For customers with an existing grid connection, the best option for integration of solar energy into your home is by what is now popularly called a self-consumption or autoconsumo system.
In the Algarve, Portugal, this is known as UPAC (Unidades de Produção de Energia de Autoconsumo) and comes under the self-consumption legal framework, governed by the Decree-Law 162/2019 which came into force in January 2020 superseding Decree-Law 153/2014.
Traditional Grid-Connected systems are simple, requiring just panels and a grid-tie inverter. The grid acts as the “mega-battery”, whereby your house will import energy from the grid when there is insufficient solar energy and export energy to the grid when there is excess. These basic systems are now principally used for commercial operations, where consumption of loads correspond to solar production hours. In domestic systems, new Hybrid inverters are making Grid-Connected with Battery Storage more and more desireable.
Three reasons to put in your solar PV system: