Electric bills and inflation are on the rise. Solar panels are a viable option for most homeowners who qualify. Solar panels will help you save thousands on your electric bill, but will it completely get rid of your electric bill? This article will be straight to the point and won’t have confusing numbers like other resources may have. Going solar can reduce your electric bill drastically to the point where it’s $0 or pocket change.
The answer to this question is “it depends” because of a few different factors. Solar panels produce energy when the sun is out, so when you use energy at night, you will be getting your energy from the grid, which costs you money. If you install a solar backup battery, your solar panels will charge that battery throughout the day, so when the sun is down, you can get your energy from that battery instead of the grid. Getting a backup battery increases your energy independence and saves you even more money.
However, the amount of money you will pay after your solar panels are installed really depends on how much energy you use. If your home consumes a lot of energy, you will have a bigger solar panel system to compliment that amount of energy. Solar companies take your electric bills over the year and average the number of kilowatts your home uses and designs a solar system to match your home’s needs on average.
When you use energy also comes into play for how much your electric bill will be after you install solar panels. If you use a lot of energy at night, you will have a small electric bill to account for that. A solar backup battery will fuel your home at night, and you might not even use energy from the grid if you have one installed.
In the end, how much energy you use, when you use it, and if you have a solar battery backup are the main factors to if you will still have to pay an electric bill each month. If you use more energy than your solar panel system is designed to make, you will have to pay the utility company because you will be using energy from the grid. If you use less than you produce, your utility company will credit you for the next month if they offer this. This is called net metering, and the utility company can pay you for overproducing electricity.
Get a free consultation with solar consultant to see the exact numbers. Some homeowners pay $0 for their new electric bills and some homeowners with bigger energy needs may have $100 utility bills.
