From the Sun
to Your Home
We could power the entire world for a year by harvesting all of the Sun’s energy that hits the earth in one hour. Likewise, you can power your home or building so let’s look at how solar can work for you.
How does solar work?
The Sun’s Rays
The sun’s rays shine down onto the solar array installed on your home. The array, made up of panels, converts the light into electricity. The electricity is initially in the form of Direct Current (DC).
Solar Power
Your home uses Alternating Current (AC). The direct current from your solar panels is sent to an inverter. The inverter converts the power from DC into AC. From the inverter, your solar power is then sent to your home’s electrical panel.
Home Energy
You now have a solar powered home! With your monitoring system, you’ll be able to track how much energy your system is producing as you harvest the power of the sun.
Net Metering
Your solar powered home can produce a lot of energy. In fact, it may produce all the energy you need in a year! But, you are not billed on a yearly basis, you are billed on a monthly basis. In some months, you may produce less or more than you what you use.
So what happens when the energy you harvest is slightly more or less than what you need? In the state of Florida, you receive full credit for the energy you produce through a program called Net Metering. It’s the law!
Let’s take a look at what happens when you have net metering, based on your energy use vs the energy you harvest.
Use Less Energy than Harvested
When you use less energy than you harvest, the extra energy you produce goes into the grid. You receive credit for any extra energy (measured in kWh’s) you send back to the grid.
Use is Equal to Energy Harvested
When you use the same amount of energy as you produce, then you break even and you will not owe your utility any money (except for taxes and a typically nominal connection fee).
Use More Energy than Harvested
When you use more energy than you harvest, you must buy the extra energy from the utility company. Any credits you earned for extra power generated in previous months is used to offset your bill.
Understanding Net Metering
All of the Investor Owned Utilities (IOU’s) in FL have the same program. Most Floridians are served by IOU’s. Here is a different way to think of net metering.
Net Metering Resources
Use these links to find your utility company’s Net Metering Application (also called an Interconnection Agreement). But don’t worry, as our client, we’ll help you through this process with your specific utility firm.
Ben Millar, CEO Sun Harvest Energy, speaks to the importance of solar net metering. Click Here to watch the video.