Are you planning to install a solar on grid System and confused will you get electricity bill after installing solar. if yes, then how will the billing be done and how much electricity bill will you have to pay after installing solar. In this article we are going to clear all those questions.

After installing solar on grid system you will get electricity bill. One can expect to save up to 90% of their electricity bill after installing solar.

If your solar requirement is of 5 kW and you install 5 kW system then you can expect 90% saving, but If your solar requirement is of 5 kW and you install 2 kW system then expect savings accordingly.

Will I get Electricity Bill after installing solar?

If you are planning to install Solar On Grid System or Solar Net Metering System then you will get electricity bill the same way you used to get before installing Solar.

If you are planning to install a Solar Off Grid System then you won’t get any electricity bill since you are not connected the the utility grid in any way.

Before we start with the electricity bill calculation for solar net metering system let us see how the system works in brief so we can understand the calculations easily.

How Solar On Grid system Works?

In a solar on grid system solar panels on your roof convert the sunlight in to DC electricity, this DC current is fed into solar inverter whose job is to convert the DC current into AC current. From here electricity is fed into the bi directional meter which is connected to your house load and electricity grid.

So after going solar you will be having two sources of electricity one is your existing electricity grid and the other one is solar. Whenever you need electricity it is pulled from the solar and if your solar is not generating electricity then it is pulled from the utility grid.

Solar net metering is a billing mechanism put in place that allows solar roof top owner to export any excess electricity that their solar is producing during the day and import the electricity from the grid during night or times when their solar is not producing electricity.

Why Do I Get Electricity Bill After Installing Solar?

When you install a solar on grid system (grid tied system) you are connected to your utility grid for power storage, power transmission.

You are using there infrastructure to transfer power, store excess power and buy any amount of power any time.

Hence you get a minimum bill even if you don’t buy power from them which is for the infrastructure we are using.

How is Electricity bill calculated after solar?

Before solar your electricity bill is calculated based on the units of electricity you import from the electricity provider.

For example, if you are importing 1000 kWh of electricity in a month and your electricity tariff is Rs 12/kWh then you will get an electricity bill of Rs 12/ kWh X 1,000 kWh = Rs 12,000

But after installing solar on grid system your electricity bill will have three types of unit based on which your electricity bill will be calculated.

• Import – units of electricity you are buying from your electricity provider (mainly at night when solar is not working)
• Export – excess units of electricity you are giving to the electricity provider (extra units your solar produces when sun is shining)
• Net units – difference between import and export.
• Banked units – extra units of electricity after subtracting import and export (will be carry forward for next month).

Let us see few examples to understand this in more detail.

Case 1 – If export is more than import

Lets say its summer time your solar is running at its peak and the export for this month is 1000 kWh and import is 800 kWh.

Then for this month your billing will be done as follows.

• Export = 1000 kWh
• Import = 800 kWh.
• Net units = 800 – 1000 = – 200 kWh
• Banked units = 200 kWh.

Since during this month number of units you have exported is more than number of units you have imported you will only get fixed charge as your electricity bill and the excess 200 kWh will be credited for next month.

Fixed charge is the amount you have to pay even if you don’t use any electricity during that month. It is charge for using the meter and grid infrastructure.

Case 2 – If import is more than export

Lets say its monsoon and your solar is under performing, the export for this month is 400 kWh and import is 1000 kWh.

Then for this month your billing will be done as follows.

• Export = 400 kWh
• Import = 1000 kWh.
• Net units = 1000 – 400 = 600 kWh
• Banked units = 0 kWh.

Since during this month you have imported more units than you have exported hence you will be charged for the Net 600 kWh which you have used.

Hence the electricity bill for this month would be fixed charge + energy charge for 600 kWh.

If we assume tariff of Rs 10 and fixed charges to be Rs 300 then your approximate bill for this month will be.

• Fixed charge = Rs 300
• Energy charge = 600 X 10 – Rs 6,000
• Total bill = Rs 6,300

Hence the electricity bill for the month would be around Rs 6,300.

The electricity bill you get after installing solar is pretty straightforward and clear, you will get complete transparency.

For how long will I get the excess units credited in my electricity bill?

Well that depends on your region net metering policy. I live in Mumbai, India here as per the MEDA Net metering policy, the extra units will be carry forwarded only up till next financial year. (Financial year begins on 1st of April and ends on 31st March)

Once new financial year starts the banked units will become zero and your electricity provider (for my region it is Adani) will pay you back for those extra units at subsidized tariff (Here it is Rs 3 / kWh – 5 / kWh).

Conclusion

Do you get electricity bill after installing solar on grid system? the answer is yes, you do get electricity bill after installing a solar on grid system.

The billing is done as per the billing mechanism, most common of which is Net Metering. Using solar net metering you can supply the excess units of electricity your solar produces to the utility grid and they will credit those units for next month use.

So in Solar Net Metering the billing is done by subtracting the import from export.

If you have imported more units than exported then you have to pay the bill for that net units and if you have exported more units than imported then you don’t have to pay any bill except the fixed charge and the surplus units will be credited for next month use.

If this article cleared your doubt about electricity billing after installing solar then share this article on WhatsApp, Facebook, Reddit and if you still have any doubts then write it down in the comment section, I will try to solve it.

Go Green, Go Solar !!