The Ins and Outs of Net Metering
When it comes to solar energy in the form of electricity, you are going to need a special metering system that will measure the amount of energy that a particular appliance is receiving.
If you are installing solar panel equipment, such as solar cells, batteries, reflectors and such, you should also include on your supply list a thermostat, power breaker and a meter for gauging the amount of kilowatts being used. As you can see, solar panels alone do not make a solar system.
If you are still using your conventional electric company to deliver all your electrical needs, you know that they keep up with how much electricity you are using by reading the meter on the side of your house. You might even have seen the meter person coming around to check your meter and then they type the figures into his hand-held computerized instrument which feeds the information to your electrical supplier. Then in a week or two, presto – you have a large bill to cope with.
With an on grid solar energy metering, you will not get such high readings, because during the day, while your panels or wind turbine is hard at work, you are going to receive more energy than you can possibly use in a 24 hour period, especially if you are at work for, say, 10 of those hours. When this happens, the excess power is sent to your utility company’s power grid, by way of the electric meter, which is then spinning backwards instead of going forward. This, in turn, will release a reading of energy saved or stored.
Your utility company could also supply you with a new meter, one that is called a 2-way digital meter. This form of metering is referred to as net metering. When you are in this mode of metering, you can look forward to your power company giving you credit (or paying out cash to you) for the energy that your solar energy system creates in excess if you produce more than you can use. As you know, your current conventional method does not pay you anything, except for crediting your account for overpayment. In simple terms, net metering is the difference between the electricity you buy from the utility company, and the electricity that you actually produce from your solar energy system.
When you are thinking about using net metering, it would be wise to contact your electric company to see if they use this method. If so, you will probably have to sign an agreement and go through an approval process before receiving a new meter.
