Blog of Chris

Check this out…  I feel like Dr. Emmett Brown.

I’ve been interested in solar and wind power for a long time, especially the notion that you can sell power back to the utility company if you produce enough.  While I’ve searched and searched for information about this regarding local BGE customers, I have never been able to find anything until tonight.

PV and wind systems are still very very expensive, bulky, and dangerous if not properly installed.  MAKE: magazine recently featured a detailed description of all of the components of a solar system, which got me interested in searching again.

As it turns out, tying into your home system is accomplished through “backfeeding” a breaker on your regular electrical panel.  If you’re backfeeding more than the rest of the house is drawing, you’ll start selling power to the utility (and, as the urban legend goes, your meter will spin backwards).  My brand new digital electrical meter is equipped with an LCD arrow that indicates the direction of flow (meaning they have made provisions for us to sell power back).

So tonight, upon further searching, I have figured out that the term “Net Metering” is used by BGE to describe this process.  Google that, and you’ll find some online documentation about the rules for grid-tie systems on BGE’s lines.  It all seems easier than it ought to be after reading BGE’s documentation.

A pretty basic PV installation can cost upwards of $10K in hardware, not to mention getting permits and an electrical contractor to install everything.  I’ve also looked into the feasibility of putting a windmill on my roof.  I know there are tax incentives and the obvious monthly energy savings, but the upfront costs are just way too high.

-C

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