How to maximize solar savings with home energy efficiency

Rooftop solar and energy efficiency

Much like the benefits of solar, an energy-efficient home can simultaneously reduce your utility bills and carbon footprint. While there are many things you can do to lower your electricity bills-like shutting off lights in unoccupied rooms-home efficiency improvements can help achieve further energy savings, increase your property value, and maximize your savings potential when going solar.

Home improvements to increase energy savings

Whether or not you have rooftop solar, there are some practical tips to enhance your home's energy efficiency.

1. Building envelope: Proper home insulation can significantly reduce the energy consumption necessary to maintain a consistent indoor temperature while using heating or cooling systems. Envelope improvements can also include window and door upgrades, air sealing, and minor roof repairs.
2. Energy-efficient appliances: Consider replacing old appliances with energy-efficient models. Depending on your property, there may be opportunities for energy savings if you replace an HVAC system, clothes washer or dryer, dishwasher, water heater, or other major appliances.
3. LED lighting: Compared to traditional incandescent lightbulbs, LED lighting consumes approximately 75% less energy and lasts 25 times longer.
4. Smart home technology: Smart thermostats and power strips can help effectively manage electricity use-including automatic load shifting around peak-demand pricing and always toggling off non-essential devices when they're not in use.

To help maximize your energy savings, your building improvements may qualify for several clean energy tax credits, rebates, or incentives from federal and local green initiatives. For example, U.S. homeowners can qualify for federal tax credits worth up to $2,000 on heat pumps, boilers, or biomass stoves, and up to $1,200 on qualifying appliances, windows, doors, insulation, and other property upgrades.

If you're not sure where to start, conduct a solar installer home energy audit -it's one of the best ways to increase your property's efficiency, discover if you qualify for local rebates, and plan cost-effective upgrades. Professional home energy audits are required before installing solar in some states and can often be conducted for free or at heavily discounted rates though local solar programs, like this program in New York.

Optimize solar energy system performance and savings

When you work with a professional solar installer, you can design a system for maximum electricity production on your unique property. In the U.S., photovoltaic (PV) panels are ideally installed on roofs with good solar exposure and minimal shade coverage to harness as much daily sunlight as possible.

Rooftop solar monitoring and maintenance

Although solar energy systems do not require much upkeep over their multi-decade lifespans, monitoring and maintenance are essential to guarantee long-term solar savings. By monitoring your solar energy system's performance, you can track your electricity production and investigate potential efficiency losses.

With advanced solar monitoring systems, you can also oversee electricity consumption from connected appliances, grid imports and exports, and your real-time energy savings. If your solar system performance appears to be waning, you may need to clean your solar panels or contact a professional to inspect your system and create a timely solution.

Net metering and solar savings on electricity bills

The price a utility pays for the excess solar electricity that you send to the grid depends on your local net metering rates.

For example, if you live in Colorado, net metering is mandatory and grid electricity costs about 14.75 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). In this scenario, if you consume 1,100 kWh of electricity per month, and your solar energy system produces about 900 kWh, your bills may only amount to roughly $30 (200 kWh x 14.75). If efficiency improvements could reduce your total consumption, this would then lead to further monthly savings.

As evolving utility policies lower grid export rates across the country, the future of net metering heavily favors battery energy storage for homeowners hoping to maximize solar savings. With battery storage, you can more precisely control how the clean electricity produced on your property is used, so as to optimize your energy consumption for maximum solar savings.

Optimize the timing of your home's electricity consumption

In areas with time-of-use rates, utility electricity prices and solar export bill credit values depend on the time of day the energy is consumed or sent to the grid. To maximize your savings, solar power systems can help run necessary appliances with the clean electricity you generate on-site when local energy rates are highest during peak demand hours.

While it may be possible to manually adjust your electricity consumption and solar exports for optimal savings, smart systems and connected appliances can help automate your home's energy cost efficiency. For example, an Enphase Home Energy System can help you maximize ongoing savings with solar EV charging and app-based control of connected thermostats and other smart home appliances.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.