This excess power that spins your meter backwards leaves through the utility lines and travels to a home nearby requiring power. Your clean energy not only meets your own needs and saves you money, but it also helps to meet power needs elsewhere on the grid. It’s all thanks to you…and the sun!
On those days where your panels are soaking in the rays but you are not home to use the energy they produce, power is fed back to the utility company, and this is the magical moment when your meter starts spinning backwards. Your utility calls that “net-metering,” but our customers like to call it “the giggle factor.” And whenever your meter is rolling back, so is the balance on your utility bill!
Once the power is inverted into AC, it travels to your electrical panel and goes on to feed any appliances, devices, or lights you have on in your house. You are now powered with solar!
The DC energy travels to an inverter (either a Micro Inverter located on each individual panel, or a String Inverter usually located in your garage, basement, or exterior wall). Here, the direct current (DC) is chopped up into alternating current (AC) that you can use in your home.
As sunlight hits the photovoltaic cells, electrons jump creating a flow of DC power. Panels are linked together to form strings that create solar energy.
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Your roof needs to have good southern exposure. Due south is considered 180 degrees, and thus your roof should be pointing somewhere between 40 degrees in either direction. Your roof needs to have minimal shading. Do other trees or buildings cast a shadow on your roof? This will impact your panels efficiency. Your roof needs to have enough space to fit the array. We can work around most obstacles such as windows, chimneys, or other exhaust exits, but space is definitely a factor to consider.
First, the panels collect sunshine and create Direct Current. This direct current travels to an inverter that will convert the power into Alternating Current that can be used by the house. This solar energy now powers your house, and whatever electricity goes unused passes through your meter and back out to the energy grid, meeting power needs at other nearby buildings. Solar is a clean and renewable energy source that, if conditions are right, will power your home entirely, save you money, benefit the environment, and help supply some energy to others.
