Kai Haskins

Outlined below is everything you need to know about how net metering works, how it benefits you, and what the are in your state.

What Net Metering?

To put it simply, net metering is an agreement between the solar system owner and the power company. How does the deal work? Essentially, if your solar energy system produces more electricity than your house can use, then the excess goes into the grid and the meter runs backwards, providing you a credit. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, only about “20 40% of a solar energy system’s output ever goes into the grid.”

There are two different types of net metering: conventional and aggregate. Quoted from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the two definitions are:

• “Conventional net metering, sometimes referred to as individual net metering, connects a generating source to single meter, such as a house or building. The recent expansion of net metering policies allows generating sources to be connected to multiple meters or multiple properties.”
• “Aggregate net metering and virtual or community net metering have authorized net metering for new customer types, including non-profits, multi-unit residences, multi-property owners, renters, municipalities and others who cannot install distributed generation. Under conventional net metering, these customer types could not have benefited from net metering.”

For most of our customers reading this, you fall into the category of conventional net metering because it’s for a single house. Keep reading to see how you benefit.

How Do You Benefit from Net Metering?

We previously used an example of banking to describe the benefits of net metering, which you can check out in our last blog post. Going back to that example, net metering can be compared to banking. Let’s say you make $100 in July. After paying $80 in bills, you have $20 left over, which you deposit it in the bank to save for later. If, in September, you only earn $60, you can use the $20 from your savings to pay your bills. Net metering works the same way, only instead of a bank keeping track, it’s the utility company. This system prevents you from ever wasting the energy you produce, and saves you from paying if your solar system has over produced previously but under produces in the future.

Additionally, another positive of net metering is that the excess energy is automatically deposited into the grid without you having to do anything, like direct depositing your paycheck. Before net metering, homeowners had to install expensive batteries if they wanted to save excess solar production, or just dump the excess into the grid without getting a credit, so it was just giving electrical companies energy for free with nothing in return. Nowadays, any electricity the house doesn’t use is automatically deposited into the grid via the net metering system.

Living Off-the-Grid (or Not Net-Metered)

If you decide to live off-the-grid—meaning that you’re not connected to a power company and your solar panels only send energy directly to your home—then you can’t benefit from net metering. This means you must either store your solar energy locally, as in batteries, or the excess disappears because it goes unused.

Going back to our example of banking, when you store your money in a safe under your bed, you have to remember to put your funds in there. Otherwise that money gets wasted. If your check is direct deposit, like how net metering works, then your money is safe for later. Applying this to solar-generated electricity, net metering automatically deposits energy into the grid while local storage typically isn’t automatic. If you choose to store your power locally, you have to keep the battery charged for it to work, so it’s more of a short-term solution. Having your solar power connected to the grid/power company allows you to access energy whenever you need it.

That being said, if you’re interested in getting off the grid – give us a call!  We’ve got several backup power solutions to help you get there.

Massachusetts Laws

The state of Massachusetts says that if you are a customer of a regulated electric company (listed in the table below), you’re allowed to net meter. Depending upon the electric company you contract with, there’s only a certain amount of energy that can be stored on the grid. Current laws requite the utility companies to provide net metering to all customers under 10 KWAC and commercial customers under 25 KWAC.

For a more specific breakdown of the qualifications, please refer to the Massachusetts government website: https://www.mass.gov/guides/net-metering-guide

Pennsylvania Laws

The electric distribution companies (like Penelec) nameplate capacities of 500 kW or greater. According to the website, the state system capacities are 50 kW for residential, 3 MW for non-residential, and 5 MW for micro-grid and emergency systems. But, there is no aggregate capacity, which makes it easier for you to store your excess power.

Again, for more information, please refer to the Pennsylvania government website: http://www.puc.pa.gov/consumer_info/electricity/alternative_energy.aspx

Overall, net metering is a great way to store your energy and get it back when you need it later. Luckily, if you need help figuring this out, we’re always here to lend a hand. We have official resources and our company resources below.

Resources:

http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/detail/65

https://www9.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/home/energyeff/4_net-mtr.asp

https://www.seia.org/initiatives/net-metering

http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/net-metering-policy-overview-and-state-legislative-updates.aspx

A commonly asked question concerning solar energy is whether or not the panels function when there is snow on them? Particularly, a point of confusion is whether or not solar is worth the investment in locations with long winter months. As a matter of fact, too much heat can have a negative effect on solar power production, so winter months typically produce solar at a higher efficiency than warmer ones. Granted, there is less sunlight to work with – but your panels do in fact function at higher efficiency! Together we’ll break down this process step-by-step to see how residential solar production works in the winter.

Light vs. Heat

Solar panels only require light for energy output, not heat. The efficiency of solar power can be impacted in extremely warm temperatures, but the colder temperature will cause your panels to run at higher efficiency.

This is partially because in the summer months, the warm weather can cause photovoltaic units to heat up, and become slightly less efficient.  This is not an issue in winter months as the photovoltaic panels are less effected by cold temperatures than hot ones.

Sometimes, the difference between solar energy and thermal energy is confused.  Thermal energy is dependent on heat, while solar energy is only dependent on light; and while there are some technologies that rely on thermal energy, the photovoltaic panels which are more practical for residential use rely only on solar energy.  As an example, if you went skiing, your body temperature could get very cold (thermal energy) and you could still get a goggle sunburn (solar energy).

In other words, don’t worry about the temperature, just be concerned about angling your solar panels for optimal sunlight exposure.

What happens when there is snow buildup?

Luckily, standard PV solar panels are made of materials like polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon, encased in glass, which allows snow and debris to easily slide off. Also, by increasing the angle of your solar panels, snow can melt right off the side without you doing any work to clear them. Just think of how easily ice slips and slides around at the bottom of a glass. And, the steep panel angle can increase your light exposure due to the lower sun position.

Furthermore, snow buildup on the ground can lead to increased solar production because of the albedo effect. What is the albedo effect? In simple terms, sun reflects off the snow, increasing the amount of light exposure by approximately 10%. So a nice snowy day can actually be beneficial to solar energy production!

Net Metering

First, what is net metering?  Net metering is a solar incentive that’s mandated in 42 states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, allowing you to store excess energy in the grid to use later.

How does this energy storage work? When you produce more solar energy than you need in sunny months, the excess goes back into the grid, allowing others to reap the benefits of clean power production.

However, if in less sunny months if need more power than you produce you, can use energy from the grid at no additional cost. Endless Energy will look at a year of electricity bills, to determine the net amount of energy you will need to produce in the summer vs. winter so that you will have no electric bill all year long.  

Think of it like a bank: if you put money into your account in the summer, then you can withdraw it later. Boiled down, net metering is a solar credit that you can draw from if you produced surplus solar energy in sunnier months so you don’t have to pay if you under-produce in the winter.

Now, because the days are shorter in winter and produce less light, does that mean your energy output could decrease? Yes. So, how does net metering benefit you in winter? If your solar production isn’t quite as high in the winter as it was in the summer, that extra production in the summer can carry over production from summer months.

Let’s take a look at an example: Germany

Germany is the second largest producer of solar energy in terms of square miles, and shares a similar climate to the Northeast United States. In the summer, Germany gets hot and humid, while winter has low temperatures, rain, and snow. We can compare the success in Germany to how successful solar panels can be in Massachusetts in the winter months as well. If Germany can be one of the largest solar producers in a similar climate, then we can see that the Northeast region of the US could produce solar on a similar scale.

All this to say, your solar panels will still work during the winter and will likely be functioning at an even higher efficiency (although the hours of sun are shorter). Thank you for your readership. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out; we have attached some company resources below. If you’re interested in doing more research on solar panels, below are some links to further explain the science and logistics behind solar panels’ production in the winter.

Helpful links:

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2668

https://www.conservationinstitute.org/facts-about-solar-energy/

Rooftop solar: Net metering is a net benefit

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.10026.pdf

Has the Mass. solar gamble paid off?