If you are in DFW, don't hesitate to reach out: 972 675 7725 ( call or text) or shoot me an email: info@solartimeusa.com If you are not, you can also reach out, I do solar consultations and quotes review all the time :) Other than that, leave some thoughts down below! :)

I am also in TX, in Garland, with Garland Power and Light, I get 1:1 down to zero and when I go negative, I get about 8.2¢ per kWh, I had a -$40 bill last month. Another really cool thing is Garland is we have a combined electric, water, trash bill, so any negative credit from my solar goes towards the bottom line. My solar helps to pay my water bill!

From my experience owning solar for 8 years. I wish i would have gone bigger. My 100% offset is not cutting it with panels getting dirty (drops production ) or panel degradation etc. with the push for electrification of everything- EV, heatpump ac and water heater etc. When sizing consider what your future needs will be. Its not EASY to add panels coz 2/3 of the cost is installation. Better get it all done at one time so you are not losing too much on labor costs.

I don't do buy back, we are "Off GRID" only. I don't sell my electricity at ridiculously low rates, I use it or store it. Eliminating the grid bill all together, was always my goal. $16,000.00 later, we get buy or do without...

No one has ever said ,i wish i had less panels or battery storage. Just I wish i ground Mounted.

Martyna, All good things discussed! I would like to add that even though your system might/could be oversized(like mine; 13.5kW + 25kWh Batteries-5), there are changing circumstances that can work in your favor 1) utility cost increase 2) My battery sizing is maxed out, short of mounting on the inside of the garage(currently exterior of the garage), but in the future technology will change and allowing to increase battery size, pending any future battery composition of materials used. I say this as in CA, the LACoF(Fire) codes are so behind, my installer/owner knew more than the LAco Fire (to include the Chief!). 3) In CA, i have Southern California Edison(SCE), which allows for the use of the solar/battery before PTO(Permission to operate), BUT one can't collect solar sold back to the grid until PTO is granted(also a discrepancy between Enphase NEM3.0 rates and SCE)! I'm currently still waiting for Fire to inspect installation of batteries... Hope this helps🙏

Great video Martyna, excellent work. I am in Southern California and the rates are first tier 2:09 42.5 cents a KW and 2nd tier is 52.5 cents a KW. Buy back is between 3-5 cents a KW. Total rip off. Battery is required to make is worth it here

Ohio AEP - we have 1 to 1 net metering. Went live almost 1 year ago. We made it thru 1st winter with still having credit. We have propane heat - and thinking about using more electric heat next winter especially during sunny days to use up the power - credits are good for 12 months. We have a 15kwh ground mount unit. We have to export about 100kwh a month to pay for the meter fee, distribution, etc. after that it’s credit. Best investment I have made. We have 10 yrs before retirement- so will be paid off by then and free power when living in fixed income.

Great summary. The City of Tallahassee, FL offers true 1:1 net metering via kWH hours tracked within the smart bi-directional meter. Their connection agreement says they can zero out the balance annually, but they never have since they would have to change out the meter. It's the best net metering program I have heard about.

In the UK, we bought a house where solar was installed in 2011 under the FIT scheme. At that time, for 25 years you'd get paid an inflation linked amount for what you generated, and then another amount for export. The export is paid as 50% of what you've generated (whether you use it or not). The generation rate for us is currently is ~72p and deemed export ~5p. I think that makes our generation rate about 90 US cents per kWh. These sorts of offers are long gone, and the householder that bought this originally paid a significant sum for it, before moving out 4 years later. We're essentially reaping the return of their capital expenditure.

10:45 Yes, batteries give users a level of impedance. Grid goes down, power stays on. Your spot on on sizing the system. I recommend that everyone, take advice the from the video, very well done as well at the series. ❤

Here in Southern Ohio I have 1 to 1 net metering and had a $4 bill last month 👍👍✔️

I’m in Beaverton (suburb of Portland) Oregon and get a 1:1 payback which is great but I’ve heard they’re thinking about changing this in other parts of Oregon. My only problem is the true up they do at the end of the year. I over produced and that gets donated by PGE to low income customers. Problem with that is the true up was in March and I didn’t produce enough to cover my usage in April and couldn’t use my excess (because it was donated the month before) so I ended up having to pay $192 in April. I found out that I could change the true up month so I changed it to April. I’ll still get the short end of the straw one month a year but shouldn’t be as much in April.

Great video Martyna. You forgot to mention on the net metering or buy back plans, you still have to pay the Transmission fee (TDU). So on the one to one plans, it's not really 1 to 1 still have to pay some TDU fees. Where i am at it is about 5 cents KW. Also should talk about 'Real Time Market Rate'. Some providers offer this as a buyback but what does it mean, how does it work?

Good content! My Electric provider in Oklahoma only buys excess power at the wholesale rate which is usually about $.02 per KWH. The billing is net usage per month with credit for overproduction. During spring, fall and winter I earn credits of about $2 to $10 and usage rates are fixed. During the summer they have a TOU rate so I use batteries to make sure I never have net use during the high rate between 2 and 7 pm. My system isn't big enough to cover all my power in the summer, I think mainly because I have an old 10 SEER A/C. My usage looks a lot like your chart at the 5:40 point. Next step is to put in a heat pump and level out the usage over the year so the system is more cost effective. My electric company also limits solar to 125% of power consumed.

I’m in east Texas and on Panola Harrison COOP. Our rates run .09 to .11 cents per kWh. When I installed mine 2 years ago they were giving.05 cents per kWh sell back and recently they cut it to .03 cents. At the .05 I could build credits and cancel out a $9.00 monthly fee, at .03 I can’t build credits for the hottest part of the summer. When I asked why they cut the buy back rate since they haven’t cut sell rate they couldn’t offer a reason.

Great video! At this time our buyback is 1 to 1 in Maryland with SMECO as our provider. Our solar company, Energy Select Solar from St Mary's county, sized it right at close to 100%.. Sometimes it produces a little over, sometimes a little under.

Thanks for the discussion. I'm hesitant on a solar implementation as the usual location is on the roof. I've had roofers say they will need the system brought offline before they do any work on my roof. Our limited land in NYC makes adding more capacity an issue. Not sure if ConEd will buy back electricity anyway. Thoughts?

We live in upstate NY and have net metering meaning kwh for kwh. There is a $26 charge that is always charged if your bill is zero. In effect the grid is our battery.

AN OVERSIZED SYSTEM IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT ANSWER! (most of the time, certain Utilities do not allow oversized systems) Why? Because Utility rates are going up minimum 6% every year. In California they went up 11% in SCE territory this year and will go up 26% next year. The only way to account for this and future proof your system as much as possible, is an oversized solar system. What is the #1 complaint when Homeowners went solar and sized it at exactly 100% offset? Answer: I wish I would of added more panels in the beginning!! This has already been proven because 40% of our business is expansion systems from another company not sizing the system correctly the first time. This is because a 100% isn't really 100%. You need to factor for Solar Panel Degradation, Battery round trip efficiency, Seasonality, Infinite Utility Rate hikes and also Solar Fever... Some solar panels will degrade only 9% over 25 years like the REC Alphas and other panels can degrade up to 15% or more over 25 years. So this means a true 100% offset over 25years should really be closer to 115% to get the most out of your system. But what about Batteries? Batteries do not charge themselves. Depending on the model, Battery round trip efficiency is around 80 to 90% to charge them. If you are using your Battery for Time of Use or Self Consumption daily, this needs to be factored as well. Seasonality Sunlight during the winter is shorter than in the summer, to continue to fully offset your utility bill in the winter oversizing will prove to be beneficial, especially if you are running heat pumps for heat in the winter. Solar Fever Solar Fever is when a Homeowner goes Solar and they increase their usage significantly because they what to use the solar system they have invested in. This is why it is important to ask your Homeowners if they have been living on an energy diet. Most Homeowners do not run their A/C or their Pool Pump as much as they would like. What is the fix? Oversize! So for an optimiz solar system, I would factor extra offset 10 to 15% - Panel Degradation 10 to 15% - Seasonality, Battery efficiency 10 to 15% - Infinite Utility Rate Hikes, Solar Fever In my experience most Homeowners like the Sweet spot between 130 to 140% offset to truly zero out their Utility bill for many years to come....

Hello Martyna. Love it when you post videos. We just returned from DFW after viewing the solar eclipse. I live in Nevada with a tiny 4 kWh system containing ten panels. NV Energy charges about 13 cents per kWh and pays a net metering rate of 75%. Our system covers all our electricity, but they keep raising all the other basic service fees. Now they want to double or triple the basic fee because so many people are switching to solar. Monopoly is ripping us off!

Thanks Martyna. Very helpful video and very timely, now that most if not all REPs do not provide net metering here in Oncor service area in Frisco. That said is there a REP who is still net metering.

Here Entergy Conroe TX, buy back awful, 1.5 to 2 cent for every kw sent to the grid... plus $10 a month connection fee....awful

Thank you Martyna for taking the time toi deliver this segment. ** Please note, I would warn your customers to stay away from the variable or "market pricing" buyback. While they advertise a buyback of up to 25 cents per KWhr, this is extremely rare case. Variable market pricing is done in 15 minute increments and typically they may buy back your electricity at less than a penny per KWhr and selling it to you at 11 cents or higher. You will have a large bill during the summer. My provider is TXU and currently I am on their 1:1 match program. I can carry credits up to $1,000 through the end of the contract. At least for today, they are not capping you at the month and allow the carryover. The only costs I incur is the monthly fee and ONCOR charges. Whlie my neighbors and relatives are screaming about their $500-$700 summer bills, I average $35 for the ONCOR fees. Thanks again and looking forward to more of these typoe of videos, you really dived well into the battery vs no-battery situation.

In the Netherlands we also have net metering over the entire year. It's awesome for us who own solar panels, but other people pay for it in taxes...

in Thailand they give you 50% net metering.... and you have to pay utility to approve this request and wait couple months for decision. Or you can just slap ongrid inverter on your house and spin old style meter backwards to get 100% back. Just don't spin it to negative and you should be fine

Water heater is another good energy surplus dump. 40gallons need 4kWh to raise temperature by 40F

In Seattle we have 1:1, with the zero-the-balance event on March 31st. With a 7kw system we"gave" the city-owned utility about 1 MWh per year. Now we have a heat pump, and our generation falls almost a megaWatt-hour short on that date, which led to a $146 bill in April.

Really helpful.

Thanks for the video! Where I live we use a chariot and they do 1-1 but anything we buy we get charged extra by oncor! Anything we buy we always get slapped with extra 4 cents on each kWh 🤯

Could you explain a good TOU example? I do not wish to monitor credits from utility company. Would rather build a small enough system with battery to off set peak cost. Maybe also charge a little of the battery with off-peak grid rates.

great video. i would rather run the pool pump 16 hrs/day, and/or buy mini splits and un them, than give any excess KW away to the flori-DUH power companies. ps, who was the cutie in the background? please introduce us. 🤗🤗

Ladies only do normal cooking videos and few videos about film but you do technical videos very nicely.

Hello. Loving your videos, I've learned quite a lot. Question, let's say I'm using an off-grid string inverter and my battery is fully charged, but there's still power being produced by my system. Where does that extra power go? I would still wanna have my grid connection, but not selling back power to the grid.

Gemany here. We pay around 25-30 €-cents for the kWh and get about 8 cents back for each kWh we put in the system. A couple of years ago it was a nice option to oversize because you could get 20-30 cents back. But photovoltaic systems were also more expensive back then. Nowadays it seems to make more sense to go with a PV system that is a little under your current power consumption and potentially buffer with a battery if you have the money to spare. Power outages are not really a problem here.

Very informative. Thanks for making this video. I think it is important to include the possibility of an Electric Vehicle (or 2) in the total electric load when looking at how much solar to purchase. Electric Vehicles substantially increase the total power usage (depending on miles driven)... and the cost savings of powering up your vehicle at night using the solar stored earlier in the day will make a big difference. People might not have an Electric Vehicle now, but if they are planning on getting one it could be a big issue if they didn't size the system to take charging the car(s) into account.

makes a alot of sense

Good info.

NOVEC in NOVA still pays 1:1 in credits but they do have a monthly service charge no matter what. They wipe the slate yearly - in January of course. My solution on my next install when I move South where 1:1 doesn't exist will be batteries so I need the power company as little as possible even at night. I've yet to sell credits, I cannot figure out what the heck to do with that.

South central Missouri credits about .02 for extra sent to the grid. The first year they allowed the credit to lower the total monthly bill now they only allow credits to be used to pay for the KWh you bye. Every customer pays $32 per month for service plus a handful of extras. I always make more than I use so last year my bills ran around $10. Now they steal all extra and sell it to others and my bill is $32 each month. Next for me, change LP water heater to electric and use electric space heaters in the winter. Might run an extension cord to the neighbor and give them some free power.The sad part is Missouri law says all extra produced will be credited to next months bill and if anything is left after a year is lost. Hard to fight the Missouri Electric Co-op club.

electric cost =$ 0.098 / 1-kwh, buy back = $0.03 / kwh. don't forget, they also charge fees, taxes and delivery fees. TARA ENERGY. Located in Arlington TX. I'm currently trying to get a battery bank to cover my night time electric usage. I would love to cut the power cable.

I have had solar for 5 years now. The state and federal offset (our tax money) paying half allowed me to buy without a loan. I enjoy not paying for electric other than the $16 a month hook up fee, and on Long Island (as of now) the kw is banked 100%. I expect all this to eventually change and the stealing of electric with no compensation should be a lawsuit. I agree that batteries would reduce the cost of electric during the winter months but I have to circle back that the electric being bought was you own electric to begin with

I have heavy usage in the winter for electric baseboard but very little in the summer. How would that work out for overproducing in the summer but underproducing in the winter?

Yes and no, batteries are becoming extremely important. I am in the North Dallas area with a 19W system which was designed to be 110% over my needs. In the beginning it was great the law makers changed laws and utility companies changed the way they sold the power to us. Champion Energy is one of the worst where 1 month I made 1400KW and used 1100 that month and had a bill of $139. Yeah I dropped them so fast once I caught this. Its seems for now Green Mountain is the lessor of the 2 evils. In the beginning with them I used to have solar credits that would roll over year to year but when my contract after 3 years came in renewal I lost that. Now like you said its a monthly credit that gets settled at the end of the month. My system was designed in year usage not a monthly usage so its not working the way it was designed. So in my case a battery wall would solve this dilemma but at what cost? I would need a large one that would cost me 30k to 40k that would need to be replaced every 10 to 12 years, hmm. not yet worth the cost but it would be a solution and get me off grid.

I’m using off grid inverters with batteries even though I have 200 amp grid service. TXU and Reliant offer free at night service so I can run my big loads after 8 pm or top off batteries. I don’t want to sell back to the utility because of the extra hassle of permitting and danger of back feeding. If I did have extra solar output in the daytime I wouldn’t care if they benefited from it. The problem is, they don’t need it during the daytime because the solar farms are exploding and I’m really surprised that they still have 1:1 net metering in Grayson and Collin Counties. When the utilities get their own batteries I’m convinced the net metering will be gone. They produce solar power for about $.04 KWH and won’t pay you more than it’s worth.

I live in Texas, in a rural area about 60 miles West of Houston. Our electric utility provider, San Bernard Electric Cooperative, is showing a "Distributed Generation Credit" (buyback) rate of 6 to 7 cents per kwh. That's probably around half the rate that we pay for our electricity, but it's definitely better than nothing. They say that this rate is based on the "avoided wholesale power cost", which is the cost San Bernard EC would have incurred had they been required to purchase the energy from their wholesale power supplier. On the surface, at least, this does seem like a reasonable policy. I'm looking into a residential solar system here, in large part as an alternative to a "whole house" generator system that we have considered for backup power. Rather than invest several thousand dollars in a large generator and propane fuel tank, which will rarely see any use, I'm thinking that putting the money into a solar/battery system may be a better option for us here.

7.5c night time import rate, 24c export rate in Ireland. Charge batteries overnight and maximise export. Daytime import rate 36c

Hi Martyna... When building a new home, do you recommend waiting one year or more before configuring a solar system, or is it possible to estimate the system requirements based on data available from the start?

we pay pg&e e 52 cents kw they pay back 8 cents very bad 8 cents per kWh According to PV Magazine, NEM 3.0 is a 75% reduction that takes average export rates from 30 cents per kWh to 8 cents per kWh when it went into effect on April 14, 2023.

In North Carolina I am using Duke Energy Progress and I have what is called a hybrid net metering 1:1 plan (at 11 cents per kWh). When my credited kWh brings my bill down to zero then the rest of the kWh are credited at 3.4 cents per kWh. Unfortunately there is a minimum bill also that makes it very difficult to get to zero, but if you can get the bill to zero then you can earn credits at 3.4 cents per kWh that can be carried month to month. Also, there used to be full 1:1 net metering but that has been removed last year. And even the plan I am on now isn't guaranteed for new Duke solar panel customers because only a certain amount of people can get the plan per year. If the hybrid net metering plans are all taken, then the only plan customers can get is time of use.

At the other extreme, do you have advice for those who want to go completely off-grid?

What is your opinion on solar trackers for the sun, they claim that can produce 40% more than fixed panels mounts. Also about micro inverters is good or not.

Idaho Power has changed to the "buy back" model. In one month, I made 1400 KW, but I bought 1000 KW resulting in a bill of $49. It's their push for people to buy batteries.

I think there is a need for a comunity interchange of electricity and cut out the utility companies to the largest extend. Why give back electricity when it is sold to your neighbour with a profit. Comunity Batteries, Watersilos, or something of that kind would be a solution for to use at night.

I suspect all north Texas companies will end up offering real time wholesale buyback which forces you to compete with every other solar producer. I hope battery prices continue to drop because that’s the only option that puts the control back with the home owner.

Even if you are grandfathered in to a contract most utility companies have the ability to manipulate connection and other charges. In late 2022 the connection charges, taxes and other charges in my area were about $10.00. Then slowly they keep raising the costs. latest bill was just at $20.00. I wouldn't be surprised if next year those cost double again. I guess we will see. Net metering rate is 75%-1 Nevada

Forgot to mention that Duke recently started a Renewable energy rider fee and who knows what that's really for and otherwise my bill would have been ZERO!!

I’m in Delaware and interested in getting solar system with bi-panels and a BLUETTI EP900 + B500 Home Battery Backup system. The net metering with my energy provider states “the amount of energy we deliver to you minus the excess amount you send back to the smart grid” which I believe is good. What’s your opinion? Thanks.

Only great in full sunny daylight in the middle of a day. I know, I have an array which only makes good money from my UK Government subsidy. I pay 31 pence per kWh for my grid electricity plus a fixed monthly fee, I get 14.7 pence per kWh for my excess solar and no return on that fixed monthly fee.

I was looking into Solar for my parent's house and I looked into the power company's contractual agreement. They only pay you based on the generated energy cost, and they bill you for the transmission fee (because the grid and the power company are different entities, and the grid still charges you for using it.) On top of that, if you generate energy credits they expire after a set time period and/or at the end of the year. So it's not even worth generating power into the grid. If you do push energy back on the grid, you'll pay to transmit it and the credit that the generator has granted you may just go away. So I bought an off-grid inverter with grid connect for backup. If they need power, the grid is there to fall back on, but the goal is to generate enough power during the day to charge the batteries, run the house, and partially drain the batteries at night to keep the appliances running.

Wise County is about 0.02 difference between sale and buyback

Converse, TX only pays 1.5 cents so I am going heavy on batteries and just live off my batteries and switch off my main.

there is no net meter in NZ and our minimum buy back price is 8 cents and goes up to 15 cents per kwh

Here in Puerto Rico we have 1:1 net metering, and the excess is paid at end of fiscal year at $0.075 per KWh. Though it could change depending on the politics. I think it is better to discharge battery 50% every night, makes a huge difference in the bills.(I understand this might not work for everyone) Other topic, Natron has a sodium battery with UL certification. 50k-100k cycles. Please try to get one and test it. Read the specs and it sounds interesting. Uses modbus so I think you could plug and play that with a solark. But you know more than me about that.

Martyna, w trakcie edycji video zglosnij nieco audio bo w stosunku do innych twój kanał jest zbyt cichy a po obejrzeniu twojego kanału muszę pamiętać o sciszaniu bo inne kanały są znacznie głośniejsze...

my utillity company gave me a whopping 1.8 cents per kwh, and when i buy it they charge me 11.3 cents per kwh, that's 6 to 1, what a great deal!!!!

wayyyyy over my head!! now if you need tax info I'm all over it. We are in the middle if quotes, but listening to this I'm confused. How in the world can I wrap my brain around this. I was thinking to get 35 panels instead of 25 that they recommend. Guess not? plus we live in snow country Nov till Apr....but sun every day...

If you sold the light company electricity i bet there are legal issues or taxes cause it could be considered income

Always undersized your system so you can use what you generate, if not you are giving your own money away

buy backs will get less and less in future

You’re missing buy all/sell all disaster. My utility buys all power from solar then sells back to me for a $.01/reduction per kWh. So instead of paying .13/kwh I’m paying .12/kwh. The PV/inverter cannot be wired into your home first, it must go to a meter for utility buy. So to even charge batteries, you have to pay utility the .12/kwh rate. Self consumption model is gone and does not exist.

Power costs me .11 per kWh and I sell for 8.5 per kWh

any INCUBUS fans with me? 👌🏼🤞🏻

Go off the grid! I did 7 years ago.

Solar power is a waste of time and money. Buy a Tesla, and you'll save thousands of dollars over 15 years and more than solar power ever will. My power company gives me 20% off my power because I own a Tesla. Wind power is even more stupid. Commercial solar takes up land that was used for farming. If someone speaks loud enough, of course, there will be solar followers🤣. It costs $20-25 a month to charge my Tesla travelling 11,000ks a year at home so why would I ever want solar.