What is Net Metering?

Net Metering

A net meter and the solar net metering policy in your area allow you to reap the full benefits of a solar electric system.

When you go solar, your utility replaces your current utility meter with a net meter, which can spin forwards and backwards!

In areas with net metering policies, your meter spins backwards whenever your solar system makes more energy than your home needs - in the middle of a summer day, for example. The electricity your home doesn't need goes back into the grid and you get credit for it.

When your solar system isn't covering your electricity needs, at night and during parts of winter, you use power from the grid and your meter spins forward.

A net meter tracks how much electricity your home pulls out of the power grid during the year and how much power your solar electric system puts into the grid. In other words, net metering allows you to balance the times when your system makes more power than you need and the times when it doesn't. It's kind of like roll-over cell phone minutes.

At the end of the year, the utility calculates your "electricity balance." If your home used more energy from the grid than your system produced, you'll owe the utility some money. If your home produced more electricity than you used, you won't owe the utility a thing. But they also won't ever cut you a check. So, it's important that the size of your solar system is appropriate for your current and future electricity needs.