1547-2018 includes islanding among interconnection, safety and testing requirements; local rules and equipment certification still require verification.

Outage power requires a controlled island with five functions:

1. **Separation:** an approved isolation or transfer device prevents back-feeding the utility network.
2. **Reference:** a grid-forming inverter or other suitable source establishes local voltage and frequency.
3. **Energy:** a battery or another controllable source stabilises the mismatch between variable generation and changing demand. Some specialised systems offer limited daytime power without conventional storage; treat that as an equipment-specific exception.
4. **Distribution:** only designated circuits, phases or loads may be on the backup side.
5. **Control:** protection, start-up, solar recharge, manual access and reconnection must work in islanded mode.

Power and energy differ: kilowatts limit instantaneous load; kilowatt-hours affect duration. Motors and pumps may have high start-up surges. Cloud, shade and night reduce input. A large battery does not prove that circuits are backed up, the inverter can start an island or solar can recharge it off-grid.

## Evidence base and limits

- US Department of Energy, “Solar and Resilience Basics”: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/solar-and-resilience-basics — explains that panels alone generally switch off during outages and describes properly configured inverters, storage, islanded operation and microgrids.
- IEEE 1547-2018: https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/1547/5915/ — establishes interconnection and interoperability requirements, including islanding, abnormal conditions, safety and testing. It is a 60 Hz standard and not a substitute for the rules applying in another jurisdiction.
- Lin et al., “Research Roadmap on Grid-Forming Inverters” (2020): https://research-hub.nlr.gov/en/publications/research-roadmap-on-grid-forming-inverters/ — distinguishes grid-forming controls, which do not rely on an external voltage source, from traditional grid-following control and identifies open questions around stability and protection.

These sources do not establish the capability, compliance or safe procedure for a particular installation.

## Workflow

### Step 1 — Define the outage service

**Input:** essential activities and plausible duration. **Action:** translate them into loads, running watts, surges and hours. Flag life-safety functions for professional review. **Output:** priority-load table. **Progression:** every activity maps to a load or non-electrical alternative.

### Step 2 — Trace the isolation boundary

**Input:** diagram, quotation, manuals and circuit schedule. **Action:** locate the device separating the island from the grid and record the circuits on each side. **Output:** map boundary. **Progression:** boundary and circuits are documented or marked unknown.

### Step 3 — Identify who forms the local grid

**Input:** equipment models and manuals. **Action:** find explicit statements on islanding, grid formation, start-up and solar during outages; marketing labels are not proof. **Output:** capability-to-document evidence table. **Progression:** formation and start-up are evidenced or unresolved.

### Step 4 — Test the power-and-energy balance on paper

**Input:** loads, inverter ratings, usable battery energy and solar conditions. **Action:** compare running power and surges with limits, estimate duration, and check islanded solar recharge. **Output:** conservative scenario. **Progression:** it fits documented limits with margin or names the load to remove.

### Step 5 — Specify evidence and acceptance

**Input:** unknowns and vendor claims. **Action:** request observable evidence for circuits, transition, manual control, islanded recharge, power, reconnection and commissioning. **Output:** Outage Claim Test Sheet. **Progression:** every claim has a document, authorised test or responsible owner.

## Decision rules and failure cases

- If the system lacks an approved way to isolate from the grid, do not describe it as outage power.
- If no component is documented to establish local voltage and frequency, treat the system as grid-following only.
- If the protected circuits or phases are unknown, do not assume “whole home”.
- If motor surge data are missing, keep pumps, compressors and similar loads outside the confirmed scenario.
- If control depends on an app or internet service, verify a local manual route and the behaviour when communications fail.
- If equipment names conflict across documents, stop the analysis and obtain the installed model numbers.

Common failures include confusing battery energy with output power, assuming all circuits are available, assuming sunlight guarantees restart and treating sales phrases as tested modes.

## Smallest useful reversible experiment

**Hypothesis:** the available documents are sufficient to explain, without ambiguity, which loads receive power in a utility outage and what component creates the local electrical reference.

**Resources:** model numbers, manuals, quotation, circuit schedule and blank map.

**Procedure:** imagine a two-hour daytime outage. Trace grid loss, isolation, local formation, battery discharge, protected circuits, solar recharge and reconnection. Source every step and estimate one conservative load combination. Tabletop only.

**Success:** the sequence is complete, the priority load fits documented continuous and surge limits, and every capability has evidence. **Failure:** any essential transition relies on an assumption, the available power is exceeded, or the protected circuit is unknown.

**Stop conditions:** stop before any live switching, panel access, protection change or deliberate grid disconnection. Stop if medical or life-safety equipment is involved, documentation conflicts, or local rules are unknown. Ask a qualified professional.

**Next action:** if the map passes, request an authorised commissioning or demonstration procedure. If it fails, send the Outage Claim Test Sheet to the installer or system owner before buying equipment or promising resilience.

## Blackout Capability Map template

```text
System / location:
Outage scenario and duration:
Essential activities:
Priority loads (running W / surge W / hours):
Grid-isolation device and evidence:
Grid-forming source and evidence:
Battery usable energy and minimum state:
Continuous / surge power limits:
Protected circuits and phases:
Solar available during outage? Evidence:
Can solar restart or recharge in islanded mode? Evidence:
Transition and reconnection behaviour:
Local manual control if app/internet fails:
Known exclusions:
Unresolved questions and owner:
Professional review or authorised test needed:
```

## Verification checks

Check model numbers, power versus energy ratings, island boundary, named circuits, cloud/night cases, local requirements and visible unknowns. Ask the reader to explain why panels normally stop and what forms the local grid.

## Boundary and counterexample

This method does not decide whether to buy batteries. A shared refuge, demand reduction or professionally installed generator may be better. Large microgrids and life-safety systems require engineering studies.

## Manual or offline route

Print the template, photograph labels without opening enclosures, copy manual ratings and mark unknowns. A person can complete the map offline and take questions to a qualified installer.

## Portable checkpoint

```text
Capsule ID/version:
Mission chosen:
System examined:
Decisions made:
Evidence collected (document + page):
Assumptions still in use:
Unresolved safety or regulatory questions:
Blackout Capability Map status:
Next action and responsible person:
```

On request, help the reader convert this checkpoint into a project passport, a field report based only on actual observations, or a precise request for help. Before sharing, remove addresses, account numbers, serial numbers, access details and other private information. The reader chooses what to send. Alkemata does not receive anything automatically. The verified contact route is https://alkemata.com/collaborate/ . Simulated outputs are not field experience.