What Is Net Metering?
If you have been considering making the switch to solar energy, you might have heard talk of net metering. What does this really mean and how can your budget benefit from it? Solar energy has many perks and net metering is just one of them.What Is Net Metering?
Whether you are a residential homeowner or a commercial business owner, having solar panels comes with some tangible benefits. Net metering comes in near the top of the list, helping you to save more money on your monthly costs. In this exchange, the power company allows you to sell back any electricity that you aren’t using.
How does this work exactly? It has to do with the amount of electricity that your home generates using its solar panels. For example, let’s say that you have photovoltaic panels installed on your roof. Those panels may be producing more energy than you are able to use on any given day. You may want to allow your home to be net-metered to save money on the electricity costs you might encounter in the future.
When your home is net-metered, your electricity meter will actually run backward to give you credit for the power you put into the grid. This helps to offset the times when you do use standard electricity such as during the nighttime or during especially busy times of the year.
In other words, the energy company is only going to bill you for your net energy (the amount of energy you use subtracted from the amount of energy you supply to the grid).
Does Net Metering Really Work?
The truth is that your home likely produces more energy than you can use during the daytime hours. This is especially true if you are gone for most of the day and do not run the lights or HVAC system in your absence. Net metering gives you the ability to make good use of that extra power to help offset your bills in other areas.
This essentially reduces what you will pay on your electric bill every month, proving that net metering does indeed really work. How much you save depends on how much energy your PV panels can produce compared to how much energy you use during the day.
If you truly want to offset the money you are spending on electricity, it can help to have a net-metered system. This allows all of the energy you produce to go to good use and helps to keep your home running smoothly for minimal cost. The investment into solar panels is a worthwhile update to your home, particularly when you consider how much it could save you on a yearly basis.
