Solar 101
There are only three values of Solar, I named them “THE ABC’s” of solar to keep it simple. The ABC’s of solar is really easy and the three different values are always different.
The ABC’s
Value is the Total Production of the solar system which can only be viewed by using the Solar Monitor Application (Solaredge, Enphase, Tesla, SMA, Sunpower, etc….)
Value is excess kwhs' (sent to the grid for credit) that is not used by the home but was produced by the solar system. This value is normally listed within every full billing statement by every utility company.
Value is energy Utility Provider delivers to your home (using Grid Power) at night time or when it's cloudy, raining and solar is not producing sufficient energy to power the home’s energy demand. If solar is only producing 3,000 watts and you turn on a water heater that requires 4,500 watts power is immediately pulled from the grid to cover the shortfall.
Net Metering is one of two options in general based on the utility company:
You Subtract C (grid) – B (excess credits) = Net Difference is billed. This is most common for 1/1 net metering arrangements like Florida Power and Light offers its customers today. If you have a positive balance of credits it carries forward Jan – Dec for use in the following months and only each December is any excess kwh’s converted to $$$ Cash which is paid at a lower rate of $0.04 cents per kwh rather than the full retail rate at $0.10 -$0.14 cents per kwh.
Homeowners are told that all energy flows to the grid but this is simply not TRUE. Solar power wires (energy) are connected directly to the breaker panel within the home which means the home always uses energy from solar as a first priority and only pulls from the grid when there is not enough or zero energy being generated by the solar system.
Example:
If the total production states: produced= 1,000kwhs in a given month then the credits due to them “on the bill” should be equal to 1,000kwhs but this is not true.
The reality is most energy example: 700kwhs would have been used directly by the home during the day and only 300kwhs of credit or the excess not used by the home would be listed on the bill. This is 100% normal for a home to consume most of the solar system’s energy during the day and the smaller portion is credited.
The NUMBER 2 problem is associated with “current transformers” or CT’s installed which are used to track energy consumption within a break panel and there is sub panel outside (like a swimming pool pump, irrigation pump, external circuit where an RV is plugged in running an AC and if the contractor does not install a CT at the 2nd or 3rd sub-panels the monitoring app will reflect inaccurate information to what is really happening.
Delivered and Received do not match Solar Monitoring app "Imported from grid or Sent to Grid" (300-500kwhs per month difference are common)
Answer: 100's of customers call each month with this same issue. This is an Enphase/Tesla/ CT issue (current transformers).
This is an Enphase/Tesla/ CT issue (current transformers). When your solar contractor fixes the CT's the REC/DEL daily/monthly will match. The CT’s are installed backward, missing from the circuit, and not in the correct location
Finally, it’s critical for a customer to have a full 30-day billing period where solar has been working as to often they call when the first bill is received not realizing solar production was operating for 15 of the 30 day billing period. They have a higher-than-expected bill due to not realizing when Solar was actually granted PTO with a meter swap. We kindly remind them they were using the grid only for the first 15 days and that they need to wait for a full month to evaluate.
The first question that should be asked to homeowners every time is: What is the total solar production kwhs being listed on their monitoring app? Get the last 3 months if possible every time. You have to make sure the system is actually on and working as to often they are not due to multiple reasons.
Homeowners who have systems turned on that do not have a net metering meter installed will also have an increased bill as the excess energy being produced by the home has nowhere to flow which can cause the meter to spin in the wrong direction since it’s a one-way meter which creates a higher kwh usage at home thus a higher bill.
Finally, utility companies can also set the wrong meter at the home, and have it tied to a different account number internally so there are a lot of questions that often require a deeper dive into “Am I being billed correctly” and often it could be a billing issue due to a meter setup issue.