Once considered eccentric and unconventional, solar energy has become a mainstream option for many Utah residents looking to reduce their emissions footprint and lower their monthly utility bill. The actual amount that you save will vary based on the amount of shade your rooftop receives, your roof’s size and shape, local weather, electricity prices, local and federal incentives and solar panel costs. Regardless of savings, however, solar panels are always a good choice when it comes to benefiting the environment.

Everyone wants to make sure they get the highest level of effectiveness and efficiency from their solar panel system. Step one is understanding how solar panels work.

The basic idea is that during the day, the panels absorb UV rays from the sun and convert them into electricity which you can then use to power your home. Any extra electricity generated “overflows” back to the power company. At night, the energy flows the other way, from the power company back to your home, but the power company deducts the value of the daytime energy your panels put back into the system from your bill. This is called “net metering,” Auric Energy explains.

Filling the bucket

To understand net metering, imagine that your home or business is a bucket full of electricity. Without solar, you’re always relying on the power company to fill the bucket. With solar, the home or business uses the power of sunlight to fill the bucket first. On sunny days, your bucket will usually overflow, and the utility meter will run backward. At night, the power company is again responsible for filling the bucket, but your bill will reflect how much power already “overflowed” during the day.

It’s a simple calculation, but homeowners can take even greater advantage of the benefits of their solar panels by using whole-home energy management services. Features like smart thermostats, consumption monitoring, storage batteries and more allow homeowners to maximize their return on their solar panel investment.

Smart thermostats

Many homeowners get excited about the idea of being able to schedule their heating and air conditioning to automatically turn on and off, whether they’re home or not (or being able to turn off the A/C when they accidentally leave it on during vacation). What they don’t realize that smart thermostats can also give you insights into your home’s energy use.

“Smart thermostats can actually help you identify and address situations where your energy use isn’t as efficient as possible,” according to energysage.com. This is because the analytics it gives you access to help you identify the biggest energy hogs in the house. Knowledge is power. Literally and figuratively.

The Nest smart thermostat is one of the highest rated smart thermostats on the market and it pairs well with solar panel-equipped homes.

Consumption monitoring

Beyond the analytics from your smart thermostat, you can also get a consumption monitoring app that works directly with your solar panels, pairing with an app you may already have that shows your panels’ hourly and daily production rates.

Consumption monitoring is an available upgrade for new or existing solar panel customers who want to track their energy expenditure even more closely, helping people avoid the “rebound effect” some homeowners report when they switch to more efficient energy solutions.

The rebound effect occurs when people increase their energy usage because they have access to more efficient systems, explains Matthew Kotchen in an article for The New York Times.

Storage batteries

The idea of being able to store the extra energy your solar panels generate and use it later is one that has many solar powered homeowners daydreaming, but it hasn’t always been possible. Now it is.

Using lithium-ion batteries, your solar panels can now save extra energy for later, essentially allowing you to live “off the grid” when conditions are right or providing you with a temporary power source when the power goes out.

“Lithium-ion batteries can store a lot of energy, and they hold a charge for longer than other kinds of batteries,” the U.S. Department of Energy explains. “The cost of lithium-ion batteries is dropping because more people are buying electric vehicles that depend on them.”

Auric Energy recommends Sonnen storage batteries to their customers based on its level of global expertise, safety and overall quality for home storage systems.

One of the benefits of solar batteries over the traditional method of allowing your energy to feed back into the grid stems from time-of-use electricity rates used by some utility companies. The idea is that per kWh rates are higher at certain times of day or “peak hours” when demand is high. These charges often come into play in the late afternoon and evening. Because your solar energy can only be generated during daylight hours, the credits you get from the power company don’t stretch as far when peak hour rates come into play after dark.

With storage batteries, you’re able to use your extra energy rather than relying on the power company, which saves you even more money in the long run.

Other solar options and upgrades

Homeowners who have solar but don't want batteries might want to consider a backup natural gas generator that can power your whole home in the event of a power outage. Other options for your whole-house energy system are chargers for electric vehicles, radiant barriers and insulation, solar attic fans and more.

And if you have a solar system that isn't working as you expected or if the solar company that installed it has gone out of business, experts at Auric can help with concerns on your existing solar array or battery backup system

For more information on how to maximize the benefits of your solar energy system with whole-home energy management, visit www.auricenergy.com or call for a free quote.

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