Solar Panels Can
Put Money In Your Pocket
Here's an ingenious idea to reduce utility costs in your
household. In the US, there are many states in which homeowners
or businesses can sell electrical energy produced by their own solar panels to utilities. If you want to be a part of this,
all you need is, firstly to own solar panels and secondly to reach an interconnection
agreement with your local utility.
A concept called net
metering can be benefited from, consisting, essentially in
selling excess electrical energy produced by solar panels owned by a homeowner back to the local utility.
During the day, when you are at work or leave the home, or at
any moment when your solar panels produce excess energy, your electricity meter
runs backwards. This excess energy is fed back directly to the
local utility. Then, the local utility feeds you energy in the
evening and during the night, when your solar panels can't produce energy anymore. The compensation
cost per watt of what the company charges you and what it "pays"
you is the same, thus creating a "net metering" situation. If
you think it over as a practical person, using solar panels is, thus, a great way to cut down or even
eliminate your electrical bill.
If it sounds good you, own solar panels and actually intend to sell electrical energy
to the utility company, don't think it's so easy. Besides owning
your solar panels,
an interconnection agreement with the local utility is what you
need in order to start supplying electricity. The name for the
utility may change but what this agreement actually does, is
that is it basically regulates the process and lays out ground
rules on how the process works. Let's take a closer look.
Federal and state laws obligate utility companies to supply you
with standard type interconnection agreements. Essentially, the
agreement specifies the terms to be met and conditions under
which your solar
panels system will be connected to the local utility grid.
The agreement might also state that you are obligated to get any
required permits yourself, maintain homeowner's insurance and,
of course, that your solar panels system meet certain system connection
specifications.
The interconnection agreements concerning
electrical energy cost compensation using owner's power
suppliers as solar
panels are sometimes set apart as separate documents. The
agreement should also include details concerning the sale and
purchase of power by both you and the local power utility
company. In many cases rather then installing multiple power
transfer assessment meters, most utility companies will employ
simpler, lesser expensive methods. They will simply leave the
existing utility meter running forward at the times when you are
drawing energy from the grid. The meter runs backwards when your solar panels are supplying electrical energy to the utility
company through the power grid.
Before you think that you
may even make a profit out of this if your solar panels supplies more energy per month than you
consume, think again. Net metering laws do not regulate that
local utilities actually pay currency for your excess produces
power. Instead, the utility will credit electrical energy having
the monetary value of your current month excess generation to
the next month's electrical bill. You never know when a rainy of
cloudy month may come and you should consider that before
thinking to ask a check from the local power utility company.
All things considered, interconnection agreements are fairly
standardized agreements that shouldn't cause much concern. And
cutting down on utility costs is a good reason to obtain one and
start using your solar panels to more personal benefit.
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