All forms of electricity generation have an environmental impact on our air, water and land, but it varies. Producing and using electricity more efficiently reduces both the amount of fuel needed to generate electricity and the amount of greenhouse gases and other air pollution emitted as a result.

Although electricity is a clean and relatively safe form of energy when it is used, the generation and transmission of electricity affects the environment. Nearly all types of electric power plants have an effect on the environment, but some power plants have larger effects than others.

As you improve the energy efficiency of your home, you need less electricity and thus rely less on carbon-intensive power plants. This reduces your home’s demand from the plant, which in turn benefits the environment by reducing their carbon dioxide emissions.

Electricity we don’t use is the electricity that the generators commit to the grid. If there is low demand then the actual voltage level of the grid goes up. When this happens, generators can reduce their production somewhat, but only to a point.

Electricity cannot itself be stored on any scale, but it can be converted to other forms of energy which can be stored and later reconverted to electricity on demand. Storage systems for electricity include battery, flywheel, compressed air, and pumped hydro storage.

Electricity always returns to the source of the power supply (a transformer or substation). When electrical current cannot flow through a neutral conductor, due to some type of damage or defect in the circuit, more current will use a path through the earth to return to the power supply.

Any excess electricity you produce is fed back into the grid. When renewable resources are unavailable, electricity from the grid supplies your needs, eliminating the expense of electricity storage devices like batteries.

Such storage may be to reduce demand on the grid, as back-up, or for price arbitrage. Pumped storage projects and equipment have a long lifetime – nominally 50 years but potentially more, compared with batteries – 8 to 15 years.

If you do generate more electricity than you use in a year, utilities in some states will let you carry credits over into future years, while others will reduce your credits. In general, most homes will produce excess electricity in the summer months and will use more electricity from the grid in the winter.

So even though electricity may travel much farther on high-voltage transmission lines – dozens or hundreds of miles – losses are low, around two percent. And though your electricity may travel a few miles or less on low-voltage distribution lines, losses are high, around four percent.

5%

Here’s how electricity gets to your house: The electrical charge goes through high-voltage transmission lines that stretch across the country. It reaches a substation, where the voltage is lowered so it can be sent on smaller power lines. It travels through distribution lines to your neighborhood.

Typical voltages for long distance transmission are in the range of 155,000 to 765,000 volts in order to reduce line losses. A typical maximum transmission distance is about 300 miles (483 km).

If you want to make money by selling electricity back to the grid, you’ll have to generate more than you use. That’s why it’s called “net metering.” A special meter measures net electricity generated and the utility company pays you for it.

Answer: A natural consequence of overusing energy is increased costs for you. This can come in the form of fuel and energy bills; you will be paying more without an appreciable return on your investment. You may also risk lowering the expected lifespan of appliances and other electronics.

Assuming your house is connected to the national grid, you can sell any surplus electricity you generate back to your energy supplier, (although it is sometimes hard to get the appropriate red tape completed). There are basically two options for selling your renewable energy back to your electricity supplier.

So how much money can you make selling electricity back to the grid? Since rates vary with the market value of electricity, there’s no set dollar figure that you can expect to take home. However, many home producers make around $3,000 per year from a combination of REC sales and governmental clean energy incentives.

Under the terms of a PPA, the solar provider will typically receive the income of the electricity sales back to the grid, as well as any tax incentives or other incentives generated by the solar power system. You get a lower monthly energy bill, they get the utility rewards and income.

Units of electricity are measured in kilowatt hours (kWh’s). Therefore one unit of electricity is equal to one kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity used.

California’s first net metering policy set a “cap” for the three investor-owned utilities in the state: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), and Southern California Edison (SCE).

Sell back excess energy from your home solar energy system in Texas. Customers of our Renewable Rewards Buyback Plan will receive credit for 100% of the excess energy their solar system delivers back to the grid. One-to-one buyback credits for any excess energy.

By reducing or eliminating your electricity bill, taking advantage of federal tax credits, increasing the value of your home, and much more – going solar is definitely worth it. Your exact return on investment is also affected by which solar payment option you choose.

First, to reduce your True-Up bill, ensure your system was built to offset your entire energy usage within the home. Second, be more mindful of how energy is being used.

True-Up Period determines how often a customer’s bill credits and charges are reconciled and when excess kWh is compensated for at the net surplus compensation rate. Each year at the specified month, any leftover credits are lost, and any excess energy is credited at the Net Surplus Compensation Rate.

During the summer months when the sun is shining, solar systems typically generate more electricity than the home uses. That excess electricity is pushed onto PG&E’s grid and is “banked” in the form of NEM credits.