What Is Net Metering?

Solar power gives homeowners more freedom and control over their home’s electricity. By installing the proper solar panel setup, New Mexico residents can reduce their electricity bills and minimize their demand on the grid during peak hours, leading to even more savings. With net meter programs, the savings grow even higher. Solar net metering systems connect a homeowner’s privately owned solar energy setup to the public power grid and give surplus power to the local community. This excess power contribution can offset—or cancel out—the cost of electricity pulled from the grid. It’s important to note that net metering only applies to grid-tied solar systems.

At Poulin Solar Pro, we supply New Mexico homeowners with solar panels they can own outright to start reducing or completely eliminating monthly electricity bills. Learn more about using solar power and net metering to see serious savings.

Giving Customers Control Over Their Electricity Bills

When you have a solar panel setup, you can generate electricity for private use, independent from the power grid. However, because the sun doesn’t consistently deliver energy that the panels can convert into electricity, your home may still use electricity from the public system. At the same time, your solar panels may generate excess electricity during sunny peak periods, especially if you don’t have a heavy electrical demand at the same time.

In New Mexico, net metering works slightly differently than in some other places; the excess energy your solar system produces is “banked” for later use. This means that you can use the excess energy you generate during the day when the sun is shining to power your home at night or during peak periods of energy usage.

Net metering allows you to avoid wasting that excess electricity by sending it back to the grid, where it can be used by other homes, businesses, or utilities. Depending on the specific provisions and regulations of your local system, net metering may allow you to sell back enough electricity to receive payment. Alternatively, the excess energy can be used to offset the bill from the electricity you draw out of the grid at night or during peak use periods, resulting in a bill only for your net energy use.

Why Does Net Metering Exist?

Solar power metering systems benefit everyone connected to the grid and encourage people to switch to clean solar energy sources by investing in their own panels. Here’s who (and what benefits):

• Homeowners with solar panels: If you have enough solar panels to produce excess electricity, you can sell it back to the grid and only pay for your net electricity consumption. That can mean hefty savings!
• The grid itself: Many regions have electrical grids that can’t always keep up with periods of peak demand. Think back to recent brownouts or rolling blackouts you may have experienced during the summer when the grid couldn’t keep up with high HVAC usage. When property owners have excess electricity to help tide the peak times over, it reduces strain on the grid, smoothes over peak demand periods, and allows a better power distribution.
• Neighboring property owners: Your local community also benefits when more residents install solar panels. They are less likely to experience power outages. Their peak rates may also fall because there needs to be more overall demand on the system.

Many communities encourage net metering setups, so everyone can access these benefits. It ensures excess electricity is recovered and helps municipal systems keep up with high fluctuations in demand.

How Do Electricity Bills Work With Net Metering?

Your home’s electricity bill calculates all of the kilowatt hours of electricity your property has consumed. Depending on your contract, you may have a variable rate or tiered pricing based on the total volume you use. Without net metering, using less electricity is the only way to reduce your energy bill.

However, with net metering, you can cancel part of the bill by returning electricity to the system. You’re taking electricity out for consumption during the evenings or rainy days, and you offset that consumption with any excess electricity your panels generate. This means you consume a smaller amount on net, and your electricity bill shrinks accordingly.

Use Net Metering to Save By Going Solar

If you’re interested in using net-metered solar panels to save money and reduce your dependence on the electrical grid, it’s time to go solar. You can outfit your home with solar panels you own outright instead of leasing. This ensures you have complete ownership of the panels and can use them as you see fit. Once the solar panels are installed, you’ll see your property start to use less grid-distributed power during peak production times. When there’s more electricity than your home needs, it goes to the grid and gets you savings on your next bill.

Choose Poulin Solar Pro for Solar Needs

Poulin Solar Pro has supplied property owners with solar panels for over 40 years. We provide products and financing options so you can own your solar panels — not lease them. Contact us today to learn more about how to access the benefits of net metering and clean energy production.

Image Credits: Andrey_Popov / Petair /MAXSHOT.PL