My meter does the same thing yours does. I also get 1 to 1 net metering so that is the equivalent of turning the meter backwards. I also have a meter on my solar array that shows my total production. My inverter also displays that figure along with daily and yearly kwh production. It also shows maximum daily wattage output, max yearly wattage output, and total max wattage output.
@ İlhan Arikan - The Solar Panels and Grid-Tie Inverter were not free, therefore there will not be any "free" electricity ( ie break-even ) for many years ...
Greg, you should have gotten an Academy Award for your description of a utility meter's readings! You brought a dull (for many) subject to life and that's not an easy feat. Here's some smart meter tidbits (mine is a PG&E Landis+Gyr):my meter has a read out "NET 3000003" which I presume is for a home with solar panels, the readout with the 88888888s is a check to see all the liquid crystal characters can be displayed (so a reading of 8 doesn't look like a 6), my meter has a display on the bottom of moving dashes which is a digital version of the old meter's wheel revolving slower or faster as electricity is used,
SOLARMAN smart meter is applied for energy management purpose, and it works to measure and control electricity consumption of household and industrial electricity, PV plant, intelligent building and etc,. It can realize the real-time measurement of voltage, current, active power, frequency, power factor, positive/negative active energy and other parameters. According to the usage scenarios, it is mainly divided into two categories. One is used for single-phase circuit and another is for three-phase circuit. It supports WiFi/4G/GPRS/RS485 communication methods and adopts standard 35mm DIN-Rail mounting. It features in high reliability, high accuracy, compact size and easy to install, etc. Furthermore, SOLARMAN cloud platform can help you monitor the consumption data at anytime and anywhere, which makes great facilitation to energy management.
Gerat! But as you said you want to generate / transfer more to the Grid instead of taking from it. I would suggest that having more solar panels on roof. And the empty space for new panels can be seen on top of your roof
Just got solar installed. Waiting to be turned on. Thanks for this info. How is it working out for you? Nice drone footage. What drone do you fly? I'm currently using a Mavic Air 2.
you can also go with a vertical axis wind turbine ;) itll generate more energy durign night than days, so it should help you....if you have a backyard its a perfect addition, just watch out not to injure birds
So what happens when the grid goes down for a week or so. You don’t have any batteries for back up. My house is not grid tied It is hybrid. Meaning Power company for the AIr condition and water heating. 12 Volt for lights My power bill runs @ $ 65 a month. And a battery bank. Blessings.
Long term, I would want to be completely off grid. At this moment, however, the cost of all of this stops me from going that far. For now, I can have solar panels and be happy to learn more about how to use them. In the future, I would love to swap out and/or add equipment for a less grid-dependent OR completely independent system. The grid is a very old, backward-thinking concept, if I may be so bold.
Thanks for the video...how big is your solar system? I have a 10.5 Kwp system and considered the Powerwall 2 as well but as you know with net metering it doesn’t make financial sense unless you’re worried about power failures.
They try to use the south-facing roof surfaces when possible but east-facing or west-facing isn’t too bad if that’s the only option available. Here, a guy compared his south-facing generation with a neighbor’s east-facing and west-facing generation. Very interesting... ruclips.net/video/Ac7K838OsYc/видео.html
Those are skirts or a trim that are installed around the panels to give them a finished look. More professional. Tesla uses these more beautifully (on horizontal and vertical sides of panels)
Grid tie opens consumers up to scams. Just run your panels to a battery and forget the bureaucracy. Run minimum pure sine wave and use 12 volt lighting and gear. Never connect batteries in parallel.
A profound observation. Here, in Utah, it seems that conservative folks are very interested in energy independence and having some kind of emergency back-up plan for food and other essential supplies. Solar power is fairly well regarded, I think.
@Greg Anderson - The Good Timekeeper It was a generalization of course, but I use it as an example of each side crossing their arms and isolating themselves from facts.
..there is confusion on 2 way meter and the smart meter...the original idea is to offset coal consumption,carbon emissions rather than just business.. hopefully the residents could power themself up if possible..but it was not thought in schools..
You are reducing your carbon footprint and limiting your monthly cash flow demands. And increasing the value of your home sale by a few % as well. It's a win win Win
@@mrobert2707 I think you're referring to the slave labor that's used to produce some of the hybrid elements. Look everything starts somewhere I think now that it's being recognized people are going to start working on that problem as well one thing at a time
@@mikesawyer1336 I have no idea what you are talking about. I am talking about poor people who have to pay for for electricity so some rich person can get a win win win on their investment in solar panels. Are they economic? That is, are they cheaper? If so, cheaper than what? This will help me understand how you define wins.
@@mrobert2707 Not following you.. but I think it's apples to oranges. In most large projects you have investors that put up cash to invest in the initial infrastructure. Everyone benefits from that. Extra solar on the grid helps keep the costs of electricity down. Plus the guy who invested has all the risk. If electricity does not go up, his investment will cost him MORE than prior to adding Solar. The reduction in greenhouse gases also is a win for everyone - not just the homes with the solar panels. There are also community solar projects that anyone can buy into on the cheap. If you are poor it has little bearing on others who invest in reducing carbon through solar - and yet you get some of the benefits. Everyone has limits on how they can contribute to sustainable energy - poor to rich
@@mikesawyer1336 you are talking about solar generally. I am talking about net metering. So yes, it is apples to oranges. Solar is great. Net metering is terrible in my view because it does not reflect a market price for energy. So if you want solar, that’s fine. If the utility wants to invest in solar, that’s good too. But let’s make sure economic decisions are being made all around. That is where everyone wins. In many net metering paradigms, the person who installs solar gets more than the market price for energy. Much more. So who pays for that? Not the person who installed the solar panels. They aren’t paying their electric bill because of their uneconomic capital investment. Who is? Everyone else, who now has to pay for all of the utility’s costs to serve that person with the solar panels. If you want $ examples to follow, I can give you a hypothetical to demonstrate it. But you really should look into the facts more to test what I am saying. There is much to dislike about utilities. But we know what money they make - that is not a secret. How much profit is made by a company installing rooftop solar? I don’t know and they won’t tell you. But that is who promotes net metering. And it’s not about the environment for them. It’s about profit, just like the utility. But again, don’t listen to me. Read articles by severin borenstein (or whatever his name is - he’s an economist professor at Berkeley I believe- he will give you the figures ). Thanks
How does the utility company recover the costs of maintaining the wires and other facilities that you are still using? I guess some body else pays that, like the poor people who don’t have enough money or own their home so they can install solar. But who cares about them, you get free electricity. Way to go.
You’re talking about the same utility company which brags about their programs to assist businesses, schools and government facilities to install solar panels. Why would they do that if my home’s solar panels were a threat?
@@GoodTimekeeper is that an answer to my question? I asked you first. But here’s foreshadowing. You’d have to tell me the program you are talking about, but is the utility buying energy from them? They are buying it from you, right? What do they pay you for the energy? Should you get free wires? Why shouldn’t you pay for that? Include those points in your answer, if you feel like you are getting what you are owed from the utility. Let’s see that value sir. Also, does the utility get the recs from the energy they buy from you? If not, then don’t tell me your energy is green. It’s whatever the person buying those recs from you is burning, be it coal or oil or whatever. Or do you just want to ride for free on the backs of people who can’t afford solar panels?
These questions are based on straw man speculation. I am paying the power company exactly what they asked for. I have no other option here for dealing with another company to connect to the grid. There’s no evidence that by my acceptance of the deal they offered I am somehow hurting them. And, again, they make public declarations about how great their “Blue Sky” program is at helping to get solar panels installed and connected, helping to “support renewable energy and environmental stewardship in their communities and throughout the West.” They seem to be saying they like those objectives and the way solar panels help to achieve them. They idea that I’m hurting the power company or other customers because I use solar panels on my house is like saying that I’m hurting Target and their other customers when I buy things at a discount whenever Target offers a discount.
@@GoodTimekeeper You are using less energy from the power company and providing extra energy from free power from the sun. Your neighbors benefit from you asnyou are not putting that extra strain on a hot summers day with all the AC units running full speed. You're a smart man and I thank you for posting the video so I know what to expect when my netmeter gets installed. My only complaint about your video was the end where I was felt like I was Joe Pesci trying to get some sleep in "My cousin Vinny" 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to make and share the video.
You are still charged a connection fee, but if you are producing more than taking in, you are now a basic mini power plant. They buy back kW from us (about half cost) and sell it to you (full cost)
That train track (unintended pun) made your aerial shots annoying. The system should not shut down when there's a power failure. That's just plain envious, stupid, leftist commy nonsense. The system should shut open the connection to the grid when there is a power failure. In that way, the line workers are safe as no power goes from your system to the grid, and your power will remain up during the day. Think about it. If the system can go into full shut down in the event of a power failure and reactivate when the power comes back up, then that system that shuts down your power, when separated and placed between the grid and your system, will turn off the connection between your system and the grid. For the power company to dictate that your system shut down rather than separate from the grid, is just non thinking, infantile bullying. But then, I'm a compulsive perfectionist that sees things as obvious what others do not see. Of course, don't expect me to see that thing lying right there in front of my face when I need it. The irony of it all. LOL 😂🤣😂
Without batteries a solar system has very little capacity. A grid tie system is nearly useless without grid power and without batteries as a capacitor. For instance what would happen in a grid down scenario and the solar was producing 8amps and your Air conditioner kicks on drawing 26amps? Your compressor motor falls on it’s face and ultimately burns itself up. I had the same thought you had until this was explained to me. Sounds like nonsense. Why get solar if you can’t use it when the grid is down?!?! Once it was explained it was a eureka moment.
@@taylormills08 His system is able to produce enough current to power the whole house and then some. The system should be designed so that if it is producing less amps than the air conditioner needs, the air conditioner does not turn on and only those things the system has enough amps to power, turn on. This can be easily achieved with a microprocessor with an ampere tester connected to it. And the microprocessor can have it's very own battery backup to sustain it for a month without a lot of expense. The solutions come when you look for the short comings of a system and design a work around for each problem.
Scott Tovey yeah that would work but I think batteries would be more convenient at some point. Like on a cloudy day the generation can be erratic. The microprocessor would have to cut off appliances when a cloud passed over. On some days that could get annoying.
@@taylormills08 Frankly, anyone that does not have or plan to add batteries for those cloudy occasions has a bad system. Batteries should be a given in a solar system, just like petroleum is a given in an ICE based automobile.
Great! I'll never be left in the dark again! At 'The Management' both Stain and Dan say that solar panels are "The Best!"
awesome presentation Mr Anderson, greetings from Crete, Greece !!
Thanks for the meter info. Just turned on my solar yesterday.
My meter does the same thing yours does. I also get 1 to 1 net metering so that is the equivalent of turning the meter backwards. I also have a meter on my solar array that shows my total production. My inverter also displays that figure along with daily and yearly kwh production. It also shows maximum daily wattage output, max yearly wattage output, and total max wattage output.
Yes, the power company’s other customers are subsidizing you by providing you a nearly free storage battery.
Enjoy the free power! :) Thank you for sharing. 👍 ✌
@
İlhan Arikan - The Solar Panels and Grid-Tie Inverter were not free, therefore there will not be any "free" electricity ( ie break-even ) for many years ...
Greg, you should have gotten an Academy Award for your description of a utility meter's readings! You brought a dull (for many) subject to life and that's not an easy feat. Here's some smart meter tidbits (mine is a PG&E Landis+Gyr):my meter has a read out "NET 3000003" which I presume is for a home with solar panels, the readout with the 88888888s is a check to see all the liquid crystal characters can be displayed (so a reading of 8 doesn't look like a 6), my meter has a display on the bottom of moving dashes which is a digital version of the old meter's wheel revolving slower or faster as electricity is used,
SOLARMAN smart meter is applied for energy management purpose, and it works to measure and control electricity consumption of household and industrial electricity, PV plant, intelligent building and etc,. It can realize the real-time measurement of voltage, current, active power, frequency, power factor, positive/negative active energy and other parameters. According to the usage scenarios, it is mainly divided into two categories. One is used for single-phase circuit and another is for three-phase circuit. It supports WiFi/4G/GPRS/RS485 communication methods and adopts standard 35mm DIN-Rail mounting. It features in high reliability, high accuracy, compact size and easy to install, etc. Furthermore, SOLARMAN cloud platform can help you monitor the consumption data at anytime and anywhere, which makes great facilitation to energy management.
So 5 years later what happened? What do your real costs look like?
Gerat!
But as you said you want to generate / transfer more to the Grid instead of taking from it. I would suggest that having more solar panels on roof. And the empty space for new panels can be seen on top of your roof
Hi can you update another video for net metering now in summer time thanks keep up the good worl.
Just got solar installed. Waiting to be turned on. Thanks for this info. How is it working out for you? Nice drone footage. What drone do you fly? I'm currently using a Mavic Air 2.
Install an Hybrid inverter for AC Coupling, so when the grid goes out you can use the energy from your solar panels
And you're one year of experience with solor panels how are ur bills now with electricity company?
Great Video. Thanks for the helpful info.
Just installed a Solar Grid sys in Central Gulf Florida!, I'm in the same boat!
Are you getting and selling the srecs, and how is this working for you 5 years later? I have had a 5kw system on my garage since 2013.
you can also go with a vertical axis wind turbine ;) itll generate more energy durign night than days, so it should help you....if you have a backyard its a perfect addition, just watch out not to injure birds
So what happens when the grid goes down for a week or so. You don’t have any batteries for back up. My house is not grid tied It is hybrid. Meaning Power company for the AIr condition and water heating. 12 Volt for lights My power bill runs @ $ 65 a month. And a battery bank. Blessings.
Long term, I would want to be completely off grid. At this moment, however, the cost of all of this stops me from going that far. For now, I can have solar panels and be happy to learn more about how to use them. In the future, I would love to swap out and/or add equipment for a less grid-dependent OR completely independent system. The grid is a very old, backward-thinking concept, if I may be so bold.
I like the older meter
Had a solar system installed April 2022 it’s now March 01 and my meter is not installed
Thanks for the video...how big is your solar system?
I have a 10.5 Kwp system and considered the Powerwall 2 as well but as you know with net metering it doesn’t make financial sense unless you’re worried about power failures.
How is it now? Just got solar myself
I see some panels are not facing North/South. Is that Standard practice? Thanks
They try to use the south-facing roof surfaces when possible but east-facing or west-facing isn’t too bad if that’s the only option available. Here, a guy compared his south-facing generation with a neighbor’s east-facing and west-facing generation. Very interesting... ruclips.net/video/Ac7K838OsYc/видео.html
Great info thank you!
What are the black shields/end caps on the panels?
Those are skirts or a trim that are installed around the panels to give them a finished look. More professional. Tesla uses these more beautifully (on horizontal and vertical sides of panels)
Can somebody help me in the coding of net meter?
Grid tie opens consumers up to scams. Just run your panels to a battery and forget the bureaucracy. Run minimum pure sine wave and use 12 volt lighting and gear. Never connect batteries in parallel.
love my solar
If you have an electric car ..and purchase a by directional car charger..You would be able to use the car as a backup battery.
My conservative friends are as ignorant about alternative energy as my Liberal friends are about guns, Lol!
A profound observation. Here, in Utah, it seems that conservative folks are very interested in energy independence and having some kind of emergency back-up plan for food and other essential supplies. Solar power is fairly well regarded, I think.
@Greg Anderson - The Good Timekeeper It was a generalization of course, but I use it as an example of each side crossing their arms and isolating themselves from facts.
..there is confusion on 2 way meter and the smart meter...the original idea is to offset coal consumption,carbon emissions rather than just business.. hopefully the residents could power themself up if possible..but it was not thought in schools..
Who is pay to run that smart meter, guess who
All other utility customers who don’t have one 😂
You are reducing your carbon footprint and limiting your monthly cash flow demands. And increasing the value of your home sale by a few % as well. It's a win win
Win
Except for the people that have to pay for you to get those wins, like poor people. How are they winning?
@@mrobert2707 I think you're referring to the slave labor that's used to produce some of the hybrid elements. Look everything starts somewhere I think now that it's being recognized people are going to start working on that problem as well one thing at a time
@@mikesawyer1336 I have no idea what you are talking about. I am talking about poor people who have to pay for for electricity so some rich person can get a win win win on their investment in solar panels. Are they economic? That is, are they cheaper? If so, cheaper than what? This will help me understand how you define wins.
@@mrobert2707 Not following you.. but I think it's apples to oranges. In most large projects you have investors that put up cash to invest in the initial infrastructure. Everyone benefits from that. Extra solar on the grid helps keep the costs of electricity down. Plus the guy who invested has all the risk. If electricity does not go up, his investment will cost him MORE than prior to adding Solar. The reduction in greenhouse gases also is a win for everyone - not just the homes with the solar panels. There are also community solar projects that anyone can buy into on the cheap. If you are poor it has little bearing on others who invest in reducing carbon through solar - and yet you get some of the benefits. Everyone has limits on how they can contribute to sustainable energy - poor to rich
@@mikesawyer1336 you are talking about solar generally. I am talking about net metering. So yes, it is apples to oranges. Solar is great. Net metering is terrible in my view because it does not reflect a market price for energy. So if you want solar, that’s fine. If the utility wants to invest in solar, that’s good too. But let’s make sure economic decisions are being made all around. That is where everyone wins. In many net metering paradigms, the person who installs solar gets more than the market price for energy. Much more. So who pays for that? Not the person who installed the solar panels. They aren’t paying their electric bill because of their uneconomic capital investment. Who is? Everyone else, who now has to pay for all of the utility’s costs to serve that person with the solar panels. If you want $ examples to follow, I can give you a hypothetical to demonstrate it. But you really should look into the facts more to test what I am saying. There is much to dislike about utilities. But we know what money they make - that is not a secret. How much profit is made by a company installing rooftop solar? I don’t know and they won’t tell you. But that is who promotes net metering. And it’s not about the environment for them. It’s about profit, just like the utility. But again, don’t listen to me. Read articles by severin borenstein (or whatever his name is - he’s an economist professor at Berkeley I believe- he will give you the figures ). Thanks
How does the utility company recover the costs of maintaining the wires and other facilities that you are still using? I guess some body else pays that, like the poor people who don’t have enough money or own their home so they can install solar. But who cares about them, you get free electricity. Way to go.
You’re talking about the same utility company which brags about their programs to assist businesses, schools and government facilities to install solar panels. Why would they do that if my home’s solar panels were a threat?
@@GoodTimekeeper is that an answer to my question? I asked you first. But here’s foreshadowing. You’d have to tell me the program you are talking about, but is the utility buying energy from them? They are buying it from you, right? What do they pay you for the energy? Should you get free wires? Why shouldn’t you pay for that? Include those points in your answer, if you feel like you are getting what you are owed from the utility. Let’s see that value sir. Also, does the utility get the recs from the energy they buy from you? If not, then don’t tell me your energy is green. It’s whatever the person buying those recs from you is burning, be it coal or oil or whatever. Or do you just want to ride for free on the backs of people who can’t afford solar panels?
These questions are based on straw man speculation. I am paying the power company exactly what they asked for. I have no other option here for dealing with another company to connect to the grid. There’s no evidence that by my acceptance of the deal they offered I am somehow hurting them. And, again, they make public declarations about how great their “Blue Sky” program is at helping to get solar panels installed and connected, helping to “support renewable energy and environmental stewardship in their communities and throughout the West.” They seem to be saying they like those objectives and the way solar panels help to achieve them.
They idea that I’m hurting the power company or other customers because I use solar panels on my house is like saying that I’m hurting Target and their other customers when I buy things at a discount whenever Target offers a discount.
@@GoodTimekeeper You are using less energy from the power company and providing extra energy from free power from the sun. Your neighbors benefit from you asnyou are not putting that extra strain on a hot summers day with all the AC units running full speed. You're a smart man and I thank you for posting the video so I know what to expect when my netmeter gets installed. My only complaint about your video was the end where I was felt like I was Joe Pesci trying to get some sleep in "My cousin Vinny" 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to make and share the video.
You are still charged a connection fee, but if you are producing more than taking in, you are now a basic mini power plant. They buy back kW from us (about half cost) and sell it to you (full cost)
That train track (unintended pun) made your aerial shots annoying.
The system should not shut down when there's a power failure.
That's just plain envious, stupid, leftist commy nonsense.
The system should shut open the connection to the grid when there is a power failure. In that way, the line workers are safe as no power goes from your system to the grid, and your power will remain up during the day.
Think about it. If the system can go into full shut down in the event of a power failure and reactivate when the power comes back up, then that system that shuts down your power, when separated and placed between the grid and your system, will turn off the connection between your system and the grid. For the power company to dictate that your system shut down rather than separate from the grid, is just non thinking, infantile bullying.
But then, I'm a compulsive perfectionist that sees things as obvious what others do not see. Of course, don't expect me to see that thing lying right there in front of my face when I need it. The irony of it all. LOL 😂🤣😂
Without batteries a solar system has very little capacity. A grid tie system is nearly useless without grid power and without batteries as a capacitor.
For instance what would happen in a grid down scenario and the solar was producing 8amps and your Air conditioner kicks on drawing 26amps? Your compressor motor falls on it’s face and ultimately burns itself up.
I had the same thought you had until this was explained to me. Sounds like nonsense. Why get solar if you can’t use it when the grid is down?!?! Once it was explained it was a eureka moment.
@@taylormills08
His system is able to produce enough current to power the whole house and then some.
The system should be designed so that if it is producing less amps than the air conditioner needs, the air conditioner does not turn on and only those things the system has enough amps to power, turn on.
This can be easily achieved with a microprocessor with an ampere tester connected to it. And the microprocessor can have it's very own battery backup to sustain it for a month without a lot of expense.
The solutions come when you look for the short comings of a system and design a work around for each problem.
Scott Tovey yeah that would work but I think batteries would be more convenient at some point. Like on a cloudy day the generation can be erratic. The microprocessor would have to cut off appliances when a cloud passed over. On some days that could get annoying.
@@taylormills08
Frankly, anyone that does not have or plan to add batteries for those cloudy occasions has a bad system. Batteries should be a given in a solar system, just like petroleum is a given in an ICE based automobile.