Solar 101
Net Metering 2.0
It is important to understand net metering in order to know how solar truly works. The electricity that you use is accounted for with your electric meter. Net metering simply accounts for the energy that you use, but also tracks the electricity that is being produced by your solar panel system. During sunlight hours, when the system is producing energy, Net Metering 2.0 allows you to send the excess energy, if any, that is being produced, but not used, back to the SDG&E electricity grid in the form of a credit. Why is this important? During a sunny day, any excess power that the solar system produces and isn’t being used, is stored as additional credit on your electric meter. So, after the sun goes down, you can use electricity based off of built up credits. At this point, SDG&E supplies all of the power from the grid, but there is no SDG&E charge until the credit on the meter is used up. If you produce more solar than the electricity you use in the fiscal year, the electricity you use is all based off of built up credits. We take pride in being able to size a system that is a good fit for your energy needs and that offsets your energy consumption with solar energy production, and it does not unnecessarily add to cost of installation by over-sizing the system because of the huge potential for energy bill savings. The right fit is important to achieving your energy saving goals.
The Solar System
The solar panels capture energy from the sun and send DC power to the inverters to convert it to AC power, which is what your home/business runs on. The inverters can track the amount of solar energy produced per day, but also per panel individually. Because the monitoring system tracks individual panel production, with alerts set up, SolTech Electric and the homeowner will be notified if any given panel or inverter is under producing or not producing at all. It is also important to note, that once the system is installed by our professional team, no general maintenance or maintenance ‘checks’ are needed because the monitoring system tracks and records the energy production progress and is viewable on the online application platform.
Savings
The Federal Government, as an incentive to generate more green energy throughout the U.S., has just recently extended the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) equal to 30% of the total purchase price of the system. The Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) reduces your Federal Income Tax, dollar for dollar, for those who are eligible. The ITC is not a rebate, which would help pay for the system directly at the time of purchase, and it is also not a tax deduction, which only reduces your taxable income, which would be unideal and would only decrease the tax bill by a small amount. Any U.S. taxpayer who purchases their system can receive up to the 30% for all types of purchases including but not limited to cash, loan and line of credit. Consult with your tax professional to ensure you are eligible for the tax credit.
Resale Value
One common concern for homeowners is what happens if they sell their house. Fortunately, the resale value of your home may typically be increased and your home can become more desirable to potential buyers. According to multiple statistical analysis, performed by the state as well as other 3rd party companies, the resale value of your home can actually increase by more than the cost of your system. One of the reasons, offered by experts in the field, is because the extensive amount you are forecast to save on electricity over the life of your system can presumably be converted into value today. If you are interested in learning how much your resale value can increase, we would be happy to consult with you.
Go Green/Lessen Carbon Footprint
By going solar, your solar system truly does make a substantial and positive impact on the environment. By greatly reducing your electric usage from traditional power, you directly reduce the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that pollute the atmosphere. Over the life of your system, this can be equivalent to planting multiple acres of trees and the potential to reduce hundreds of thousands of pounds of CO2, as well as, the reduction of NOx (smog), SOx (acid rain) and particulates (asthma).
Sizing the System
Sizing the system is the most crucial part of the design process. Every company will likely recommend a different sized system, and different components, such as the panels or inverters. Our designers size the system using a program created by the State of California and current SDG&E rates, and then we cross check the system with extensive solar software to verify that your current usage correlates to expected production. An ideal system size will produce enough solar energy to offset your electricity use in one year, which we accurately calculate, size and design.
