Many homeowners install solar panels aiming to fully power their homes during sunny months. But once that goal is met, the question arises: what to do with excess solar power?
While net metering remains a popular solution, several other creative options exist to help you save money and simplify your life. As solar technology continues to evolve, it opens up a wealth of possibilities. Let's delve into the best ways to harness the potential of your solar panels' excess electricity.
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What Normally Happens to Excess Electricity from Solar Panels?
Suppose your solar panels are set up to power just the standard appliances, lights, and HVAC system in your home. What happens when they produce more electricity than needed? The excess isn't stored within the panels for future use. Instead, this surplus solar electricity flows back to the grid, where it benefits other connected households. If you're familiar with how net metering works, you may assume it automatically applies to any surplus electricity your panels produce – but that’s not the case. To earn compensation for sending excess solar power to the grid, you need to be enrolled in a net metering plan through your Retail Electricity Provider.
Without one of these plans in place, you're essentially generating electricity and giving the excess to them for free. This is fine with many homeowners, as they're not exactly putting in any tangible, extra effort to supply this electricity. But there are so many other uses for that surplus solar electricity, why not benefit from it? This leads us to our first and most popular use for excess electricity from solar panels.
Related: How Do Solar Panels Work
Enroll In a Net Metering Electricity Plan
If you only follow through on one recommendation for your excess solar in this article, this is it. One way or another, the excess electricity your panels generate will be sent back into the grid, so why not receive energy credits for it? Net metering — also referred to as solar buyback or net energy metering — allows you to receive credits based on how much excess electricity you send back into the grid every month.
Those credits can then be used to negate some energy charges when you need to use power from the grid, like when your solar panels don't produce enough electricity during cloudy periods. When you're wondering what to do with extra solar energy, enrolling in a net metering plan requires the littlest effort to ensure that you're benefiting from it in some way.
Install Solar Batteries
A solar battery is pretty much what it sounds like: a device that stores excess solar electricity produced by your panels for later use. There are two types of solar batteries, similar to AA batteries you use around your home — lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries. Lithium-ion batteries hold more electricity and are more efficient, while lead-acid batteries aren't as efficient, or as healthy for the environment once discarded.
Solar batteries are typically installed indoors to protect them from weather elements, often in basements, garages, or other vented, out-of-the-way areas of your home. While many environmental and usage factors affect how long these batteries last, their average lifespans range from 5 to 15 years. They are a great option for what to do with excess solar power, because, like net metering, they allow you to use surplus electricity produced by solar panels without paying standard energy costs.
Cost Considerations for Solar Batteries
The cost of these batteries, including installation, can range from $6,000 to $20,000 on average, which means it may take a while for a full return on your investment. Additionally, one battery may not be enough to power your entire home on days when your solar electricity production isn't keeping up with your usage. Some people install two batteries to maximize their electricity storage for average home use.
EV Charging
Owning an electric vehicle already helps you save money, allowing you to avoid the costs of gasoline. But what if you could save even more by reducing the energy costs required to charge your EV at home? While it's unlikely that you'd be able to depend solely on solar panel generation to power your home and fully recharge your vehicle on a daily basis, you can at least reduce charging costs with excess power from solar panels.
You can charge your EV with electricity generated from solar panels in two common ways: by installing an inverter that can be connected to your EV or by using a solar battery. Solar inverters are typically less expensive than solar batteries, but batteries will allow you to charge your vehicle at night when you're less likely to be driving.
Use a Solar Immersion Diverter
Also called an immersion optimizer, a solar immersion diverter is a device that uses excess solar power to heat water. It detects when you have a surplus of solar electricity and, instead of sending electricity back into the grid, the diverter automatically switches on and sends electricity to your hot water tank, which heats the water. When a surplus of solar electricity is no longer detected, the device stops sending as much electricity to the water heater.
Solar immersion diverters were very popular among solar panel owners before the introduction of net metering. Now, depending on your energy costs, the energy credits you receive from net metering may outweigh the savings from heating water with a diverter. However, if net metering isn't available in your area, a solar immersion diverter may be a good option for using excess power from solar panels.
Gexa Energy is committed to offering solar energy solutions that help you maximize your renewable electricity choices. Learn how to clean solar panels and check out our Solar Panel Maintenance Guide to maximize your solar production.
