The concept of solar energy is very similar to that of photosynthesis in plants. Your solar system will be made up of several parts, the two main components of a solar system are: 1. Solar Panels and 2. Inverters.

Solar panels, which are made up of solar cells (aka photovoltaic cells), generate energy by absorbing direct sunlight throughout the day. The byproduct of this is known as direct current (DC) energy. The amount of energy produced (and, therefore, the amount of electricity to be offset on your electricity bill), is determined by the size of your solar system.

This direct current energy then moves through inverter(s), which convert DC energy into alternating current (AC) energy. AC energy is the type of electrical current that is used to provide power to homes and buildings. Once the energy is converted, it will travel to your home’s electrical panel and either be consumed through home energy use or go back to the utility grid.

The amount of energy that your system produces will vary throughout the course of the year. It will change for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, how hot/cold it is outside, if trees have grown in the area (causing additional shade), if the panels have gotten dirty, and (most importantly) due to changes in the amount of sunlight during the day. The sun’s position in the sky, and the duration that the sun is visible, changes depending on the season.

During “sun hours,” solar energy produced by your solar system will be consumed by your home/building to offset power being used. Any excess production (i.e. energy produced by the system above what the home/building is using) will export to the utility power grid, which gives you a credit towards your electricity usage at a rate determined by your utility company.

During “non-sun hours,” your home/building is powered by the utility grid.

HOW SOLAR WORKS

Great news! Solar systems work even when it’s cloudy. While production on cloudy days is less, clouds don’t completely stop the sun’s UV rays from getting through. In addition, power production from Photovoltaic solar panels actually works most efficiently in cooler temperatures, which is why we see high spikes of production in Spring and Fall.

For example, Germany isn’t known for being a warm and sunny place but its solar power plants produce between 20-30% of all its energy daily.

Batteries are the perfect partner with solar systems to supplement with intermittent energy when needed.

When a battery is added to your solar system, as your solar system produces energy, any electricity you don’t use will charge up your battery storage and/or go back to the utility grid for a credit on your future electric bill. This stored energy can be used to decrease the amount of energy you would need to pull from the utility grid in times of lower production, or act as a backup to power the essentials during a power outage.

HOW BATTERIES WORK

The cost of solar depends on the size of the system you need to produce enough power to offset the usage of your home/building. However, Pacific Solar does offer instant, free quotes. You can get your instant quote HERE.

Quite often, we meet with people who are concerned that getting solar is just adding another bill on to their monthly household budget, however, it is important to remember that your system will be reducing your electricity costs from your utility company. Usually, your payment for your solar system is much less than paying your utility bill. Also, your payment for your solar system is a fixed monthly cost, instead of a variable one with the utility company, which makes it a great option for those on a budget.

The day-to-day maintenance of a solar system is pretty minimal.

The main upkeep for consumers is keeping the panels clean so that they can still absorb UV rays.

When you install a solar system on your home you enroll in your applicable utility company’s Net Energy Metering program or NEM. While enrolled in this program, your utility company will measure the amount of electricity/energy your solar system produces (measured in kilowatt hours, or kWh) and the amount of the electricity/energy your home/building consumes. The difference between these two numbers is called your Net Energy. The utility company will use the Net Energy value to calculate your electric bill.

HOW DOES NEM WORK

No; solar hasn’t gone away. Instead, the way we utilize solar is going to look different.

Instead of installing solar systems that simply offset a home/building’s annual, gross energy usage, the goal will be to neutralize the need to pull from the utility grid during high-cost hours by pulling energy from an on-site battery instead. The battery system will be charged by and store excess energy produced by the solar system during the day, and the home will run off of that stored power in the evening.

While the savings solar customers receive will decrease after the implementation of NEM3, there will still be savings.

They don’t! Homes that are already enrolled in a NEM program, will continue to be enrolled for twenty years from their Permission to Operate date.

In fact, customers under NEM 2.0 can add to their existing system by up to 10%, or add a battery backup system and still maintain their NEM 2.0 enrollment.