Are you a homeowner thinking about installing rooftop solar panels or a battery energy storage system but don’t know where to start? Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers are here to help.
On a larger scale, the nation is transitioning to a more electrified way of life to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. But as climate change drives hotter summers and more extreme winter storms, reliable access to power will become more vital to everyday life. Rooftop solar and BESS can provide both energy to homeowners as well as relieve some load on the power grid as a whole.
Kerby notes that the rates for the off-peak times are always lower than the utility’s flat rate, while the on-peak times will be higher, so “that’s a huge opportunity for solar and storage.” A BESS could store energy generated by solar panels during slower hours in the middle of the day, then that energy could be used for evening activities like watching TV, running a dishwasher, or doing the laundry. That way, the homeowner isn’t drawing more expensive energy from the grid.
In Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York, net metering also extends to BESS, but the practice is not yet common across the United States, Kerby said. An average four-person household with electric heating may use around 23,000 kWh per year, which would cost $3,265, minus monthly service charges, taxes, and fees. The state of Washington also has a net metering policy, meaning that PSE’s TOU rate would also apply to the excess solar production sold back to the utility. With all this in mind, an average four-person household with PSE could save around $1,600 per year with this renewable system.