Solar Power Grid | Solar Panels, Battery Storage, Roofing, HVAC
Elk Grove is a quiet, friendly suburban town in Sacramento County. With young professionals and their families living in this highly rated town, Elk Grove is considered one of the best places to live in California. Elk Grove is committed to the environment and renewable energy. They protect endangered species and habitats and is the home of the Stone Lakes wildlife refuge. This attention to preserving the environment and conservation makes it a healthy and safe place to raise a family. More and more Sacramento County homeowners are switching to solar power as the alternative energy of choice. Semper Solaris is the best Solar Company in Elk Grove. We are standing by to help Elk Grove homeowners take advantage of our many financing options and financial incentives available to offset the cost of installing solar. Solar Power to the Rescue in Elk Grove Those of us who are environmentally conscious, and want to live in a clean environment, have traditionally been stuck with having to compromise. Our electricity runs off fossil fuels; our air conditioning uses toxic chemicals; our cars run on petroleum. There has, until now, been little choice in how we get our electricity or drive our vehicles and a host of other ways we are on the receiving end of toxicity of modern inventions. Solar power technology has been around for decades, before now, it was not widely available to homeowners. It was expensive and cumbersome and not easy to use. When the laws changed that allowed for solar systems to be tied to the grid, net metering it opened the door for the growth of rooftop solar. Solar and Net Metering Solar panel installations in Elk Grove, like in the rest of California, have the advantage of using net metering, which connects to your solar panels and works in tandem with the utility grid. This process allows us to reduce our carbon footprint while still using electricity from the grid when we need it. But we can nevertheless reduce our carbon footprint by using less power from the grid, which relies on fossil fuel. How does net metering help me use Solar Power in Elk Grove? Net metering is a means to connect your solar panels to the electric grid. Your panels produce power while the sun shines, and this power is used for electricity in your home. Unused power goes to the grid, and you get that amount credited back to you, so you don’t lose excess energy. You can use that power to run the electricity at night. So you save money, but you are charged the higher rates during peak hours. So basically, you get discounted after hours because of the credits you have accrued. Power on the Roof in Elk Grove As homeowners are installing solar panels in Elk Grove and all over Sacramento County, it is creating a blueprint for the future of renewable energy. Solar power is more efficient when there is lots of sunshine. And on the roof is where that sun shines day after day. California is moving away from fossil fuels, and with solar power, roof by roof, it will have an effect on the environment for the air, the water, and the earth. Semper Solaris is the best solar company in Elk Grove for your energy needs. We are committed to the environment, and we stand ready to help you with financing and financial incentives so you can make the switch to renewable energy. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your property for going solar in Elk Grove.
What Is Net Metering? Solar panel systems are designed to provide cleaner and more affordable energy to homeowners. So what are ways homeowners can save even more? Net metering is one of the most appealing aspects of going solar in California. Why? Because net metering allows homeowners to receive bill credits back on any additional electricity produced by their solar panels. Essentially, any energy their panels produce that isn’t used up by their household demands is able to be funneled back to them as a credit for low production times or surplus. There have been some slight changes to the original net metering policy for California. The original net metering allowed a bill credit for one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity for every kWh your solar panels produced and fed to your local grid. Any excess amount would be applied to the times when you had to draw upon the grid instead of the solar power grid. With net metering 2.0, the core of the original policy remains the same – essentially credits are still equivalent. The new policy also helps prevent grid access charges, capacity fees, and other charges that don’t favor homeowners. However, the three new features – time-of-use rates, interconnection fees, and non-bypassable charges – do add some expense for homeowners. California Solar Energy Industries Association estimates expenses will increase by around $10 a month for the average homeowner. How Net Metering Can Still Save You Money Over the lifetime of a solar system, a homeowner could save thousands of dollars in electricity expenses through net metering. If your solar panels are able to produce a significant enough amount, you could end up having the majority of your bill covered, if not entirely covered. For example, say you have to draw 800 kWh of electricity from the grid throughout the month of November during the times when your solar panels aren’t producing electricity (on those cloudier days). If you are able to export 600 kWh of energy throughout the course of the same month, you could cover a majority of your bill, only being charged for the net difference of 200 kWh. Again, some months your solar panels may be able to produce an equal amount to completely cover your usage needs, especially during those sunnier months. Understanding Time-of-Use Rates So what are time-of-use rates and how will they impact you? Under net metering 2.0, time-of-use billing is used to charge customers more for peak hour usage and less for off times. Under the solar billing cycle, you could greatly benefit because your solar system will typically generate more power during peak hours (or more expensive windows) depending on your area. That means you can avoid the higher charges and have more credits stored up for when you need to use them during low production hours (ideally off-peak times so they go further). Unfortunately, this could also mean that if you use a lot of energy in the early evening and your panels don’t produce much energy during this time of day, you could be paying more than you previously did. The best bet? Review your net metering time-of-use rates and adjust to the peak and off-peak hours to ensure you maximize your savings. More questions about net metering? Let the Semper Solaris experts provide insight. Call us today to speak to a solar professional in San Diego.
