One of the most common reasons why both residential and commercial property owners invest in solar systems is to minimize or eliminate their monthly electric bills. If the sun generates enough power to operate your entire home or business, you do not have to get electricity from the public grid. After investing in solar panel installation in NJ, you need to understand exactly how the energy production, metering, charges, and billing works.
Understand that the solar panels on your roof will probably not deliver 100% of all your electricity needs every day of the year. For example, if you have an exceptionally cloudy stretch of weather or snow falls and covers up the solar panels in the winter, you will undoubtedly rely on your electric service provider more heavily. Also, your roof system may simply not be big enough to hold enough panels to power your everyday life. Whether they do or not, your energy provider will still send you a bill every month. Whether you have to pay anything or not is another question.
Yes! Your Energy Provider Will Send You a Bill
Your local utility provider will make your digital bill available on schedule every month whether you have solar panels or not. Of course, if you opt for paper billing, you will get one in the mail. There are more charges on a utility bill than those that represent electric usage. These include things like basic service charges, potential taxes, and administrative fees. Different providers have different necessary costs that you cannot offset with solar power generation or buyback systems.
Whether you have purchased an entire solar system for your property or lease NJ solar panels free from a provider, the electricity generated belongs to you. It is used by your property first and then, in some cases, fed back into the grid with a kilowatt hour credit system that can actually make you money if you have excess energy that you do not use. This is one of the most attractive NJ solar panel incentives that the state allows you to benefit from.
Why Do You Still Owe Money for Electricity?
Besides the administrative fees and other unavoidable charges, you may still owe money for electric usage even if you have a roof full of solar panels. It all comes down to how much electricity is generated versus how much you use on a monthly basis. Everyone who installs paid or free solar panels in New Jersey is set up with an electric net metering system. The net meter comes from the solar company because ordinary electric meters provided by power companies only measure usage and not production. These types measure how much energy comes out of the solar panels and how much you use of that and any power that comes from the grid. Everything is measured in kilowatt hours.
Your net consumption equals the amount of grid-based electricity you use minus how much your solar panel system generates. You still have to pay for this difference. However, it will always be lower than the amount you would have to pay if you did not have solar panels to begin with. There are other reasons why your initial cost of solar panels in NJ have not given you a zero bill return as expected. Besides weather conditions and high energy consumption times, you will see bigger charges on your utility bill if something is wrong with your system. Keep close attention to your net consumption amounts and overall costs. If you see unexpected charges, contact your solar system company to make an appointment for an inspection, maintenance, or repairs.
Generating More Power Than You Use
One of the best things about investing in solar power in NJ is the ability to earn from the energy generated over time. If you frequently have a negative net consumption, which means you make more power than you use from your solar panels, you can sell back those kilowatt hour credits to the power companies. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program decides on a value for each credit once every year. This is based on general market prices and fluctuations from the same wholesale providers that companies like PSE&G and JCP&L use.
In New Jersey, net metering allows direct sales of energy to the grid itself. However, that is not the only incentive you get from generating power. The state also gives Transition Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs) earned with every megawatt hour of solar power created. These are controlled by the New Jersey Renewable Portfolio Standards. The price fluctuates but always gives you a way to earn back some money every year when your solar system exceeds your electricity demand.
The benefits for hiring an experienced and professional solar system installation company like Steve Whitman Solar are great. Not only will you be part of a more sustainable and eco-friendly future, but you can also save a lot of money on your monthly utility bills. Yes, you will still get an electric bill online or in your mailbox. However, you will see a big difference in the amount of money you have to pay after your solar panels are functioning. Your net meter will keep track of both power usage and access generation so you can reduce your costs or even get credit for excess power generation. As long as you keep your system well-maintained and call in the professionals like Steve Whitman Solar to make repairs promptly, you can enjoy great financial benefits when you go solar in New Jersey.
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