Expectations
The previous owner showed you their energy bills, and they were paying only the basic service fee. Your first energy bill is much higher. How can that be the case? Here are a couple of examples to illustrate why.
1. ’Tis the Season
The realtor or the previous owner may not be familiar with the details of how solar energy works in Southern Nevada. Solar systems generate extra power during the Fall, Winter, and Spring (anytime you don’t run the A/C).
Let’s say you just purchased your home in June. You’re excited to pay almost nothing to NV Energy because you bought a house with solar panels. You will be disappointed because you moved mid-summer and did not have enough time to build the necessary credits to offset your summer usage. You will have to pay the difference to the utility.
Let’s say you purchased the home in October (right at the beginning of the cooler weather). Then, you will have a much better chance of seeing those low power bills right away. Additionally, you’ll have sufficient time to accumulate the necessary credits to offset your summer usage.
2. Size Matters
The solar system was designed to meet the needs of the previous owner’s usage, not yours. The retired couple you bought the home from used less electricity than your family of 5 will. Don’t worry. The solar system is still functioning and continues to provide significant savings.
If you require more power than the solar system was designed to generate, you can add more panels to meet your energy demands. If you find yourself in this situation, it is recommended that you reside in the home for an entire year. The power bill data from that year can be used to determine precisely how many more panels you will need to add to your solar system.
When a system is sized correctly, you can expect the solar system to cover approximately 50% to 65% of your summer electricity bill.
Don’t Skip System Monitoring
Make sure you contact the installer to see how you can access your solar system’s data monitoring. We work with Enphase (a manufacturer of microinverters), and they charge a $199 transfer of ownership fee. Please ensure you complete this task, as having access to your new solar system is crucial.
For more information about Robco’s monitoring app with built-in Enphase Monitoring, click here.
If Robco Electric installed the system, please contact us. We will provide all the information you need and let you know whether the solar system needs any maintenance.
