Well… not so quick. While adding solar panels will generate power for your home and save you money, it is not a free ticket to ride the energy waste train.
It might surprise you, but we get this question often (okay, not using these exact words) which is why we want to “shine some light” on the topic (we love our solar puns). Remember when you started the process of getting solar power for your home? Your energy consultant reviewed your energy use for the last twelve months. During that period, you probably worked hard to keep your electric bill low (even if all of your efforts didn’t play out as planned).
It’s important to remember that your solar panel system was designed based on your past energy usage. Basically that means that your solar power system was designed to generate enough energy to meet your average demand. Each panel placed on your roof is only able to create the amount of energy it was designed for. Let’s pretend that your panels are exposed to the sun 24 hours a day. (In this hypothetical scenario, you’ve apparently decided to give up city life and live in Alaska during the summer.) Even if sun streamed to your solar panels every second of the day, they still wouldn’t be able to produce an unlimited amount of energy. This production limit means that if you decide to lower the air conditioner a few degrees, install a pool or Jacuzzi or buy an electric car, your electric bill could go up, even with the solar panels on your roof.
In this scenario, the panels are still doing their job, but your new air conditioned, Jacuzzi-loving lifestyle requires more energy than your panels can produce. That means you’ll need to take more energy from the grid and accept the higher bills that result.
A while back we wrote a blog post about how we size a solar system for our customers. In that post we explained that we size our system so that our customers can get the best savings. These calculations allow us to keep true to the requirements of utility companies while allowing our customers the ability to enjoy affordable renewable energy. In other words, we don’t want to sell you more solar panels than you need, which is a good thing for your budget.
Don’t think we’re trying to rain on your parade here. We just don’t want you to be surprised or frustrated if you see that your electric bill is more than you had expected. You’re still getting savings from your solar system and paying less than you would have had you not installed solar panels in the first place, but conservation is still key. If you go all energy juggernaut as soon as your panels are up then you won’t realize the full money saving potential of your panels.
Now, if you haven’t purchased your system yet there is still time to make sure you have a little wiggle room for your system’s energy production capacity. When you sit down with your energy consultant, be sure to let them know that you would like the freedom to be less frugal with your conservation. If you’re planning on buying an electric car or being the cool neighbor with a pool, tell your consultant. These factors can help us design a system that will work for your current and future energy needs. While we do have to work within the regulations of each of the utility companies to create your system, the more information we have the better chance we can design a solar power system that works for you.
If you have questions about energy conservation or your solar panels give us a call and one of our customer care representatives will be more than happy to help you.
