Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

osrs_kwanoo t1_ixa0ykf wrote

Does anyone know how switching to Constellation would affect solar costumers? I still buy electricity from eversource, but only whatever isn’t produced by my panels

13

rubyslippers3x t1_ixam61e wrote

For my new solar contract I will only use Eversource because anything I over produce goes to them, and they give me credit for an even exchange..kw=kw .. no rates apply. Until my panels go live, I'm with Constellation

4

Darondo t1_ixayj5f wrote

New contracts aren’t kw=kw like they were last year. You sell your monthly excess kw at the billing rate and bank that monetary credit.

Similar, but notably different, since in winter when you are using more than you generate, you are buying electricity at a higher rate than you sold your excess for in the summer. Bastards.

3

StankyDudeHoleDandy t1_ixaze3n wrote

And thats why whole home battery backups are worth their weight in gold. Store and then use, even when the grid goes down. I wish there was more education around about the importance of powerwalls and the like combined with solar.

6

Darondo t1_ixazm4m wrote

I could not convince myself that a battery made any economic sense for me. It would never pay for itself. The seasonal rate differences are negligible compared to the upfront battery cost. Am I missing something?

Granted, I live in an area with a very stable grid. I’ll probably end up with an EV that can serve as a house backup at some point anyways. The F-150 can already do that I bet other manufacturers will adopt that in the next few years.

Edit: In states with shitty net metering, batteries are essential imo. But CT is still really close to 1:1 net metering.

4

StankyDudeHoleDandy t1_ixb0pdq wrote

Yea for so it doesn't make sence but for others it extremely useful. Such as using your solar durring an outage, choosing to toggle between when you charge your battery and when you use the grid durring off-peak hours. Its the closest thing to "off-grid" that you can get. They keep saying that the F150 can but have yet to prove they have the tech to do so, I am extremely hopeful for this though.

3

RoboticGreg t1_ixcutxi wrote

As electric vehicles penetrate deeper, I predict electricity will get more and more expensive from 3pm to 10pm to account for everyone plugging their cars in when they get home from work. I think batteries might not make economic sense now, but peak shaving is going to be a more and more important thing to take into consideration. The cannabis legalization in CT will also impact this (It's crazy, marijuana legalization is changing how some major suppliers design power grid equipment and transformers)

1

Darondo t1_ixcvkg2 wrote

That’s fascinating. I hadn’t considered the energy impacts from a changing agriculture industry.

Eversource already has a $200 yearly incentive to encourage charging your EV in off-peak hours. “Off-peak” really only excludes some daytime hours during the hottest days of the year at the moment, but like you said, I’m sure it will become increasingly restrictive.

1

lizzy-tish t1_ixcsxvr wrote

Can you tell me more about a while home battery backup? Is it a solar powered storage and who would install it, where would I purchase? Thanks!

2

StankyDudeHoleDandy t1_ixcx959 wrote

Yes the battery is charged by solar, however it can also be fed by the grind if you wanted to for some random reason. The DC power runs to the inverter from your panels than once converted to AC power it charges the battery. You can monitor the power draw of your house and the amount of solar energy collected through an App on your phone or computer. Companies like Tesla have solar and batterie packages for sale on their website, but I know the solar company SunRun also sells and installs Teslas Power Walls with their own solar arrays.

1

rubyslippers3x t1_ixe2y3n wrote

Not true. Our contract with ConEd is Kw=Kw. We bank Kw credits with Eversource to use as needed. If we bank more than we use at the end of the year, then we will be paid a miniscule amount like $.04/kw.

1

Darondo t1_ixe59rv wrote

Okay, so you signed your contract in 2021 then. I assumed it was this year since your system isn’t live yet.

I’m also assuming you own the panels. I don’t know how lease structures work.

With the 2022 net-metering structure, you bank your excess generation as monetary credits like I described, and tap into those funds in the winter when you are under-producing. Additionally, you receive $0.0318 for every kW you generate. You can only cash out remaining monetary credits when you move, but you are paid out the per kW earnings on a quarterly basis.

1

rubyslippers3x t1_ixeci0s wrote

No. I signed up this year for installation next year. We are not banking monetary credits. It's kw hour even exchange. Any kw we need in excess of what we bank will be at Eversource current rates. We sized our system to accommodate heat pumps and 2 electric cars... that we don't have yet... because that is allowed. We used 14k kwh last year and we sized our system at 19k kw, so we don't anticipate any need to buy. Yes, this is a purchase. Leasing is a horrible idea.

1

Darondo t1_ixedls7 wrote

Okay, guess you got some sort of deal that’s unique from every other CT resident that got solar this year. That’s cool.

1

rubyslippers3x t1_ixeqxrg wrote

Netting incentive from the link you shared:

"Power produced by your system, but not consumed within the month, is "netted" at the same rate you pay Eversource for electricity

Current incentive rate The netting incentive rate is the current retail rate + a quarterly Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) payment of $0.0318 per kWh. This rate is set by the state and remains the same for 20 years."

If I didn't explain it this way, then I apologize. I'm not special. My excess is credited at the same rate being offered, so kw sent= kw purchased. If I need more than I send them I have to buy at the current rate.

2

Darondo t1_ixdhvz2 wrote

I just talked to my installer. The impact of switching for solar customers is no different from that for non solar customers. You just sell excess generation at your new billing cost with Constellation, and you buy excess usage at the Constellation rate.

Makes more sense to lock in a long term rate if you have solar so that prices don’t go up in the winter when your generation is lowest.

2

osrs_kwanoo t1_ixdloo6 wrote

Thanks for the update! I think I’ll go ahead and contact them soon, really appreciate it!

1

Darondo t1_ixayrda wrote

I’m going to ask my installer about this tomorrow. I’d be very surprised if you had to keep Eversource as your supplier with solar. You bank excess generation at the wholesale rate anyways, not at the supplier rate.

1