Hybrid solar systems generate power in the same way as a common grid-tie solar system but use special hybrid inverters and batteries to store energy for later use. This ability to store energy enables most hybrid systems to also operate as a backup power supply during a blackout.

Traditionally the term hybrid referred to two generation sources such as wind and solar but in the solar world the term ‘hybrid’ refers to a combination of solar and energy storage which is also connected to the electricity grid.