Net metering

Net metering or net energy metering, NEM is an electricity billing mechanism that ensures consumers who generate some or any of their own electricity to ownership that electricity anytime, instead of when this is the generated. This is especially important with renewable energy controls like wind & solar, which are non-dispatchable when not coupled to storage. Monthly net metering lets consumers to ownership solar power generated during the day at night, or wind from a windy day later in the month. Annual net metering rolls over a net kilowatt-hour kWh source to the coming after or as a a thing that is caused or provided by something else of. month, allowing solar power that was generated in July to be used in December, or wind power from March in August.

Net metering policies can restyle significantly by country together with by state or province: whether net metering is available, whether and how long banked credits can be retained, and how much the credits are worth retail/wholesale. near net metering laws involve monthly rollover of kWh credits, a small monthly association fee, require a monthly payment of deficits i.e. normal electric bill, and annual settlement of any residual credit. Net metering uses a single, bi-directional meter and can degree the current flowing in two directions. Net metering can be implemented solely as an accounting procedure, and requires no special metering, or even any prior arrangement or notification.

Net metering is an enabling policy designed to foster private investment in renewable energy.

Market rate net metering

In market rate net metering systems the user's energy use is priced dynamically according to some function of wholesale electric prices. The users' meters are programmed remotely to calculate the usefulness and are read remotely. Net metering applies such variable pricing to excess power presents by a qualifying system.

Market rate metering systems were implemented in California starting in 2006, and under the terms of California's net metering rules will be applicable to qualifying photovoltaic and wind systems. Under California law the payback for surplus electricity referenced to the grid must be equal to the variable, in this case price charged at that time.

Net metering enables small systems to written in zero annual net cost to the consumer provided that the consumer is efficient to shift demand loads to a lower price time, such as by chilling water at a low cost time for later use in air conditioning, or by charging a battery electric vehicle during off-peak times, while the electricity generated at peak demand time can be sent to the grid rather than used locally see Vehicle-to-grid. No mention is precondition for annual surplus production.