How to Sell Power Back to the Grid
With the arrival of renewable energies, savvy individuals have transformed their residential homes into profitable businesses by installing different renewable energy gatherers. Whether it is solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal, the opportunity exists to not only power your home with renewable energy, but also sell the excess power back to the grid.
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Instructions
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Making Money on Energy
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Consult the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) at dsireusa.org and research what incentives state and federal governments offer for installing renewable energy devices. For example, some states offer 25% off of solar panel installation. However, in other states, savings upwards of 75% are offered.
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Determine what type of renewable energy system is best for your home. Familiarize yourself with local codes to ensure your system of choice can be legally installed. Hire licensed professionals to install your system of choice.
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Become familiar with your renewable energy system. Solar panels, for example, are connected to a combiner box, which collects the electricity. The combiner box connects to a charge control, which is the central hub of the solar panel energy system. The charge control connects to batteries for storing extra energy as well as a DC disconnect switch (in case there is an electrical issue, the power can be shut off). The batteries connect to a display and control unit inverter. Finally, the system connects to a service box.
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Contact the power company and explain that you are interested in selling power back to the grid. Ask to create a "Feed-in Tariff" contract, the term used to sell the power to the grid, rather than giving it to the power company in exchange for free service, which is called "Net Metering."
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Negotiate the price per kilowatt hour (kWh). Some power companies might only give you the wholesale cost of the power, which might only be pennies per kWh. However, some are willing to give the full retail price. Agree on the details and tell the power company to put them in contract form. Review the contract to ensure accuracy.
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