Installing solar panels on your home can free you from the rates of the electric company. You have two options for harnessing the sun’s energy; net-metering or solar batteries. This article will explain why net-metering is generally the wiser option over batteries for most homeowners.
What is Net-Metering?
With net-metering, your solar panels feed excess electricity back into the grid. Your utility company then gives you a credit for those kilowatt-hours that you can use when your solar panels are producing less energy. This happens at night and on cloudy days.
How Net-Metering Saves Money
The monthly billing process with net-metering works like this:
- Your solar panels produce X amount of kilowatt-hours for the month. This covers some or all of your home’s energy needs. The amount is determined during your Home Efficiency Report consultation.
- Any extra solar energy gets fed back into the grid. You accumulate credits for those excess kilowatt-hours.
- The goal is for your solar system to produce extra energy during the more sunny months to roll over to the more cloudy months.
- At the end of the 12-month billing cycle, some utility companies will cut you a check for any outstanding credits. Others will just roll the credits over.
How does this help homeowners?
Net-metering lets you maximize the value of your solar array. Whenever your panels produce more than you need, you bank the energy savings for later. Overall, net-metering gives you the most bang for your buck with solar.
How it works with Solar Batteries
Solar batteries allow you to store the energy harvested by your solar panels. This stored energy provides backup power when the sun isn’t shining. It can also provide emergency power during blackouts. Going “off-grid” with solar batteries allows you to disconnect from the utility company entirely.
Which is More Cost Effective, Net-Metering or Batteries?
However, solar batteries have some significant downsides when compared to net-metering:
- Increased cost – Installing solar batteries can significantly raise the overall project cost by tens of thousands of dollars. Net-metering does not have any equipment cost apart from your solar bill, which replaces your electric bill. However, if you choose to include batteries, it can replace your current electric bill with a much higher bill.
- Capacity limits – The average home battery storage capacity is 10-15 kilowatt-hours. That’s only enough to power an entire home for a few hours. With net-metering, you can bank unlimited energy credits.
- Efficiency loss – Transferring energy into and out of the battery results in some efficiency loss. Net-metering feeds solar power directly back into the grid.
- Maintenance and replacement – Solar batteries need periodic maintenance and will degrade over 5-10 years, meaning you need to pay again in a few years for a battery array that works right. Net-metering has no ongoing costs beyond the connection/minimum utility charge.
For most homeowners, the drawbacks of solar batteries do not justify the costs. Net-metering provides greater return on investment over the long-term.
The Future of Net-Metering
Many lawmakers understand the environmental benefits and the value of encouraging more renewable energy adoption. They aim to defend and expand access to net-metering.
When weighing solar options for your home, be sure to get the details on net-metering from your Home Efficiency Report. This will determine if your home is eligible for solar and see what net-metering can save you!
