What Is Net Metering?

With a solar system installation, panels will often produce more energy during peak sun hours than is needed to power your electricity needs, so what happens to that energy?

When you lease or loan a system, the excess electricity is pumped back into the utility grid to power other homes, your meter will spin backwards, and you’re essentially storing ‘credits’ with the power company. If you own the system, you can sell the credits back.

You can use those credits when your panels aren’t producing as much (like on a rainy day or at night). It’s the opposite when you’re consuming more energy – your meter will spin forwards. When needed, you’ll utilize the power directly from the power company, and you’ll never know the difference. It just switches back and forth when applicable. Regarding billing, your local power company reads your meter every month and will bill you based on the energy you used and what you were able to send back to the grid. The rates from using power from the grid varies from state to state. How do I benefit from net metering?

• Earning a ‘bank’ of credits with your power company for the energy you’ve produced but haven’t used
• Being able to track exactly how much energy you’ve produced and consumed
• Helps to offset and lower your high electric bills while producing cleaner power