Saving Money with a Solar Battery in Maryland

As Marylanders increasingly embrace solar power, many are looking for ways to further maximize their investment and reduce expenses. Pairing a solar system with a home battery, like a FranklinWH system, opens up strategies to take further control of your energy usage and save more money. Beyond just backup power during outages, batteries in Maryland offer two avenues for financial benefit: strategically optimizing Time-of-Use rates or increasing the value you get from the state’s net metering program.

While both strategies offer savings, most Maryland homeowners with batteries find that aligning their energy use with a TOU rate plan, where available, presents the best path to maximizing financial benefits.

Option 1: Capitalizing on Time-of-Use (TOU) Rates

One of the ways a home battery can reduce your electricity costs is by allowing you to take advantage of Time-of-Use (TOU) rate plans offered by some Maryland utility companies. While not always the default, these optional plans charge different prices for electricity depending on the time of day, day of the week, and season. Typically, electricity is more expensive during “on-peak” hours when demand is highest (e.g., late afternoons and early evenings) and cheaper during “off-peak” hours (e.g., late nights and weekends).

Your battery can be programmed to charge when electricity rates are at their lowest. This charging can come from your solar panels during the day (which is already free energy you’ve generated) or, if needed and economically beneficial, from the grid during super off-peak hours at the cheapest rates.

When the expensive on-peak hours roll around, instead of drawing costly power from the grid, your home automatically switches to using the cheaper energy stored in your battery. By shifting your energy consumption away from the most expensive periods, you directly reduce your overall electricity costs.

Steps to Capitalize on TOU Rates

1. Switch to a Time-of-Use Rate (if available) or confirm your existing utility rate plan is already Time-of-Use.
   • Example: In SMECO, a Time-of-Use rate is available, but requires an opt-in, as the default is the Standard Offer Service (SOS).
     • To switch to Time-of-Use in SMECO or to learn more, select this link here.
   • Example: PEPCO has a default TOU rate for residential customers, so no switch is required.
2. Program your battery to kick in during those expensive, on-peak hours.
   • This can be done within your battery app, or alternatively, reach out to your installer to do it for you.
     • If you are an Energy Select customer, simply reach out to us to confirm you want to switch!

Option 2: Maximizing Net Metering Benefits & Minimizing Low-Value Credits

Maryland boasts a favorable net metering policy, which is great for solar owners. Under this program, you receive credits on your electricity bill, typically at the full retail rate, for excess solar energy you send back to the grid on a monthly basis. However, there’s a nuance when it comes to the annual “true-up.” If, over the entire year, you’ve sent more energy to the grid than you’ve consumed, this net excess generation (NEG) is typically credited back at a rate lower than the full retail value – often an “avoided cost” rate.

Your battery stores surplus solar energy generated during the day that exceeds your immediate household needs. Instead of this excess energy automatically flowing to the grid (and potentially contributing to your annual NEG), it’s kept for your own use later.

When your solar panels aren’t producing (e.g., evenings, cloudy days), your home draws from the battery. Each kilowatt-hour (kWh) used from your battery directly offsets a kWh you would have otherwise purchased from the utility at the full, higher retail price.

By consistently using your own stored solar energy, you reduce the total amount of energy that gets classified as annual net excess generation. While you might still have some NEG if your system is very large, the battery helps ensure more of your valuable solar generation is used to offset higher-cost energy throughout the year, rather than being sold back at the lower annual true-up rate.

Essentially, your battery helps you use more of your own solar production when it’s most valuable to you, thereby minimizing the less profitable annual credit and maximizing your overall solar savings.

Steps to Minimize your Lower Rate Credits

1. Confirm your electric rate. As mentioned, If TOU rates are not available in your utility, your next best option with using batteries as a method in saving money is this one.
2. Confirm you do have Net Excess Generation. While you will not truly know this until a full year of solar, your solar design should give you a good idea if you were meant to overproduce with your existing solar system.
   • You could check your proposal and if the offset reads over 100% and your energy consumption does not change, you can assume you will generate excess energy.
3. Program your battery for Self Consumption. The exact verbiage may differ depending on your battery, but search for a profile that prioritizes the use of your own stored solar energy before drawing from or exporting to the grid.
   • This can be done with your battery app, or alternatively, reach out to your installer to do it for you.
   • If you are an Energy Select customer, simply reach out to us to confirm you want to switch!

Maryland homeowners can achieve home battery savings with sustainable energy solutions. Integrating solar panels with battery storage boosts energy independence and effectively reduces overall electricity costs, including often overlooked charges. Consulting with energy professionals helps optimize your system for lasting financial benefits and energy resilience in Maryland.