Solar panels offer property owners more than independence—they offer possibilities. Your home can become entirely self-sufficient and not rely on the grid for energy during all or most of the year. But you can also connect your solar-powered home to the grid and transfer excess energy into the grid to offset any electricity you use from public utilities or even to make money. At Blueline Energy, our team of solar panel experts helps homeowners get the right solar panel infrastructure for their home’s needs and to take advantage of solar net metering possibilities. Take a closer look at how net metering works, the potential benefits you can access, and what steps you can take to get those benefits in your area.
How Does Net Metering Work?
When you’re planning your solar panel system, you generally have enough solar panels to power your home during typical sunlight and weather cycles. However, during particularly sunny days, you may generate more solar energy than you need. On very cloudy days, you might generate too little and need to rely on the grid.
Solar net metering is a regionally controlled program for sending your home’s excess solar power back into the electric grid. Solar panels themselves don’t store energy; instead, they convert sunlight energy into electricity for your home to use at the moment. If your home’s solar panel setup produces more energy than you need, that energy might be lost. But through net metering, you can feed it safely into the public utilities system, giving that energy to the community and lowering grid strain during daylight hours. In return, many electricity companies that facilitate net metering policies will offer credit that can be used to pay down electricity you draw from the grid during evening and night hours.
This transfer works through hardware that connects your solar setup to your main electrical connection to the grid. Your meter monitors the amounts of electricity you give and the amounts you draw in so you receive fair credit and compensation. Many homeowners find this more convenient than installing battery technology to store excess energy.
How Net Metering Benefits Your Home
If you live in an area that has net metering policies already in place, it can be a tremendously beneficial program to join. Some of the benefits you experience are:
- Increasing your community’s use of renewable energy: Residential customers who have solar panels often do so to promote green energy sources, not just to become self-sufficient. Participating in solar net metering gives your neighbors more access to renewable energy.
- Reducing grid demand: Demand on the grid is often at its highest when solar energy generation potential is also at its highest—when it’s hot and sunny, and most people are actively using electricity. By sending your excess electricity into the grid during peak hours, you’re protecting the grid and helping mitigate the risk of a brownout.
- Saving money: Through net metering programs, you can further reduce your electrical bill by offsetting the cost of the electricity you do use from the grid.
Having Control Over Your Energy Bill
Most net metering programs offer credits or price reductions for participating in net metering programs. This means you can send excess electricity to the public grid and receive a discount for the electricity you use at night or when your consumption exceeds what your panels can generate. As you monitor your electric bills and net metering credit, you might find additional ways to reduce electricity consumption or increase your ability to send power into the grid.
See If You Qualify for Net Metering With Blueline Energy Today
Only some homes are eligible for net metering, and only some communities have the infrastructure to offer it. Before you start developing your home’s solar panel system, Blueline Energy can help you determine if you qualify and what your potential savings would be for participation. Reach out today to get started.
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