Solar Panels and Your Electric Bill – What You Need to Know

Solar panels are an excellent way to collect energy and offset the cost of your electric bill each month. However, it’s often not as simple and straightforward as many people would expect. It is worth it and it can lower your electric bill costs, but there is always more to know and more questions to be answered.

That’s why in the following article, we’re going to answer the most common questions when it comes to solar panels and your electric bill. Including, why your electric bill is still so high, what your electric bill will be with solar panels, and other useful information.

Let’s get started with the most common question of all.

Do solar panels lower your electric bill?

Yes, solar panels can lower your electric bill if you use the same amount of electricity. If you use more electricity after installing solar panels, it may not lower your electric bill.

Let’s talk about that more in-depth.

Solar panels wouldn’t be so popular if they didn’t lower your electric bill. But often times people get solar panels installed, go crazy with their electricity usage by leaving all the lights and appliances on, and then wonder why their electric bill didn’t go down.

The major reason is that you’re increasing the amount of electricity you use, which then cancels out the production from your solar panels.

In essence, if you’re using more electricity than your solar panels are providing then you understandably wouldn’t see your electric bill decrease. It’s a simple concept, but one that people often overlook.

Do you still pay electricity bills with solar panels?

You could still pay electricity bills with solar panels depending on how much electricity your solar panels are providing.

This one ultimately depends on how the output of your solar panels. Your electric bill is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is also what your solar panels output. Knowing that, let’s do some math.

If your solar panels output 100 kWh and your monthly electric bill (usage) is only 80 kWh, then you won’t pay an electric bill because your usage is less than you’re producing.

On the other hand, if your solar panels output 50 kWh and your usage is 80 kWh, then you are producing less than your usage and that other 30 kWh that you’re using is provided by the electric company along with a bill.

The end result is that it depends on whether your solar panels are producing more or less than your electricity usage each month.

As a result, it’s always best to talk with the company installing your solar panels and let them know your average monthly usage. That way they can recommend the right amount of solar panels for your home.

How do solar panels work with your electric bill?

Solar panels will either offset some or the entirety of the cost of your electric bill by producing electricity that the electric company doesn’t have to provide.

Solar panels went mainstream in the consumer industry when people realized they could offset the cost of their electric bills. After all, if you could permanently get rid of a monthly bill, wouldn’t you?

The end result of this is that electric companies no longer need to provide power, or at least not as much power to certain households. And since electric companies charge by the kilowatt-hour (kWh), if they are providing less then they charge less.

As a result, there’s not much that needs to be negotiated with the electric company. If you they are providing less, your bill should automatically decrease.

The only time you’ll need to have a discussion with the electric companies is if you are sending power back to them. In certain cases, you can sell your surplus electricity generated by your solar panels back to the electric company where they can then distribute it to other households, sometimes at a cheaper rate.

In that scenario, you may need to call and discuss that option, but for 95% of households with solar panels, there’s nothing you need to do except watch your electric bill get lower and lower.

What will my electric bill be with solar panels?

It’s impossible to say specifically what your electric bill will be with solar panels, but if you’re using the same amount of electricity, then it should be lower.

There are just too many variables here for anyone to give you a specific number of what your electric bill will be with solar panels. However, if your usage remains the same and you can calculate your average kWh cost from the electric company and you know how much your solar panels will produce, you could calculate the cost.

Let’s take an example here:

As you can see, if you use the same amount of electricity, but you just require less of it from the electric company you’re going to pay less.

You can always calculate how much electricity you’re using from certain appliances like a TV to understand where your electricity costs are coming from.

Try to fill out a similar table with your own data and you can get an idea of how what your electricity bill will be with solar panels.

Why is my electric bill so high with solar panels?

If your electric bill is higher than you would expect with solar panels, you’re most likely using more electricity than you’re producing.

This is the most common mistake when it comes to solar panels. People misunderstand how much electricity is generated by solar panels and then they increase their usage and ultimately see a higher bill then they expect.

The only way to see your electric bill lower with solar panels is if you’re using the same amount or less electricity than before solar panels.

If you’re increasing the amount of electricity you use, then your solar panels will offset some of that cost, but not all of it.

Conclusion

Solar panels are great and the country should really have more of them. But they’re not a magic bullet. There’s a lot to know about just the usage of solar panels and how they will affect your electric bill.

Hopefully this article has been useful in helping you understand how solar panels work with your electric bill and why you may be seeing higher electricity costs after installing solar panels.

What you should do now is calculate your own electricity usage and see if your usage has increased, decreased, or remained the same with solar panels. That is how you can tell whether your electric bill will increase, decrease, or remain the same.