Want to to watch your electric meter run backwards?
Grid-connected solar energy systems produce electricity in parallel with the electrical utility, and can feed power back into the utility grid if all of the electricity isn’t used on site. Hawaii’s net metering law allows residential and business users to sell their extra electricity back to the grid (HECO on Oahu) at retail prices during the day and draw from the grid during the night. During the day, the electric meter spins backwards as it registers excess energy. At night, or during off-peak producing times, the electric meter spins forward as it returns electricity from the grid into the customer’s home or business. The standard net energy metering program offers customers the opportunity to get credit for the electricity they have produced in excess of the amount that they have used within a given month. The credit appears on the customer’s monthly utility statement, and is applied to electricity-related charges within each 12-month reconciliation period.
