Do You Still Pay Electricity Bills With Solar Panels

Once you pay off your loan or buy your system outright you will essentially be getting energy for free.

Do you still pay electricity bills with solar panels.

Solar panels generate their own power and can therefore greatly offset your monthly electricity bill if not eliminate it. You ll pay the bill annually although you may receive a quarterly or monthly statement that breaks down your usage and credits. However with a home solar system your electric bill only includes the number of kilowatt hours you ve used from the grid. A solar provider handles the installation and then leases the equipment to you at a fixed monthly amount or sells you the electricity the panels generate at a set price per kilowatt hour.

After the bottom line on your energy bill electricity use is the component we look at. When it comes to payment those who are using solar energy will still get a monthly utility bill. Your solar panels are still producing cleaner cheaper energy for you than the utility company you might just need to do a little math to figure out how much you re saving. The remaining electricity you pulled from the grid that wasn t offset by net metering credits and wasn t produced and used immediately at your home is where you might see small charges for electricity.

However if and when you do decide to go solar a negative electric bill can become a monthly reality. The good news is the utility bill piece of your savings equation should be the same regardless of how you re financing your solar panels. After going solar the first thing you will likely notice is the drastic decrease in your monthly electric bill. The electric company charges based on a volume rate or the number of kilowatt hours used.

These savings depend on factors like the size of your solar panel system your energy consumption and your local utility rates. In summary yes you will still receive an electric bill when you install solar panels. Our goal is to cover 100 of your electricity costs but of course there are. If you are leasing your solar system or paying off a loan your solar panel payment will usually fill the place of your utility bill.

However even if your solar panels supply 100 of your annual electricity needs you will still receive a monthly bill from your electric company. Most utility companies charge a minimum monthly fee which means that you will have to pay a small amount every month even if your usage that month is zero or even negative. When boston solar designs solar systems we look at your average monthly electric bill and show you what your solar offset will be once the panels are installed. If you use gas your solar panels won t cover the gas portion of your utility usage so you ll still need to pay for that as usual.

The higher your bill the more likely you ll benefit from switching.