How does a Solar System Generate Electricity?
Wonder how easy it is to convert sunshine into usable electricity? Check it out:
Do I still pay the utility?
Your building remains connected to the utility grid and, when your solar system doesn’t produce as much energy as your building requires (i.e at night, on cloudy days), it continues utilizing the energy provided by your utility to keep things up and running seamlessly. Therefore, you will still receive that familiar Electricity Bill, but with lower cost for lower utility energy usage.
Your electricity bill is going to be a lot lower! The utility is no longer providing 100% of your electricity, so your bill is going to reflect significantly reduced energy consumption, which makes up a significant part of your utility cost!
What is Net Metering?
(what happens when my system produces more energy than needed)?
Net Metering is a significant (and often overlooked!) benefit of going solar for businesses!
At the most basic level, Net Metering is what happens when your solar system produces more energy than your building can use. When this happens, your utility accepts the excess power back into the grid and sells it to other local customers, while crediting you for providing the energy!
Conclusion
In the end, you get credit for the energy your system generates, and you can feel good about helping provide your community with clean energy that replaces the non-renewable sources they typically consume while also helping you offset your energy costs at other times.
To find out more about Net Metering and other related incentives & policies in your state, check out the Database of State Incentive for Renewables & Efficiency.