Considering a solar electric system and don’t know if it’s right for you? Putting solar on your home is an important financial decision. Follow the step-by-step guide below and consult the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Solar Consumer Protection Guide to make the right decision for your home and figure out if you’ll save money.
Bay Area SunShares is your opportunity to make a deeper commitment to local, clean energy and make your home resilient to the effects of climate change. Administered by the Business Council on Climate Change, SunShares offers discounts on turnkey solar and battery storage installations to Bay Area residents, pre-vets the contractors, and offers informational webinars. Sign up for a webinar.
For more information and to secure your discount, visit the SunShares website between September 1 and November 15, 2023.
Note: While SunShares is offered to all residents living in the Bay Area, the City of San José does not endorse the selected solar or battery storage contractor(s). Anyone who enters into the SunShares program does so in their personal capacity and at their own risk, and expressly holds the SunShares outreach partners harmless from any liability associated with their decision to participate in this program for services for their personal project.
Federal investment tax credits are available for solar panels installed on a home you own and use as a residence. As of August 2022, credits on solar have increased to 30% and have been extended through 2032. In addition, home battery storage and standalone storage are also eligible for the 30% tax credit.
Offers cash rebates on solar water heating systems for single-family residences, multi-family, and commercial properties. The rebate program is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission as part of the California Solar Initiative.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has two programs to help low-income households benefit from solar:
Are you a homeowner and CARE or FERA customer living in a one of these communities in California? If so, you may qualify to receive a rooftop solar energy system – including installation – at no cost! To see if you qualify, visit GRID Alternatives, a community-based nonprofit and administrator of Disadvantaged Communities – Single Family Affordable Solar Homes (DAC-SASH).
Property owners of multi-family affordable housing developments apply to be on the waitlist to receive funding for solar energy systems. For more information, visit the SOMAH website.
What’s the right sized solar system for me?
There are many variables that factor into the design of a solar system. These variables include electricity usage patterns, available space for the system, and your bill and energy offset goals. Decide which variable is most important for you to drive the design of your solar system.
What will happen to the solar system for my home if I move?
Ask your solar provider, lender, or PACE administrator to show you the part of your contract that describes what happens when you sell your home.
Can I install the solar system on another location in my property other than my roof?
Do I need a building permit to install a solar system?
The City of San José has plan and permit requirements for residents and businesses installing solar.
What type of certification or licensing is required of a solar installer?
A solar installer is required to have a Contractors State License Board (CSLB) license number. To ensure the license number is valid, go to cslb.ca.gov/consumers or call 800-321-CSLB (2752).
Is it possible to oversize my solar system to generate more revenue?
Yes, but there is normally not a financial case to do this since the Net Surplus Compensation (NSC), even at San José Clean Energy’s attractive rate of $0.05598*, will not justify the additional cost of an oversized solar system.
*This NSC rate is in effect during the true-up period ending April 2022. NSC rates change annually.
How can I get the most value out of my solar system?
Solar customers can get the most of out their investment by installing batteries and following time-of-use (TOU) rate price signals. Batteries store excess solar energy produced by your panels for use at a later time, including during outages. You can get a federal tax credit for installing a battery storage system.
You can save money on TOU rates by:
What happens to my NEM credits when I switch to SJCE or back to PG&E?
When your electricity generation provider changes to SJCE or back to PG&E, both PG&E and SJCE true-up your account. This settlement will result in a balance due for any usage charges owed to-date, or alternatively any excess credits will be zeroed out.
What will my annual true-up date be with SJCE?
Since both SJCE and PG&E provide your electric service, you have two true-up dates — one with SJCE for electric generation, and one with PG&E for electric delivery.
You will true-up for SJCE generation charges every April. If you use more electricity than their panels generate, you will see a charge on your May bill.
If you already had solar when you were enrolled with SJCE, your PG&E true-up occurs during your month of enrollment with SJCE. We enrolled customers with rooftop solar into our generation service in four phases in 2020-2021.
We enrolled non-solar customers in February 2019. If you installed solar after being enrolled with SJCE, your PG&E
true-up is the month your system began operating.
I am a residential solar NEM customer. How does TotalGreen work for me?
As a solar customer, the extra premium for TotalGreen applies when you are drawing power from the grid as well as when you are generating power and sending it back to the grid. So the $0.01/kWh premium for TotalGreen applies to both your charges and your NEM credits. Your NEM credits are generally generated at more valuable Time-of-Use periods, so you may still zero out your bill, even if you use more power than you generate.
I don’t like having a big annual true-up. Can I move to monthly billing?
Yes. By default, SJCE residential solar NEM customers will receive monthly energy statements and a single annual true-up bill, but they can elect to receive an actual bill each month. Monthly billed solar customers will still not be able to carry NEM credits over between 12 month true-up periods, but they will pay for the generation charges they accrue each month.
Monthly billing will only apply to the SJCE generation charges, and PG&E will still employ an annual true-up bill for all distribution charges. Customers should consult with their solar company prior to selecting monthly billing, since under a monthly billing system, they may pay for charges they would otherwise have been able to offset with NEM credits later in the year.
Do I get to stay on NEM 1.0?
Yes. You keep your NEM 1.0 status as an SJCE customer. The non-bypassable charges that NEM 2.0 customers must pay are distribution charges from PG&E, so SJCE treats NEM 1.0 and NEM 2.0 customers the same for all generation charges. If you later decide to opt out and remain entirely with PG&E, you still retain your NEM 1.0 status.
What is NEM 3.0?
In December 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission proposed a new set of rules — known as NEM 3.0 — for how PG&E and other investor-owned utilities (IOUs) must compensate rooftop solar customers for the energy their panels produce and how much they should pay to access the grid. Overall, the proposed rules would result in lower compensation for energy exported to the grid and large new IOU charges. In February 2022, the CPUC postponed their vote on the proposed NEM 3.0 rules indefinitely. If you are considering installing solar, it may make sense to make that investment sooner rather than later if you want to take advantage of the current NEM 2.0 compensation system.
In December 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted a new tariff that will replace the Net Energy Metering (NEM) tariff.
The tariff currently in place is known as NEM 2.0. The last date to enroll in NEM 2.0 was April 14, 2023. The new tariff, known as the Net Billing Tariff (NBT), is expected to be implemented by December 2023. The CPUC plans to release more details on NBT later in 2023.
Read our blog for more information.