By Bob Bellman
November 3, 2008
Most new solar electric installations are grid-tied hybrids. During the day, you use electricity from the photovoltaic panels on your roof or in your yard. At night you use electricity from “the grid.” Replacing grid electricity with solar electricity shrinks your monthly electric bill. A technique called net metering saves you even more.
During the day, your solar electric system may produce more electricity than you can use. With net metering, the excess is fed into the grid, providing clean energy for your neighbors. At the end of the month, your electricity bill represents the net of what you took from the grid minus what you contributed. In other words, you “buy” grid electricity at night and “sell” solar electricity during the day. Nothing is wasted, and your savings increase.
If your utility charges a higher rate during peak usage hours, net metering gets even better. Electricity that you send into the grid is credited at the higher rate, since peak usage times and peak solar productivity times coincide. Electricity that you buy back is charged at the lower nighttime rate. You make a profit on every kilowatt-hour that you feed into the grid and buy back later.
You will likely need a new electric meter to take advantage of net metering. Some types of meters spin forward when you’re “buying” electricity and backwards when you’re “selling” it. Homeowners love to run outside and watch the meter go backwards. Some utilities require two meters—one for electricity flowing from the utility and another for electricity flowing to the utility. The solar professional who installs your system should know what’s required and handle the related paperwork and approvals. You may have to press your local power company to make net metering happen—solar energy may be as new to them as it is to you.
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