During your research on investing in solar panels for home electricity production, you are sure to learn about net metering. It is one of the significant advantages over remaining fully dependent on the public power grid. Net metering bridges the gap between complete reliance on your local public utility company and home solar production. It enables you to sell any electricity your system produces but that you do not use right away back to the public grid. This can further cut your energy costs and help reduce the public use of fossil fuels. Below is helpful information for homeowners about net metering.
What is Net Metering?
Net energy metering (NEM), or net metering, is an electricity billing process that diverts excess energy generated by your residential solar panel system back to the public power grid. With net metering, any extra electricity your system produces that you don’t immediately use is credited back to your account with the power company.
Alternatively, on cloudy days when your panels don’t output enough electricity to power your home entirely, the public utility grid will seamlessly supply the supplemental electricity you need. The net metering system will seamlessly deduct that amount of electricity from the energy credits you have accumulated over time. You are then billed only for your net energy usage.
What are the Benefits of Net Metering?
When your solar energy system is sized correctly for your home, it can generate enough power to meet all your family’s electricity needs for the whole year. But, of course, the amount of power the panels produce varies between sunnier months and those with more cloud cover, earlier sunsets, etc. Net metering accounts for such differences impacting your system’s solar productivity through credits to your account with the utility company. Your electrical system automatically draws from those credits to pay for the grid to supply you with supplemental power as needed at later dates.
Can I Get Net Metering in My Area?
Local utility companies generally base their net metering policies on local and state regulations and their own corporate purposes. Reportedly, net metering in solar system setups for residential power is currently mandated in nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia. Electric companies in some states that do not yet mandate net metering may offer their customers with solar panels the NEM option on their own. Contact your utility provider or a reputable solar installation company in your city for specific information about net metering in your area.
How Can I Start Net Metering for My Home?
If you want to take advantage of net metering to reduce your electricity bills for the power you still draw from the public grid after you begin using solar panels, it’s easy to start. First, ask your chosen solar installer or your utility company if net metering is available in your area. (Statistically, at this time, net metering is probably available to you.) Then, your solar installation company should take care of everything that needs to be done with your local electric company to establish net metering to begin working for you from the time your solar panel system is activated.
Why Choose Solarise Solar?
Your Solarise net metering solar system expert will calculate for you the amount of energy your residential panels will need to generate for you to receive substantial cost savings from conversion to solar.
