How Net Metering Can Increase Your Solar Savings

You’re probably already aware of many of the benefits of switching your home to solar energy. You know you’ll see an immediate decrease in your electricity bill, and that you’ll be making a positive impact on the environment by reducing your dependency on fossil fuels. What you might not know is that in many states there is another way to save money with solar called net metering. Read on to learn about this extra perk that can increase the value of your investment.

What Is Net Metering?

Net metering is a way for you to take advantage of excess energy from your rooftop solar panels. In a nutshell, when you have used all of the energy required to operate your home, any amount that is left over is sent to your utility company. That energy powers other homes and businesses in your area, and earns you credits on your own electric bill. If you live in one of the states that offers net metering credits, this is yet another economic incentive to switch to solar. When evaluating your solar panel cost, be sure to calculate future benefits like net metering. Many municipalities offer top-dollar credits for your extra electricity. For several months of the year you may actually receive utility bills with a negative number on them!

What Are the Benefits?

The amount of energy your rooftop solar panels produce varies. In the summer months when daylight hours are extended, your home generates much more power than it does in the winter when days are shorter. On a day to day basis, your panels create more energy in the middle of the day than in the morning or at night. Net metering provides a way for you to balance your production with your usage needs. When you send excess energy to the utility grid you are issued credits to apply toward energy you use from the grid when your production is lower. Think of it like using July’s blazing sunshine to power your home through the dark and gloom of December, or using 4 p.m. sunshine to brew your 6 a.m. cup of coffee.

In addition to reducing your own carbon footprint by going solar, using net metering makes your home part of a bigger solution. Solar is clean energy, so when you send your excess electricity to your municipal grid you are essentially providing clean power to your neighbors. For every unused solar kilowatt your home generates, that’s one less kilowatt that needs to be produced through traditional means of burning coal and natural gasses. Your own home plays a role in helping your whole community become greener. There is also growing evidence that net metering lowers costs for utility companies and non-solar users as well, meaning net metering may provide a broad range of public benefits.

How Do You Take Advantage?

If net metering is available in your area and you’d like to pursue adding this option, your solar provider can explain how the process works. They’ll advise you on the necessary equipment and set you up with a metering system that tracks how much energy you use and how much you send to the grid. With a well-designed rooftop system, you’ll find that net metering allows you to take maximum advantage of your energy production. Your panels put energy to use as it's created, and by sending what you don’t use to your utility company you’ll earn credits with which you can tap into the grid whenever your production isn’t meeting your demand.

If you are considering investing in a rooftop energy system, net metering may be the perk that pushes you to make the switch. While powering your home with solar panels always saves money, if you add net metering you’ll still be thrifty even when you need to obtain power from the grid. Because it’s such an easy way to achieve year-round savings, net metering is just one more reason to go solar!