How will my solar power work with my grid-connected utility company? What is net metering?
When the sun’s DC power is converted to AC output, a meter records the kWh of solar energy that your panels have produced. When you are using the exact amount of power that your solar system has produced, the meter stays still. If you are producing less than you are using, then you will draw electricity to use from your utility you are are producing more than you are using, the excess power will spin backwards and collect credit for you with your utility company. For example, on a sunny summer day you can build up a “storage” of energy credits with your utility, that you can redeem in the winter month’s when you won’t have as much sunlight but will be blasting the heater. Or, if you still don’t use it all up in other parts of the year, most states offer to pay you anywhere from $.15/kWh to $.53/kWh for your excess energy that you produced, because they can use it to provide energy for their other customers. This process is called net metering.
