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Nearly everyone who installs some form of Alternative Energy to produce electricity will co-exist with the utility grid. These systems are referred to as “Grid Tied” or “Grid Interactive” installations. In order to understand how your “produced” power is applied, it’s important to know a couple of basic principles. All electrical loads (motors) hooked to grid power use “Alternating Current” (A.C.) power. Generally speaking, this form of electricity is a constant. In other words the electrical motor has a continuous amount of current or amperage available for its usage. With some minor fluctuations, A.C. power maintains a certain level of availability. When looking at alternative energy products such as solar photovoltaic, wind or hydro generators the common denominator is Mother Nature.
So whether it’s the sun, wind or water flow, the energy driving our components is constantly changing. Prior to an inverter, this form of produced electricity is called “Direct Current” (D.C.) power. Electrical motors operate using constant A.C. power. Alternative energy components produce variable D.C. power. To balance this, some form of storage or buffer is needed. This storage component is usually the grid itself. Without the grid you would need batteries. The simplest way to understand this is by imagining a lake. The lake itself is the storage component representing the grid. The inflow of water from its tributaries would change during the course of the year. This inflow represents the use of alternative energy products. The release or outflow of water can be controlled to remain constant. This outflow would represent your electrical loads or motors. With the introduction of an inverter the wave pattern of the electrical current is changed from D.C. to A.C. in order to be compatible with standard electrical loads and the grid.
Although we are now producing A.C. power, the amounts still fluctuate. Upon connecting this alternative energy directly to your A.C. electrical panel, it becomes available for use by your electrical loads. It is important to understand that any excess power your loads require above what your alternative source(s) provides is all that you’re purchasing at that moment from the grid. To put it simply, your electrical loads use the alternative power first and then take any extra that’s needed from the grid. In situations when you’re producing more than you’re using, the excess alternative power will drive the grid electrical meter in reverse, therefore removing kWh’s (kilo-watt hours) from your usage total during that billing period time frame. After installing an alternative energy system, your monthly utility bills will reflect the net amount of usage or the net amount of credit received from the grid.
You will not be able to see the total amount of usage or the total amount of produced power on your utility bill. The amount of produced power from your alternative system is easily monitored through the components themselves with various forms of data recording methods. In an effort to reduce costs to themselves, some utility companies will occasionally “estimate” your usage on any given monthly billing period. Your meter is not actually read in this circumstance, but an arbitrary amount based on your history is applied. If old information prior to your alternative components is used in this “estimated usage” you will not have received credit for your produced power. You must pay attention to your utility companies’ method of calculating your usage. If you are one of the rapidly growing number of people wanting to regain control over your energy costs and help clean up our environment, make sure you find an alternative energy company with the knowledge to help you understand the complete process.
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