What Happens to My Solar Panels During a Power Outage in Singapore?

The Short Answer

If your solar system is a standard grid-tied system without battery storage, your panels will stop generating during a power outage — even in full sunlight. This is not a fault. It is a legally required safety feature.

If you have a hybrid system with battery storage (e.g., Huawei LUNA, Tesla Powerwall, or similar), your system may be able to supply your home from the battery during an outage, depending on how it was configured.

Why Does a Grid-Tied System Stop During an Outage?

This is called anti-islanding protection, and it is mandated by SP Group and EMA for all solar installations in Singapore.

Here is why it exists:

• When the grid fails, SP Group's technicians go out to repair cables and restore power. If your solar system continues to feed electricity into the grid while their technicians are working on what they believe is a de-energised line, this creates a serious electrocution risk.
• To prevent this, all grid-tied inverters are programmed to detect grid failure and immediately shut down their AC output. This typically happens within 200 milliseconds of a grid loss event.
• Your inverter will automatically restart and reconnect to the grid once the outage is resolved and grid voltage and frequency stabilise (usually within 5 minutes of power restoration).

What You Will Experience During an Outage

• Your home loses all power (same as without solar)
• Your inverter display goes blank or shows a "Grid Lost" or "Waiting" message
• Your monitoring app will show the system as offline
• When SP Group restores the grid, your inverter will automatically restart — you do not need to do anything

How Battery Storage Changes This

A hybrid inverter with battery storage can be configured to provide backup power during grid outages. When configured in backup mode:

• When the grid fails, the inverter disconnects from the grid and switches to island mode, forming a private microgrid for your home
• The battery provides power to your home during the outage
• If it is daytime, your solar panels continue to charge the battery and supply your home
• The transition typically takes 20–60 milliseconds — fast enough that most appliances do not even notice

Important: Not all battery systems are configured for backup mode by default — this must be set up and tested at installation. Check with Sunollo if you are unsure how your battery is configured.

What Battery Cannot Power

Battery backup does not mean unlimited power during an outage. Be aware of:

• Capacity limits — a 10 kWh battery powering a typical Singapore home will last 4–8 hours (depending on consumption)
• High-draw appliances — some systems exclude air-conditioning, water heaters, or EV chargers from the backup circuit to extend battery life
• Extended outages — in a multi-day outage, solar generation can help recharge the battery each day, but consumption management is important

After the Outage: What to Check

1. Confirm grid power has been restored (lights and other appliances working normally).
2. Check your inverter — it should restart automatically within 5 minutes of grid restoration.
3. Check your monitoring app — it should show the system back online and generating.
4. If the inverter does not restart within 15 minutes after grid restoration, perform a soft reset: turn AC isolator off, wait 30 seconds, turn back on.
5. Check if the RCCB tripped during the outage — if so, reset it following the guide: How to Reset Your Solar System After an RCCB Trip.