After your solar panels are installed, your billing structure with your local utility company will be updated to 'net metering.' This means you will be billed for the net difference between what your solar panels produce and your overall household usage.
A lot of our clients do not pay anything on their electricity bills after installing solar panels besides their utility company's bare minimum service connection fees. However, in some cases, you may have an out of pocket electricity charge on your utility bill if your household consumption exceeds your overall system production.
Your solar system will be installed in a bidirectional setup, which means that you will draw power from the grid when needed (as you do now), but you will also have the ability to export your excess solar power back to the grid.
Keep reading to learn more about the three main scenarios to expect with an operational solar system.
Scenario 1: System produces more power than the household consumption
When there is excess solar power during the day that is not being used, it gets exported to your utility company. The utility company buys this power from you, and you receive credits on your utility bills. In OneSun's service area, most utility companies issue credits at a 1:1 ratio with the cost of electricity, with the exception of SoCal Edison.
* SCE's credits have a different value, and depending on the specifics of your project, it may be a good idea to supplement your solar panel system with a self-consumption battery which can store your excess solar power, allowing you to get more bang for your buck on your excess power!
Scenario 2: More household usage during the day than solar system production
If there is more household usage than available solar energy, whatever electricity usage the solar does not cover will be pulled from the grid. If you have sufficient credits with your utility company, this overage can be covered, otherwise you will be billed for the difference.
OneSun will assess your historical usage trends to determine an ideal system size which will offset your bills as much as possible.
Scenario 3: Nighttime usage
Every day, your solar panels will stop producing power after sunset. You will pull power from the grid at night, and your credit bank with your utility company will cover the nighttime usage. Once the credits run out, you will have an out of pocket difference on your bill.
If your solar panels are supplemented with a battery system, you can avoid drawing power from the grid at night. Once the battery discharges completely, you will need to pull power from the grid until the battery is recharged. Here is what you can expect at night with a battery system:
Batteries are charged from excess solar production during the day, and we can also program them to charge from the grid when needed.
As far as billing goes, utility companies vary in their billing structures - for instance, some may bill you annually, others may bill once a month or bi-monthly, and in some cases you can choose between annual or monthly billing.
Contact OneSun today so we can check the specifics of your project and determine the best system size and solar billing setup for your needs!