Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make While Trying to Optimize Solar Energy

Solar energy is one of the main ways to curb greenhouse gas emissions and take action against the impact of climate change. Solar power offers security that homeowners can continue to generate their own electricity and potentially store it, especially in areas prone to natural disasters and power outages.

There’s been a surge in adoption of renewable energy. The U.S. solar market last year grew by 51% compared to the previous year, with a total of 32.4 GW direct current (GWdc) of new solar capacity installed. The residential segment even set a record with a 13% increase over 2022. To make your solar more efficient, you want to maximize your self-consumption, which means using the electricity that your solar panels generate, and not using grid power.

Avoid these common pitfalls:

• Faulty assessment of home energy consumption. Understanding your current energy needs is crucial to figuring out the right size for your solar panel system. Underestimating your energy consumption can result in a system that falls short, while overestimating can lead to unnecessary costs.
• Not checking the weather. Solar panels are most efficient when they are installed with the local climate and weather patterns in mind. Failing to consider factors such as the way the sun hits your house, and shading from trees or buildings can diminish your solar setup’s effectiveness.
• Skipping regular maintenance. Although solar panels require minimal maintenance, neglecting it can reduce their efficiency. Regular cleaning and monitoring can help ensure your system operates at peak performance.
• Missing out on rebates and incentive programs. Many areas offer financial breaks, rebates, or tax credits for installing solar panels. For instance, the federal solar tax credit allows new solar owners to claim a tax credit equal to 30% of their solar installation costs. Many states and local governments also offer additional financial benefits. Some areas offer net metering, allowing you to sell electricity back to the grid.

Avoiding these mistakes can help you maximize the benefits of your solar energy system, making your home more sustainable and cost-effective.

This article is included in “Coming Together for Clean Energy,” POWER’s publication that is aligned with RE+, the largest renewable energy trade show in North America. RE+ is happening Sept. 9-12, 2024, in Anaheim, California. To continue the conversation around clean energy, plan to attend POWER’s EP Week event in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 9-11, 2024.

Understanding the Challenges of Net Metering

One of the biggest challenges with solar power is balancing your energy consumption with the amount of solar energy your panels are producing. Homeowners who want to make the most of their investment in solar panels, while reducing their dependency on the grid, need to understand net metering. It is a billing system designed for homeowners with solar panels, allowing them to receive credits for the excess electricity they generate and feed back into the grid.

When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home needs, this surplus energy is sent to the grid, and you earn credits. These credits can then be used to offset the electricity you consume from the grid during times when your solar panels aren’t generating enough power, such as at night or on cloudy days.

However, the credits you receive for your surplus energy are not equivalent to the amount you pay for the electricity you draw from the grid. In essence, you sell your excess energy at a lower wholesale rate but buy energy from the utility company at a higher retail rate. This discrepancy can significantly reduce the financial benefits of having a solar energy system.

Optimizing Solar Power with Smart Home Automation

Intelligently control your energy consumption to maximize your self-consumption of solar energy and minimize reliance on the power grid.

Smart home automation benefits include:

• Data-driven energy management: Energy meters and relays offer precise consumption data, providing insights into energy usage patterns. Homeowners can use this information to decide when and how to use electrical devices, ensuring their usage aligns with solar production.
• Targeted appliance control: An energy meter with real-time monitoring can provide advanced control over high-load appliances like water heaters, pool pumps, and electric vehicle chargers. Users can program these devices to operate during peak solar production hours, ensuring they primarily use solar energy. This strategic scheduling reduces reliance on grid power and results in substantial long-term savings.
• Smart sensors: Motion sensors can turn off lights and outlets in unoccupied rooms, preventing energy waste. This simple yet effective measure enhances the efficiency of both solar and grid energy usage, making homes smarter and more energy efficient.

Storing your solar power is also an important option to consider because when natural disasters strike, you may lose power. There are many battery storage options on the market that will allow you to store energy versus selling it back to the grid. Based on your power consumption monitoring, you may decide the convenience of storing power is worth more to you than a rebate or other financial incentive.

Smart home automation devices enable homeowners to precisely control energy usage at each circuit, tailoring energy management strategies to their specific needs. This allows for optimizing self-consumption, reducing grid dependency, and exploring alternative energy storage solutions. With these tools, users can make informed decisions about enhancing your solar investment’s efficiency, optimize energy usage and maximize savings through smart home automation because tapping into solar energy is good for the environment and your finances.

—Svetlin Todorov is CEO of Shelly USA, an automation and controls company serving the residential and commercial and industrial markets.