As a net billing customer with battery storage, you're in an excellent position to optimize your energy use and savings under NEM 3.0 or similar programs. Here's how you can ensure your usage aligns with your solar production and battery capacity to maximize financial benefits:
1. Track Both Solar Production and Battery Use
Why It Matters: Knowing your solar output and how your battery is charging/discharging allows for strategic energy use, maximizing self-consumption and minimizing grid reliance.
Action: Utilize monitoring tools to observe daily solar production, battery charge levels, and when the battery is discharging. Aim to use solar energy directly or store it for later use rather than exporting excess to the grid at a lower rate.
2. Dive Deep into Your Utility Statements
Why It Matters: Your bills under net billing are critical for understanding when and how much you're drawing from the grid versus using your stored energy.
Action: Regularly analyze your utility bills to see patterns in grid power consumption. Look for opportunities to shift high-use times to when your battery can supply the power.
3. Strategies to Minimize Unnecessary Energy Consumption
With a battery system, you can be even more effective at preventing energy waste:
1. Manage Phantom Loads: Unplug devices or use smart power strips to eliminate standby power usage.
2. Energy-Efficient Appliances: Upgrading to Energy Star appliances can reduce overall consumption, making your battery last longer.
3. Optimize Lighting: Use LEDs and natural light to decrease the load on your battery.
4. Home Insulation: Good insulation helps keep your battery's energy for longer, reducing heating/cooling needs.
5. Smart Thermostats: Program to use stored solar energy during times when it's most cost-effective or when solar production is low.
6. Schedule Appliances: Run heavy-load appliances when your battery is full from solar production, ideally during off-peak utility rates.
7. Efficient Water Heating: Use your battery to power water heating during solar-rich times.
8. Upgrade Windows: Energy-efficient windows can reduce the demand on your battery for temperature control.
9. Ensure Ducts are Sealed: Prevent energy loss to make your battery's stored energy go further.
10. Household Education: Teach everyone in your home about energy conservation to stretch your battery's capacity.
Additional Tips for Net Billing Customers with Battery Storage:
Battery Charge/Discharge Strategy: Program your battery to charge from solar during low-rate times and discharge during high-rate periods, optimizing your savings.
Panel and Battery Maintenance: Regularly clean solar panels and check battery health to ensure peak performance.
Align Consumption with Solar Production: If you have surplus energy, increase your daytime use or store it for evening use when rates might be higher.
Explore Time-of-Use Rates: Contact your utility to see if they offer different rates throughout the day, and align your battery usage with these rates for maximum financial benefit.
Stay Updated: Keep abreast of changes in net billing policies or rate structures that could alter how you use your battery for savings.
With a battery, your control over when and how you use electricity increases significantly. The focus should be on using your solar production first, storing for later when beneficial, and reducing reliance on grid electricity, especially during peak rate times. Remember, your battery is not just for storage but a tool for strategic energy management.